Graeme McDowell won the U.S. Open in June and led Europe to a Ryder Cup title in October. Then, the affable Northern Irishman went viral.
In a YouTube video produced by his website, McDowell lies asleep clutching the trophies from the two biggest victories of his career. As he dreams, fellow golfers Ian Poulter and Rory McIlroy sneak into his room and abscond with the hardware.
McDowell wakes to declare, "2010 was too good to be true."
The way he's playing, 2011 could be even better.
The fifth-seeded McDowell will open the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship on Wednesday with a first-round match against Heath Slocum. And while the 31-year-old grinder lacks the stateside name recognition of Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson, many believe he could win Arizona's premier golf event.
McDowell is 1-4 all-time in Match Play and hasn't played beyond the first round in his last three tries. But he's playing the best golf of his life.
"I haven't exactly displayed my match-play prowess so far in this golf tournament," he said. "I'm very keen to get out here this year and try to change that. … It's one of those weeks where if you can get a little momentum going, you can - let's face it, mathematically it's probably the easiest golf tournament you will ever win."
McDowell certainly has mastered the hard ones.
He won the U.S. Open last summer, firing a final-round 73 to stave off challenges from Dustin Johnson, Woods and Mickelson. McDowell's hometown of Portrush celebrated the historic win for days, and for good reason: McDowell became just the second European to win a U.S. Open since 1925 and the first Northern Ireland native to ever win a major.
Things got better. Four months later, McDowell outdueled Hunter Mahan to give Europe a one-point victory over the United States in the Ryder Cup. McDowell capped his year by winning the Andalucia Valderrama Masters and the Chevron World Challenge, the latter coming when he edged Woods in a playoff. McDowell started the 2011 season last month by finishing third in the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.
Along the way, McDowell has earned a reputation for being, in the words of fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy, "more of a thinker."
When McIlroy made his stateside debut at Match Play two years ago, McDowell took him under his wing. McIlroy was being too aggressive at times, probably because he was so eager to prove he belonged. With McDowell helping him, the prodigy took a different approach.
"He really plots his way around the golf course, and he really thinks about it," McIlroy said. "A little bit of him rubbing off on me probably isn't a bad thing."
So how will Match Play's resident thinker handle The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain? McDowell will start by looking at his tee time.
"The golf course plays different in the mornings here, no doubt about it. It plays a hell of a lot longer," McDowell said. "You've got to drive it good, that really helps. But it really is very much a second-shot golf course."
Despite McDowell's recent run, Match Play remains a hurdle. The head-to-head nature of the tournament means that golfers can play good rounds and lose, or play bad rounds and win.
It's what makes Match Play exhilarating - and maddening.
"You only need to beat six guys, but it doesn't work out that way," he said.
"You've got 64 great players here this week all trying to do their job. It's all about who you play on the day, very much. An 18-hole match play can be quite the battle."
International vibe
The 2011 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship field, by home country:
United States: 24
England: 6
Australia: 6
South Africa: 5
South Korea: 4
Japan: 3
Italy: 3
Sweden: 3
Denmark: 2
Spain: 2
Northern Ireland: 2
Colombia: 1
Germany: 1
Ireland: 1
Scotland: 1
Match Play
• Where: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, Dove Mountain
• When: Practice rounds end today; competition Wednesday through Sunday
• Ticket info: Call 1-866-942-2672 or visit worldgolfchampionships.com
