Graeme McDowell Wins OHL Classic In Playoff
- Dan Hauser
- 16 Nov, 2015
If you were a betting man, or woman, and following the recent trend on the PGA Tour, smart money would have said roll with a first timer this week at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. After all, six events into this new 2015-2016 wraparound season, and there has been six first time winners on Tour. Throw in last weeks WGC event won by Russell Knox, which is co-sanctioned by both the European and PGA Tours and that’s seven first time winners right out of the gate.
While the streak didn’t continue this week (all three in the Monday finish playoff have won on Tour) there was another first of sorts. When Graeme McDowell tapped in his birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat Jason Bohn and Knox, it was his first victory on American soil in two years.
“You go through a year like this, you think, `Am I finished? Am I not good enough?’ You ask yourself all the questions,” McDowell said. “It’s the game of golf, and it’s very difficult. I’ve been dreaming of this day and I said that I was going to appreciate it when it came. So I’m going to appreciate this one, because this year has been a grind.”
While the thought that McDowell hadn’t won a PGA Tour event in two years might seem hard to believe for some, you can’t fully blame McDowell if he has seemed a little distracted as of late.
Since his last win at the 2013 RBC Heritage, McDowell has started several business ventures, including his restaurant Nona Blue in Orlando and GolfBeer Brewing. In August of 2014, he and wis wife Kristin welcomed their first child as well.
“It’s been a rough year for all the right reasons,” McDowell said. “I’m just enjoying life off the golf course.”
McDowell can now get back to enjoying his life on the golf course too. The win came at the perfect time for the Northern Irishman as he was getting close to losing his exemption. He also guarantees a spot once again at Augusta National, where he will tee it up for the eighth straight year.
For a while on Monday, it looked like the losing streak was going to continue for GMac.
While he and Knox returned the course Monday tied at 19-under, it took about 30 seconds after play resumed for him to fall out of the lead when Knox converted his birdie at the 13th. While he briefly found himself back in a tie at 19-under when Knox dropped a shot on 14, a costly bogey from McDowell on 16 dropped him back to 18-under and likely a second place finish behind Knox.
A poor tee shot on 18 by Knox lead to a bogey and suddenly McDowell had life again as he was heading to a playoff with Knox and Bohn. It was on that first playoff hole that McDowell hit the shot of the tournament, a five iron from 205 yards out that nearly went in and leaving him a three footer for birdie.
“I got to be honest I wanted to smash a 6-iron,” McDowell said of the approach shot. “I was juiced up. I hit as good of a 5-iron as I could hit.”
McDowell was quick to admit Monday that golf had taken a back seat to his new family for a while. As he showed everyone on Monday though, he’s back and ready to play the quality of golf that everyone has come to expect from him.
“I’ve been enjoying life off the golf course with my beautiful family,” McDowell said. “Golf hasn’t been the priority it should be. But the last three or four months I got back to where I want to be.”
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About Dan Hauser
As an avid golfer and sports enthusiast, Dan has had a passion for sports starting at a very young age. Dan’s other passion has always been writing. Since the time he could write, he has always enjoyed sharing information with people and telling stories through writing. In middle school he combined his two loves by joining the school newspaper in the sports department.
