For a magazine like Golf Monthly, investing in a current player as a columnist is decidedly dicey territory – what happens if said player hits a slump, can’t make a cut to save his life?
You have to do your research wisely and that was very much the case when they plumped for Graeme McDowell, the 2010 US Open champion, as their option and got some fascinating copy as a consequence. In February 2011, McDowall took us through what it was like to play with Tiger Woods on the final day of a tournament, going for the win.
“You’ve got to acclimatise to it because there’s a circus that goes with playing with Tiger. There’s an aura around him, a buzz, the fans and so on, and it does take a bit of getting used to it.”
Getting used to it McDowall did because despite trailing Woods by four shots going into the last round of the Chevron World Challenge, and being told that he had won 28 out of 28 tournaments where he had enjoyed a three shot lead going into the last round,
Going down the 18th, they were tied. “For me to then hole my left-to-righter to force extra holes was amazing: to do the exact same thing to win the play-off was incredible. Playing with Tiger over the weekend and getting the job done is yet another 2010 highlight for me.”
There’s more from McDowall’s column in February 2011 here, and plenty more from him across the pages of Golf Monthly.
