Graeme McDowell hit a shot worthy of a major champion Monday morning at the OHL Classic and it put an end to the worst slump of his career.
McDowell found himself in a three-way playoff at El Camaleon Golf Club when Russell Knox bogeyed the 72nd hole to fall back to 18-under par with McDowell and Jason Bohn.
McDowell finished a hole in front of Knox and Bohn and had to watch and wait. He got what he waited for.
The former U.S. Open champ from Northern Ireland hit 3-wood off 18, the first playoff hole and it paid huge dividends.
“A perfect 3-wood and as good a 5-iron as I can hit,” is how McDowell described his second shot from about 200 yards. He watched as it stopped but two and a half feet from the hole. “I could tell by the crowd it was good,” he said afterward.
The shot jolted Bohn and Knox. Bohn’s second was 25-feet from the hole while Knox missed the green left.
Both made pars and McDowell calmly holed his birdie putt to put an end to a winless streak of more than two years. His last win came at the 2013 RBC Heritage at Hilton Head.
“It really gives me something to grab on to,” said McDowell, who was in danger of losing his exempt status on the PGA Tour. “Am I good enough, am I finished?” He said those thoughts crossed his mind at various times during his difficult slump. “It’s been a tough year. I kept grinding. This is special. This is a nice step back to where I want to be.”
Both McDowell and Knox closed with 66s, Bohn shot 68 to earn his playoff spot.
McDowell reached 19-under par through 15 holes but bogeyed the 16th. It could have been costly had it not been for Knox making bogey at the 72nd.
