McDowell hopes to maintain form
Graeme McDowell is today hoping to continue his belated birthday celebrations in the Volvo Scandinavian Masters.
McDowell spent most of his 23rd birthday on Tuesday waiting for his delayed flight from Manchester to Stockholm, and only had time for nine holes of practice at Kungsangen.
It was the first time he had seen the course, just days after signing an agreement to represent them on the European Tour during his first season as a professional.
Yet less than 48 hours later he had carded a new course record 64 to lead only his fourth tour event by one shot from Australian Adam Scott, with the likes of defending champion Colin Montgomerie trailing in his wake.
The 23-year-old acknowledged it was a dream start to the week, but was confident it would not turn into a nightmare after finishing his three years at the University of Alabama as the top ranked college golfer in America.
“I did not feel that good for the first five or six holes yesterday but scrambled and hung in there and things got better from then on,” said McDowell, who bettered Tiger Woods’ collegiate scoring average while winning nine events in the States, and helped Great Britain and Ireland retain the Walker Cup for the first time last year.
“I’m very happy to be here and to break the course record is a dream start.
“I knew that most of the top golfers in the world play college golf in America so I knew if I could get into the top 15 I would be ready to turn professional. Being top ranked this year has reinforced my belief.
“The top priority now is to get a card for next year and a good result here would not be a big surprise because I have been playing well since turning professional before the Great North Open at Slaley Hall, but I was not scoring well.”
McDowell missed the cut at Slaley Hall and at the European Open, but finished 27th at the Irish Open and admitted: “I’m learning all the time. The rough around the greens is much thicker on tour than in amateur golf and my weakness in the short game was shown up.
“I am cutting out the mistakes and I’ve now had two or three bogey-free rounds from which I can take a lot of satisfaction.”
Montgomerie had pronounced himself satisfied with his opening 70 after recovering from being two over after four holes with birdies at the last two.
“It gives me a chance to shoot low today and get in there,” said the 39-year-old Scot, defending his last remaining title.
