McDowell upbeat for 2022 as Mehaffey and Craig make LET Q-School
Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland plays his stroke from the No. 2 tee during Round 1 of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, November 12, 2020.
Graeme McDowell is looking to hit the ground running in 2022 after finishing tied fifth behind Kevin Na and Jason Kokrak in the QBE Shootout in Florida.
The Portrush ace (42) and Canadian Corey Conners closed with an eight-under 64 in the better-ball format at Tiburón Golf Club in Naples but finished five shots behind Kevin Na and Jason Kokrak, who blasted a 12-under 60 to win by a shot from Billy Horschel and Sam Burns on 33-under.
“The driver’s been a big area where we have been working but I drove the ball great this week,” McDowell said after pocketing €142,266 for his efforts. “But I sacrificed my iron play a little bit. That was a bit of a weakness this week. My iron play wasn’t as sharp as it could have been.
“Wedge play was sharp but I didn’t putt well again and have work to do there but I have some momentum the last few months and I’m taking some confidence into these three or four weeks off.
“I am not planning an offseason as such. I will just try and keep the game ticking over and get back out there for the Sony Open and get the head down and play some good golf”.
Na and Kokrak came from three shots behind Jason Day and Marc Leishman, rattling off 13 birdies, including nine in a row from the sixth and three more to finish to win by one stroke from Horschel and Burns, who shot 61
Meanwhile, Co Down’s Olivia Mehaffey (24) cruised through pre-qualifying for this week’s Ladies European Tour Q-School at La Manga Club in Spain.
Teeing it up for her father Philip, who passed away on December 3 after a long battle with cancer, she closed with a level par 71 to finish third on six-under-par, three shots behind Sweden’s Lisa Pettersson.
“It has been good,” said Mehaffey, who birdied the first and second before dropping shots at the fourth and 15th. “I had six weeks off before this, so it has been a nice way to ease in before next week and I’m pretty happy.
“I hit a lot of greens. There are few things I want to work on before next week, but it was really fun to learn both courses and get back into competitive golf again.”
Clandeboye’s Victoria Craig (24) also made it through to the 90-hole Final Qualifier which begins on Thursday with the top 20 and ties earning full cards.
Craig chiselled out 17 pars and a birdie in a one-under 72 on the North Course to finish tied 67th on 11-over, one stroke inside the qualifying mark as Pettersson (26) closed with a level par 73 to win by a shot on nine-under from Nigeria’s Georgia Iziemgbe Oboh