She loves me, she loves me not

Graeme McDowell: "I love Melbourne and I love the golf course, but I'm not myself because I'm very frustrated and angry because of what the set-up does to you." Picture: Getty Images Source: Michael Dodge / Getty Images

HE spoke with a surreal combination of someone in complete love, but who'd just been beaten around the head mercilessly for five hours.

Graeme McDowell loves Royal Melbourne, in fact the entire Sandbelt. It's not going too far to say it's becoming a fascination.

So much so that after an extraordinary 36 holes including 11 birdies, eight bogeys, three double-bogeys and an eagle, the world No. 12 said he had considered moving here to practise before next year's British Open.

The Northern Irishman said after his anything but even round of even-par 71 left him at one over and still in the mix that he's as "frustrated as hell".

"(Playing partner) Jonas Blixt just told me there's a punch bag back at the hotel - we're going to meet there this evening and beat the s--- out of it," he joked.

"Don't mistake my negativity for whining and moaning about the conditions ... I genuinely love this course.

"The firmness of this course … is a great challenge and one that I think is a lost art among tour players.

Graeme McDowell throws his club back to his caddy on the 10th fairway as he comes to terms with the Royal Melbourne layout. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

"You get one shot a year at the British Open. At one point I was thinking I need to come and spend two months down here and learn how to play this type of golf again because to win the Open, this is what you've got to master.

"This is what Muirfield was like (in July)."

Just as in his roller-coaster opening round, fan favourite McDowell looked set to tear the course apart several times with a string of early birdies yesterday.

But when he hit a bad shot and slammed his club into the deck or muttered to his caddie, you could see the normally unflappable US Open champ wasn't at ease with the world.

"It's driving me insane, quietly," he said with a wry grin.

"I love Melbourne and I love the golf course, but I'm not myself because I'm very frustrated and angry because of what the set-up does to you.

"It's major-esque because you need to control your emotions to have a chance to score around here.

"I'm not completely in control of my golf ball and I'm not scoring well around the greens which is doubly annoying so these last two days are a case of what could have been.

"I've thrown three doubles at it … and I'm making uncharacteristic errors driven largely because I'm not controlling my emotions well enough out there because you feel like you should do better.

Graeme McDowell hits out of the rough on the eighth hole. Picture: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

"But then you look at the scoreboard and it's beating everyone up - it's tough, a great challenge."

The most perplexing of the challenges to baffle McDowell yesterday was his 155m approach to the 10th hole that he simply couldn't believe trickled into the back bunker from where he couldn't salvage par despite a great trap shot.

"I'm going in there with a little cut 8-iron and allowing for 20 yards release and it goes over the back - it drives you insane - they're real British Open style greens.

"It's such a great course from the point of view that it begs you to take it on, then the second you do, it completely embarrasses you.

"I'm just making too many bogeys for this level of golf.

"But at +1, I just need to post two good rounds and … I could get back into top five or 10.

"Because I've made so many birdies and so many great strides forward, it's driving me insane to throw as many (shots) back to the course as I have.

"It's a lost art to score around these greens, even on someone like myself who grew up on links courses.

"I don't get a chance to experience this firmness and speed and brutality around the greens. It's brilliant. I just need to embrace the challenge a bit more this weekend."

Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang

She loves me, she loves me not

Dengan url

http://sportifoclube.blogspot.com/2013/11/she-loves-me-she-loves-me-not.html

Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya

She loves me, she loves me not

namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link

She loves me, she loves me not

sebagai sumbernya