'Still something left in the tank'
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell says contending for his first LIV Golf title reminded him that he still has "something left in the tank". The 2010 US Open champion led during the final round in Virginia on Sunday before being edged out by Chile's Joaquin Niemann, who shot an eight-under 63 to clinch his fourth win of the season. McDowell, whose last win came at the Saudi International in February 2020, made just two bogeys across the three rounds to finish one stroke behind Niemann. "I'm very proud of what I'm doing out here and the way I've committed myself to continuing to work, continuing to grind, and sometimes you need a little something back just to remind you that you've still got something left in the tank," said the former world number four.
McDowell carded five birdies in a bogey-free 66 on Sunday, but his momentum was stalled by two weather delays as heavy rain hit Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. After a birdie on the 17th, the 45-year-old gave himself the chance to match Niemann's 15-under mark on the final green, but missed his putt on the left."I'm happy with the fight. It was tough to keep the momentum going with the breaks. I just asked Joaco [Niemann]'s caddie what they did in the second break because whatever they did was good," added the four-time Ryder Cup player. "It's hard to play loose when you need it, when you kind of haven't been there for a while. "But I was really happy the way I composed myself generally today. Drove the ball great. I felt pretty comfortable out there."Hopefully a big summer ahead, and like I said in the presser, [I've] been so disappointed with my general performance on LIV this to point, this is what I expect of myself still. Really nice to get the juices flowing a little bit. I'm super excited about the week."
McDowell focused on Portrush return
Having failed to qualify for the US Open last week, McDowell is targeting a return to major competition on home soil at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush next month.He finished tied for 57th when the Open returned to Portrush in 2019. He will play in the next LIV event in Dallas on 29 June before attempting to qualify for the Open in the final qualifying event at Royal Cinque Ports in Kent. "I'm going to use this as momentum to take forward to Dallas and then on to the British Open qualifier," said McDowell, who has not played in a major since the 2020 US Open. "Setting my sights on those two weeks. Dallas is a course that I've looked at and I like it."
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