There was a time when Graeme McDowell did not need to fret much about qualifying for major championships.
- Shinnecock Hills expected to be an unforgiving test, examining patience and every department of a player's skill set.
- McDowell missed the cut at Shinnecock Hills in 2018 and warns strong gusts this week will make it a severe examination.
- McDowell secured his Shinnecock spot by progressing through a 36-hole qualifier in Dallas.
- Fairways are generous but penal if missed; greens demand discipline, and bunkers with stones and shells test creativity.
- McDowell says the course is being kept a little slower than 2018; Thursday looks very windy, and he believes the course suits him.
Between 2008 and 2016, he made 34 consecutive appearances on golf’s biggest stages, a run highlighted by a memorable 2010 US Open triumph at Pebble Beach.
As a former world number four and four-time Ryder Cup player, McDowell became accustomed to contending at the highest level, but this week’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills marks the 46-year-old’s first major appearance in six years.
While understandably thrilled to be back at the championship that gave him his greatest day, he feels this week is as much about his nine-year-old son Wills.
“I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get to show him me out here playing in it with the old hourglass, the sands of time continue to deplete if you like,” admitted Northern Ireland’s McDowell.
“There’s a large appreciation for me being here this time at a major. At a point in my career, these were automatic and when they get taken away from you, you realise how much you miss them and appreciate the opportunity to be on golf’s biggest stages.”
McDowell’s newfound appreciation for the major arena will likely be tested this week at Shinnecock.
Arguably the toughest course on a US Open rota stocked with unforgiving tracks, McDowell joined fellow countryman Rory McIlroy in missing the cut at the iconic Long Island venue in 2018.
With strong gusts forecast this week, McDowell predicts another severe examination as he bids to make the cut at a major for the first time since the 2019 Open Championship in his hometown at Royal Portrush.
“You must drive it well. The fairways are generous but if you miss them, you’re in trouble,” explained LIV Golf’s McDowell, who progressed from a 36-hole qualifier in Dallas last month to secure his Shinnecock spot.
“The greens, you have to be very disciplined with some and some will give you chances, so you have to know where to miss and when you do miss, you have to be creative.
“The bunkers are interesting with a lot of stones and shells in them, but there is a little bit of everything in this gold course that will test the patience and every department of the skill-set.”
‘They are keeping the course a bit slower’
McDowell’s father Ken (right) was at Pebble Beach in 2010 to watch his son become a major champion on Father’s Day
McDowell’s last win came at the 2020 Saudi International and his best finish on LIV was tied second in Virginia last year.
While he admits “pretty much everything” would need to go right for him to contend at Shinnecock, he believes the course “suits me”.
“I’m going to have to weather some storms at some point and whomever wins is going to have to go through a period where they have to hang in, take their medicine and get out of there with a bogey and just run,” he added.
“Right now it’s quite fair, not as fast as it was in 2018, but I think by design they are keeping it a little bit slower.
“Thursday’s weather forecast is very windy and they are worried about that, but right now it’s slower and we’ll see how that progresses over the weekend.”
McDowell begins his US Open challenge at 12:19 BST on Thursday.
