GMAC Seeking Season Kick Start

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Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer are both looking to kick-start their seasons when they tee it up at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation this week.

The Northern Irishman won in November on the US PGA Tour but has struggled for form since the turn of the year, while Kaymer claimed his first top ten of the campaign at the Real Club Valderrama Open de España, Hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation a month ago.

Both men have represented Europe in the last three Ryder Cups, with McDowell the only man to have qualified for the last four, but with the next contest coming up at Hazeltine in the autumn, they are currently on the outside looking in.

McDowell has slipped to 68th in the Official World Golf Ranking but feels his game is not too far off and is now aiming for a big summer.

"I've generally been feeling very good about my game this year," he said. "Started off kind of strong early in the Florida Swing. Lost my way a little bit sort of into the Match Play and Augusta.

"Sort of hit the reset button after Hilton Head and came back last week, starting to get those good feelings back again, a little bit of confidence seeing the ball do what I wanted to do, staying patient, and a little bit of belief coming back again.

"The weekend at The Players was nice on a lot of levels, gave me that little bit of confidence coming here, and into next week, as well, and looking forward to the summer with three Majors to play here in the next few months, a lot of big events. Looking to the French Open with double Ryder Cup points.

There's lots and lots of jockeying for position to come up here in the next few months and I feel like I'm well positioned mentally and physically to do that - Graeme McDowell

"Of course I'd love to be part of the team."

Kaymer is four spots ahead of McDowell in the World Rankings and although he has not won since claiming his second Major Championship at the 2014 US Open, he came close when losing out in a play-off to Rikard Karlberg at last season's 72° OPEN D'ITALIA presented by DAMIANI, and is eager to contend again.

"I haven't really competed in a tournament properly," he said. "Preparation has been good for the summer, so now I look forward to hopefully all the work and the practice paying off, because I really need to work my way into the Ryder Cup.

"In terms of the tournaments coming up now, they are obviously big ones that you want to win, and a few I've won in the past. I've got experience with it and a lot of positive memories. I'm really excited to play all the tournaments now until the Olympic Games."

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McIlroy Targets Players Championship

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Rory McIlroy admits he is frustrated at failing to turn good performances into wins this season as he looks to claim one of the few big titles so far missing from his glittering CV in the Players Championship.

As well as winning four major titles and playing on three successive victorious Ryder Cup teams, McIlroy has won two World Golf Championship events and two FedEx Cup play-off tournaments, meaning the so-called 'Fifth Major' is high on the agenda.

McIlroy has finished eighth, sixth and eighth in the last three years at Sawgrass, but similar statistics so far in 2016 mean the 27-year-old is the only member of the world's top five without a victory this season.

"Results-wise it isn't what I hoped for," McIlroy told a pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. "My performances have been pretty good, I've had a few chances to win tournaments. Of the nine events I've played so far I think I have six top-10s so it hasn't been too bad, but there's no wins in there.

"It's been frustrating and especially because I feel like I've played some really good golf in this stretch, but at the same time there's just been too many mistakes.

"Again last week I led the field in birdies at Quail Hollow, I was up there at Augusta. There's just been too many loose shots, too many soft bogeys, so if anything I just need to tidy that up because I know I'm playing good enough to make the birdies and to post a lot of red (under par) numbers, but I just need to tidy up everything else."

Despite those frustrations, McIlroy remains confident in his ability to "close" out tournaments down the stretch, reiterating that he learnt the most from his collapse in the 2011 Masters.

McIlroy, who was four shots clear heading into the final round at Augusta before slumping to a closing 80, added: "I don't think I believed I was a good closer until 2012.

"My wins early on in my career I led by a lot; whether it was my first win in Dubai, I think I was six ahead with six to play and sort of fell over the line there. When I won at Quail Hollow in 2010 I was five behind at the start of the day and I ended up winning by four. I just got on a great run, I didn't actually have to play with the lead for any length of time. US Open was sort of similar in 2011.

"At the start of '12, whenever I needed to hold on on the back nine at the Honda Classic.... Tiger (Woods) had shot 62, I was trying to get in the clubhouse and become world number one for the first time, that's when I really believed I've finally been able to close a tournament out and be able to play the right shot at the right time and keep it together.

"It takes experience, it takes losing a few first I think before understanding what you need to do. I've always said the biggest learning curve and day of my career was that Sunday at Augusta in '11.

"At least I know now exactly what not to do and what doesn't work for me so when I go into these final rounds and situations where I have a chance to win, I know how to handle myself, what way to think.

"I think that's the big thing, the mentality of learning what's going to be a good score that day, what's going to be the number that's going to win and really try and forget about everything else and try to get to that number."

Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell also tee off on Thusday at TPC Sawgrass.

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