Graeme McDowell misses a putt in Abu Dhabi at the start of the season. Picture Fran Caffrey/www.golffile.ieGraeme McDowell took 34 putts in a one over 71 to miss the cut by two shots in The McGladrey Classic.

It was his seventh missed cut of the year, the others coming in Bay Hill, The Masters, New Orleans, the BMW PGA, The Open and the US PGA.

McDowell’s putting was sensational last year. His maiden major win in the US Open was one of four worldwide while he also holed a crucial putt to help Europe win back the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

This year it has been far less reliable but he can still turn a poor season into an acceptable one over the last three months of the year.

The Ulsterman will play another seven events before Christmas, starting with his defence of the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama in two weeks.

After that the world No. 14 will play in the WGC-HSBC Champions, the Barclays Singapore Open, the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Japan, the Mission Hills World Cup (with Rory McIlroy), the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the Dubai World Championship.