GMAC's Vale of Motivation

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Graeme McDowell has revealed a tough 12 months has seen him questioning his motivation to stay in golf.

The 2010 US Open champion has recorded just one top-10 finish on the European Tour this year and says he struggled for motivation after the birth of his daughter Vale in 2014.

McDowell's victory in 2010 was the first of four wins in the past five years by European players, with fellow Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup team-mates Justin Rose and Martin Kaymer following in his footsteps.

I've been wrestling a little bit with my level of motivation the last 12 months with getting married and having a baby and all the exciting things in my life happening," McDowell said ahead of this week's US Open at Chambers Bay.

"I haven't felt the same desire and urge to go out there and grind and practice, and that's affected my game.

"It's one of those things that you never think is going to happen to you, I suppose. But I think when it happens, I think it's important to have a good team of people around you to help you acknowledge it and help you sift through kind of where the problems lie.

"Is it that you don't love the game anymore or is it the fact that you just love being home with the family a bit more than normal? So I think just acknowledging it is obviously a big part of it. It's not fun.

"I obviously haven't enjoyed the season; not playing well, not scoring well, losing a little of confidence and belief. Thinking am I done, finished, washed up? Should I think about getting a new job?

"All these crazy human-instinct thoughts go through your mind and it's just about trying to get back in your processes and trust what you're doing.

"And knowing that it's not necessarily going to happen fast.

"You've got to just dig in and start grinding again and go back to all the things that worked in the past. And just start enjoying the game really.

"It's hard. It's not been fun this year, definitely been one of the tougher seasons in the last seven or eight.

"But I feel like I'm learning a lot from it. Something I've done well in my career to this point is reacting well to the tough years and coming out the other side better and stronger and smarter.

"That's what I'm kind of in right now, I'm in that learning curve and looking forward to being back on the leaderboard very soon."

Asked what other job he could have done, McDowell joked: "I don't know what I'd do. I didn't get my engineering degree, so I can't see me going back to college at this point."

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Rory US Open Ready

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Rory McIlroy believes spending three days in London as a tourist has helped prepare him mentally for his bid to win a second US Open title this week at Chambers Bay.

The world No 1 goes into the second major of 2015 off the back of two consecutive missed cuts at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship and at the Irish Open.

Despite his dip in form after winning two of his previous four tournaments, the 26-year-old appears relaxed in Washington after a low-key build-up to the tournament.

McIlroy is looking for a fifth major after claiming his first in the same event at Congressional in Maryland four years ago.

He said: "I had commitments with Nike on the Monday after (the Irish Open). I did some biomechanical testing on the Tuesday.

“My trainer Steve (McGregor) was over on Wednesday so we did a couple of sessions and then I went to London on Thursday for a few days.

“I was a tourist for three days, went to the London Eye, did a lot of walking, which I didn't know was a great preparation for this place. I think I walked about 10 miles a day so that helped.

“That got me in the right frame of mind. I obviously didn't want to miss those two cuts in Europe, but I think that's just the way I'm going to be.

“I'd rather in a six-tournament period have three wins and three missed cuts than six top-10s. Volatility in golf is actually a good thing. If your good weeks are really good, it far outweighs the bad weeks.”

Perhaps ominously for McIlroy is the fact he has compared the hard and fast conditions at Chambers Bay with Muirfield when it served as the venue for the Open in 2013.

Back then, the Northern Irishman missed the cut at a time when he was struggling to adapt to new clubs following his switch to Nike but is confident of performing better this week.

He added: “I'm a completely different player. I'm in a completely different place. I had no control of my golf game at that point in time and I feel like I'm pretty much in full control of it at the minute.

"I can tell you a repeat of that is definitely not going to happen. Chambers Bay plays more like a links course than some links courses. It's so fast, so firm.

“It reminds me of 2013 at Muirfield and '06 at Hoylake when Tiger (Woods) won. The course is getting burned out.”

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GMAC FedEx St Jude Ready

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Graeme McDowell hopes the FedEx St Jude Classic provides the "competitive sharpness" he feels he is lacking before he targets a second US Open title.

The Northern Irishman, who was victorious at Pebble Beach back in 2010, has endured a low-key season thus far, making six cuts at nine PGA Tour events.

He is therefore looking for a timely bounce at TPC Southwind, which holds a purse of €6m and acts as a warm-up for next week's US Open at Chambers Bay.

McDowell told pgatour.com: "When it comes to preparing for major championships there are a few ways you can do it, you can try and simulate the conditions you'll find the following week.

"The way that the US Open jumps around it's very difficult to have a solid warm-up venue the week before so you've got to take the rough with the smooth.

"Some years it's going to be a great preparation and some years maybe not.

"I think the comparison of the two golf courses is that they're at opposite ends of the spectrum but I love coming here and getting some competitive sharpness.

"I think, going into a major championship, preparing and playing the golf course and having your game plan together is key - but being competitively sharp and feeling confident that you are playing well, those are just important.

"For me it's been a slow year, I kind of feel that my game's turning a corner so I'll be teeing it up and trying to get some competitive sharpness."

Dustin Johnson - currently ranked seventh in the world - is looking to claim first prize at Southwind for the second time having done so in 2012.

The powerful driver arrives in Memphis on the back of consecutive top-15 finishes while his fellow American Webb Simpson tied for third here a year ago.

Englishman Luke Donald this week sealed qualification for the US Open and makes his first start in the St Jude Classic.

Billy Horschel, Ryan Palmer and Phil Mickelson are also keen to perfect their games ahead of the second major of the year.

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Leona Maguire Opens with 67

Leona Maguire showed why she is the number one amateur woman golfer in the world as she made a stunning start to her bid for the Ladies British Open Amateur title at Portstewart yesterday.

The 20-year-old Curtis Cup star from Slieve Russell, who is now a student at Duke University in North Carolina, produced some brilliant golf over the last six holes of her first qualifying round, collecting three birdies, an eagle and two pars on her way to a six-under-par 67.

“I think I have had a six under par at Portstewart before in the Irish Close Championship but the course the LGU have us playing on today is not quite the same as we played then,” Maguire said.

The Cavan star put herself in line for a good match-play draw by finishing the day just one stroke off the pace set by Swede Elin Esborn.

Her twin sister Lisa was off colour and is outside the qualifying positions with another round today.

Lisburn’s Paula Grant and Chloe Ryan of Castleroy after scores of 74 are in strong positions to make the knock-out phase. And in the last group to finish Olivia Mehaffey, the Royal County teenager who has swept the board in stroke-play events this season in Ireland,Wales and Scotland, also handed in a 74.

Mehaffey who had one blackspot, a double bogey on the ninth, birdied two of the last five holes to put herself in contention for a match-play berth.

Maria Dunne of Skerries and Lahinch’s Sinead Sexton need to improve following scores of 77 yesterday which put them in joint 74th place.

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European Challege Tour Returns

The European Challenge Tour will return to the Republic of Ireland for the first time in six years when the Irish Challenge hosted by Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa and Golf Resort takes place at the prestigious Carlow venue from October 8–11.

It will be the first time the Christy O’Connor Jnr-designed Championship course at Mount Wolseley, located one hour from Dublin, will host a major professional event under the auspices of The European Tour. Tetrarch Capital, the new owners of Mount Wolseley Hotel Spa & Golf Resort, have committed to hosting the event at Mount Wolseley in 2016 and 2017 after signing a three-year deal. The Confederation of Golf in Ireland (CGI) and the Irish Sports Council have also come on board as partners for the event. 

A host of Ireland’s most promising up and coming stars are expected to join a field which will also comprise many of Europe and the world’s most talented young players. The Challenge Tour has been a proven training ground from which stars like Martin Kaymer, Henrik Stenson, Thomas Bjørn, Brooks Koepka and many others have graduated to The European Tour before going on to international stardom.

The Irish Challenge hosted by Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa and Golf Resort is ideally placed in the Challenge Tour’s schedule for a week of golfing drama - the fourth last event of the season - as the race for the top 15 in the Challenge Tour’s Road to Oman Rankings nears its thrilling climax. 

The last time a Challenge Tour event took place in the Republic, Englishman Robert Coles emerged victorious after a play-off with former Ryder Cup star Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium to win the Challenge of Ireland in 2009.

The announcement comes at an opportune time for Irish golf, as young Derryman Ruaidhri McGee continues to impress on the Challenge Tour – currently inside the top ten in the Road to Oman – while a host of promising young players including Paul Dunne, Jack Hume, Gary Hurley, Gavin Moynihan and Cormac Sharvin are rising through the amateur ranks with great distinction.

The Challenge Tour provides the perfect opportunity for players turning professional to make their mark in the paid ranks, and direct graduation to The European Tour is the rich reward for those who succeed. 

That is the reason why many of world’s finest players have chosen to begin their professional careers on Europe’s top developmental tour - with recent BMW PGA Championship winner Byeong-hun An of Korea, as well as the last two respective European Tour Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award winners Koepka and Peter Uihlein, crossing the Atlantic to begin their careers on the Challenge Tour.

Alain de Soultrait, European Challenge Tour Director, said: 

“It is fantastic news that the Challenge Tour will return to the Republic of Ireland for the first time since 2009. The country has produced numerous world-class golfers and possesses many of the finest golf courses on the planet. Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort is a fittingly stunning venue and is sure to be very popular with the players, staff and Ireland’s famously knowledgeable golf fans. 

“A lot of hard work has gone into making this tournament happen and we extend our sincere thanks to Mount Wolseley Hotel, Spa & Golf Resort and Tetrach Capital for backing this event, as well as the CGI and the Irish Sport Council for their passion and vision in giving Ireland’s up and coming golf stars a chance to make that crucial breakthrough in professional golf. We look forward to a great week in Carlow.”

Mount Wolseley in County Carlow, Ireland, has become firmly established as an attractive option for golf groups and organisers of business and pleasure events. The resort is located just one hour from Dublin and within easy reach also for golfers travelling from points as far apart as the midlands, West, South and Eastern region. The challenging 18-hole Christy O’Connor Junior designed championship course has matured beautifully with age and offers stunning views of the Carlow mountains and countryside.

The Confederation of Golf in Ireland was created last year by the GUI, ILGU and the PGA, to support, promote and develop the sport of golf on the island of Ireland

The formation of the CGI followed 18 months of study and preparation by the associations together with the Irish Sports Council and Sport Northern Ireland. The CGI will complement the work of the associations as well as providing a necessary combined approach to certain key strategic areas in the future development of golf in Ireland.

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