Graeme McDowell wins RBC Heritage just when it looked like the Ryder Cup heroes had gone missing - Derek Lawrenson's World of Golf
Where have all the Ryder Cup players gone? Four months into the new season, it was becoming a rather worrying lament, as the Medinah miracle-makers who dominated the game from August to December appeared to be suffering from a collective hangover.
Rory McIlroy’s travails are well-documented, but he was hardly alone. Up to and including the Masters, the vast majority must have been looking at their early-season form and giving it a C-minus grade or below.
Happily, everything changed in that traditional post-Augusta delight, the RBC Heritage tournament played alongside the tranquil shores of the Calibogue Sound in South Carolina, where the instigator proved to be the quiet assassin himself, Graeme McDowell.
Well plaid: Graeme McDowell shows off his new plaid jacket after winning the RBC Heritage on SundayOn a Harbour Town course that is all about strategy and a cool head, who better to call upon than the 33-year-old Northern Irishman?
He moved up to eighth in the world with his win on Sunday to claim the tartan jacket — what is it about golf and jackets? — and might be higher still by mid-summer.
The sport has entered its period where the big tournaments are played on tight, streamlined courses like Sawgrass, Wentworth and Merion, this year’s venue for the US Open, that play into the hands of players such as McDowell and Luke Donald, who finished third on Sunday.
Champion: McDowell beat Webb Simpson in a play-off at Harbour TownGreat things could be in store for G-Mac because he has made the transition that Donald made before him. It’s so tempting for medium-hitters to stand alongside the McIlroys of this world and think, ‘Gee, I’ve got to find another 30 yards to compete with these guys.’
It is the biggest mistake they can make. They find those 30 yards only through losing accuracy, and their short games turn to mush because they’re spending so much time searching for length.
McDowell finished 174th in scrambling last year. He’s since devoted his energies to perfecting those things he’s good at: straightness off the tee, wonderful iron play and a lovely touch around the greens. Now he’s first in scrambling, which is something a lot of those power-hitters would bite your hand off to be.
Struggle: Rory McIlroy's problems this year have been well documented QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘I didn’t quite win the Masters, but it’s great to win this event that feels like my fifth major.’
One week after his play-off defeat at Augusta, Angel Cabrera returned to his hometown of Cordoba in Argentina to compete in his hometown event, where he eagled the last to force a play-off and then prevailed at the first extra hole.
No, it wasn’t the Masters and it won’t bring lasting fame. But you can understand why it felt so sweet to the 43-year-old.
The final day dawned with 25mph winds and gusts up to 40mph. So disappointed at missing the halfway cut at Augusta, how typical of McDowell to make instant amends.
It all came down to a play-off against Webb Simpson, the man who pipped him by a stroke to win the US Open last year. This time, it was McDowell who came out on top with a par at the first extra hole.
When he won his own US Open in 2010, McDowell warmed up with a win at the Wales Open that ultimately proved a lovely appetiser.
As good as this first win in a regular PGA Tour event will feel right now, there is every hope it will be seen in the same light before the summer is out.
Langer's a talent for the agesDo this job long enough and certain adjectives fit as snugly around players as a leather glove. For instance, how can you write ‘Seve’ without describing him as charismatic?
Then there’s Bernhard Langer. I’d hate to think how many times I’ve written ‘the indefatigable German’ but when it comes to European golf and this estimable quality, he is the all-time leader — and he is still at it. One week after time’s arrow pierced his challenge on the back nine at Augusta, how typical that he should win a US Senior Tour event held down the road in Atlanta on Sunday.
Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has even mentioned the 55-year-old as a contender for the team at Gleneagles next year. While that won’t happen, there will not be a player in that team who couldn’t learn something from his shining example.
Timeless: Bernhard Langer gave a strong showing at the Masters before winning a Senior Tour event Glory: Langer of Germany holds his trophy aloft after winning the Greater Gwinnett Championship in GeorgiaNo surprise really that the Spanish Open should go to a marathon nine-hole play-off on Sunday before ending in victory for the Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin.
With the European Tour spending so little time in Europe these days, surely it’s natural for players to want to spin it out. This week, the European Tour is heading east once more to South Korea, where the talk of instability in the region has been enough for Americans Dustin Johnson and Zach Johnson to mark their appearance money cheques ‘return to sender’ and stay at home.
Roll on May, and a welcome four-month jaunt around the tour’s traditional heartland.
Marathon: Raphael Jacquelin poses with his Spanish Open trophy after an epic play-offMore... Holding his nerve: McDowell marches past Simpson in play-off to win RBC Heritage Jacquelin claims Spanish Open title after winning dramatic nine-hole play-off The Heritage picture archive: Trevino shows his magic, Petterson's gun salute and more from the stunning Harbour Town Golf Links... Latest world rankings, Race to Dubai, FedEx Cup and US Money List standings...
