McDowell battling to avoid another missed cut

Six missed fairways and an average day on the greens proved costly for Graeme McDowell in the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey. Graeme McDowell’s rollercoaster season shows now sign of slowing down after he was left facing his sixth missed cut in 10 starts after taking 32 putts in four over 76 in the RBC Canadian Open.

McDowell has had three wins already this year but his poor weeks have been very costly and he is now four shots outside the cut mark, tied for 141st in the 155-man field at Glen Abbey.

After an early birdie at the par-five second, the world No 8 three-putted the sixth and seventh - missing from six feet for par at the former and just two feet at the next to turn in one over par.

A poor approach to the 11th from the middle of the fairway cost him another shot and with his patience running low, he had to grind for pars at the 12th and 13th before dropping three strokes in four holes from the 14th.

Left off the tee at the 14th, the shot that caused him problems in The Open at Muirfield, McDowell then took three to get down from just over the par-five 16th, missing a seven footer for par.

Indeed, he did well just to drop one shot at the 17th, where he was bunkered left from the tee, laid up and then overshot the green with his pitch and fluffed the next one just a few feet before holing from 30 feet off the green for bogey.

A birdie four from six feet at the 18th eased some of his pain but at four over he’s 11 shots behind leader Brendan Steele, whose 65 gave him a one-stroke lead over Scott Brown, Matt Kuchar and Australian Scott Gardiner.