Major McDowell Not One Hit Wonder

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Graeme McDowell says he is desperate to prove he is not a "one-hit wonder" as a major winner, and would "give his left arm" to add to his US Open title at Hoylake this week.

The 34-year-old's best finish at the Open is a share of fifth place in 2012, while he led the tournament after one round the last time it was held at Hoylake in 2006 before fading over the final three days.

McDowell, who won the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2010, will tee off on Thursday in confident mood after successfully defending his French Open title two weeks ago.

"I'd give my left arm for the Claret Jug. I would, actually. That would be the end of my career, but it would be a nice way to go," joked McDowell.

"I feel like I'm ready to kick on to the next chapter in my career now and compete and win more major championships.

"I certainly don't want to be a one-hit wonder and I've learned a lot over the last few years since my US Open victory.

"I'd give my left arm for the Claret Jug. I would, actually. That would be the end of my career, but it would be a nice way to go." 

"I'd love a Claret Jug. Probably that and the green jacket (given to Masters champions) are probably neck and neck, but the Claret Jug is probably the one that I feel like I have the game to win as opposed to the Masters.

"I guess what I'm saying is I'm more motivated than ever to win major championships.

"I think I've got the experience and belief and knowledge where if I can play my game, I have the tools to then hang around for 72 holes and perhaps get the job done. I feel like I'm more ready than I've ever been to win another major."

McDowell said his confidence was partly based on his belief that the Hoylake course is ideally suited to his game.

"This is my kind of golf course this week and I want to give myself as many opportunities as I can to win majors," he said.

"I like it because you can't take trouble out of play. St Andrews is an example of a golf course where the big boys can just aim as far left as they want and hammer it and hit it past trouble.

"I think Lytham forces you into necks. This golf course forces you into little areas. It's well bunkered, there's bunkers at 260 and 290 yards where you have to be disciplined off the tee and find fairways and rely on good iron play."

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Harrington Open to More Claret

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Padraig Harrington will play alongside Rory McIlroy and Stephen Gallacher in the opening two rounds.

The 43 year old Dubliner memorably added his national Open title in the professional ranks in 2007 and went on to win three Major Championships in the following 18 months, heralding a glorious period in Irish golfing history. He now returns to Fota Island looking to provide yet another chapter in a remarkable career, at a venue where he admits he has many happy memories. 

“It's obviously been a happy hunting ground for me over the years,” said Harrington. “I do like the venue. I like the atmosphere the venue gives off. It's an ideal place for professional golf when you have got a hotel on site, and you have got a beautiful golf course, and you've got a fantastic setting and good practice facilities. There's not much more the players could ask for than you've got here.”

Harrington concedes that having an Irish Open title already under his belt takes some of the pressure off his shoulder this week, and enables him to enjoy the unique focus that naturally falls on him and the other Irish players. 

“I'm not under as much pressure as the other lads who haven't got one,” he said. ”It is important to win your National Open at some stage in your career. It's something you want to tick off for your CV. Obviously Shane (Lowry) has one, so there's two of us with it.

“Early in my career, it was pressure, and a lot of expectation. Then you realise that it's not necessarily expectation. It's more just people who want you to win, and they would like to you win, and they are not trying to put more pressure on you. 

“When you look it like that, it kind of deflects it a little bit and you can relax a little bit more. There's no doubt at an Irish Open for an Irish player, there's more stress around the week. There's more things to be done. There's more people to say hello to, and you've got to stop and say hello to everybody. It just mounts up in the course of a week. 

“So it's one of those events that you just know you're not going to be able to go through your normal routine, and you know things are going to be just slightly out of kilter once you accept that, it's easier to get on with things.”

Having won two Claret Jugs so far in his career, Harrington also welcomed The R&A’s announcement on Monday that Royal Portrush has been added to the rota of Open Championship venues. 

“I'm sure when it does come, it will be one of the greatest Opens ever,” he said. “The people that will turn out and the atmosphere will be second to none. Only St. Andrews maybe could surpass it, because it's the Home of Golf, but I think the raw atmosphere around an event like The Open Championship at Portrush will be unbelievable. Just phenomenal. It would be rare if the players will experience what they will experience when The Open is at Portrush.”

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Tiger for Muirfield Major - McDowell

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Graeme McDowell believes Tiger Woods is in the form to end his five-year major drought at the Open Championship this weekend.

The Northern Irishman played the opening two rounds at Muirfield with the world No 1, who combined superb putting with "devastating" iron play in rounds of 69 and 71 which left him well in contention on two under.

McDowell matched Woods' second-day 71 to remain comfortably inside the cut mark on four over, and he admitted his playing partner could be tough to beat come Sunday evening.

"He was very, very impressive the last two days. He will not be far away this weekend the way he's playing," said McDowell.

"He just hits the shot that you're supposed to hit at all times. Really, it's like, 'do I have to follow that?' He's so impressive. It's very difficult to focus on your own game when you're watching the best player maybe ever over the last two days.

"I lost count of how many comebacks he made for pars. He's putting them exceptionally well. He's playing the golf course very conservatively, using his iron play to devastating effect - very impressive.

Great putting

"Combine that with some great putting, he's going to be dangerous. He certainly looks like he's very close to being back. So there will be no surprise to me if he's picking up the Claret Jug on Sunday night."

McDowell birdied the second and ninth in a battling outward 34, and although he flirted with the cut line after dropping three shots in five holes after the turn, he refused to rule out his own chances of Open glory.

"But I'm not writing off the rest of the field. There's quality players there in this field, and I'm certainly not writing myself off.

"The big key for me on Saturday is to get out there and get focused on my own game, try to shoot four or five under par and - who knows - I might have a shot come Sunday afternoon."

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Clarke Savours Castle Stuart Return

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Darren Clarke will reach a notable milestone when he competes in this year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart Golf Links near Inverness.

The Northern Irishman clocks up his 20th appearance in the tournament, from July 11-14, as he seeks to recapture the spirit which helped inspire him to Major Championship glory at the age of 42 at Royal St.George’s back in 2011.

Remarkably, Clarke will be teeing up professionally in Scotland, the Home of Golf, for the 53rd time in total, encompassing 20 Scottish Opens, 12 Open Championships, 12 Alfred Dunhill Links Championships, six Alfred Dunhill Cups and three Johnnie Walker Championships.

Clarke, a winner of 14 titles on The European Tour in a glittering professional career spanning more than two decades, returns to Inverness for the 2013 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open knowing that the stunning links provides the perfect stage from which to launch another Open Championship challenge.

Two years ago, the five-time Ryder Cup player from Portrush fired rounds of 69, 67 and 75 to finish down the field in the rain-shortened event, but the opportunity to re-acquaint himself with the eccentricities of links golf was a powerful launch pad for the following week in Kent.

Clarke, who made his Scottish Open debut at Gleneagles in 1992, has come agonisingly close to winning the title on a number of occasions, most notably in 2003, 2005 and 2010 when only one player finished ahead of him on each occasion.

Seven times in the top ten, Clarke was tied second in 2003 behind Ernie Els and occupied the same position two years later, when Tim Clark captured the title. In 2010 he finished runner-up on his own, three shots behind the champion Edoardo Molinari, who also returns to Scotland for this year’s championship with his eye on a second crown.

Clarke went on to play the golf of his life in the 2011 Open Championship, savouring the finest moment of his distinguished career by claiming the Claret Jug by three strokes from Americans Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.

He said: “I am looking forward enormously to getting back to Castle Stuart. I grew up on links courses in Northern Ireland and have always had a special affinity with that style of golf. Of course, it eventually paid off when I finally won The Open at Royal St. George’s two years ago. 

“It was a moment I will never forget, but I also appreciate the importance of playing the previous week at Castle Stuart. It’s the ideal way to prepare for Muirfield this year, but I would love nothing better than to head into The Open with the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open title under my belt.

“I’ve been very close in the past, as my record proves, and I have always enjoyed playing in the event down the years. There is always a high quality field and it’s just the sort of intense competition I need to get into the right physical and mental shape to tackle The Open.” 

A world class field is assembling at Castle Stuart, which hosts the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open for the third consecutive year before the tournament moves to Royal Aberdeen in 2014.

Major Champions Clarke, Mickelson, Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie are joined by defending champion Jeev Milkha Singh, new BMW PGA champion Matteo Manassero and a host of other European Tour winners and Ryder Cup players on the banks of the Moray Firth.

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