McDowell receives US PGA invitation
Graeme McDowell in action in the RBC Canadian Open.
Graeme McDowell will have a chance to give his season a major kick start after receiving a special invitation from the PGA of America to tee it up the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow from August 10-13.
The four-time Ryder Cup player, who missed the cut in the RBC Canadian Open on Friday, is ranked 101st in the world and therefore outside the automatic qualifying places for the final major of the season.
However, the 2010 US Open champion teed it up in Canada knowing his place in the US PGA field was safe having received an invitation from the PGA of America earlier in the week to join Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry in the field at Quai Hollow.
McDowell, who celebrates his 38th birthday on Sunday, has missed four of his last five cuts on both sides of the pond and is projected to fall to 125th in the FedEx Cup standings after missing the cut by five strokes in Canada following rounds of 74 and 73.
With only the top 125 after the Wyndham Championship making the FedEx Cup playoffs, McDowell may need a solid week in the final major of the season or at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro to make the playoffs.
The same applies to Shane Lowry, whose season is rapidly descending into the realms of major disappointment after he missed the cut at Glen Abbey last night.
The 30-year old has not qualified for next week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and is projected to fall to 143rd in the FedEx Cup standings.
Lowry carded a one over par 73 in the second round Glen Abbey Golf Club to miss the cut by two strokes on two-under par.
But it was a good second day for Seamus Power, who goes into today's third round tied for 36th on six-under, six shots behind leader Martin Flores.
Power is 140th in the FedEx Cup standings and has two more events after this week to make the top 125 as he joins Padraig Harrington in next week's Barracuda Championship in Reno before heading to Greensboro.
For Power to reach in the top 125 in the FedExCup Season Points standings he needs to win 56 more points, which would require him to finish tied fifth or higher this week.
