Graeme McDowell (born 30 July 1979) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland. He has eleven tournament victories on the European Tour, and four on the PGA Tour, including one major championship, the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. In 2022, he joined LIV Golf. McDowell has also represented Ireland at the World Cup and he has been a member of the European Ryder Cup team on four occasions. He has appeared in the top-10 in the Official World Golf Ranking, with a highest ranking position of 4th (January to March 2011).
Early life McDowell was born on 30 July 1979 in Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, and played with Rathmore Golf Club since he was eight or nine years old. His uncle, Uel Loughery, coached him there when he was younger. At the age of 14, McDowell played senior cup for Rathmore. In his teens, he attended Coleraine Academical Institution.
McDowell studied engineering at Queen's University in Belfast, then transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he played college golf through the spring of 2002. As a senior with the Blazers in 2002, McDowell won six of twelve college events and the Haskins Award, given to the outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States. He was a member of the Great Britain and Ireland team which retained the Walker Cup in 2001 at Sea Island, Georgia.
Professional career
European Tour McDowell turned professional in 2002, and won that season's Volvo Scandinavian Masters, which was only his fourth start on the European Tour. That win led to McDowell being given honorary life membership at the Royal Portrush Golf Club. He did not win in his second season, but in 2004 he claimed the Telecom Italia Open and finished sixth on the European Tour's Order of Merit. In 2005, he divided his time between the European and U.S. PGA Tours. McDowell was not yet a full member of the PGA Tour, but his top-50 placing in the Official World Golf Ranking ensured that he received invitations to play in many events in the United States.
McDowell managed two top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour, including a tie for second place at the Bay Hill Invitational, which enabled him to earn enough money to become fully exempt on the PGA Tour in 2006. He failed, however, to finish in the top-150 in the 2006 PGA Tour money list, and decided to return to the European Tour for 2007. In 2008, McDowell returned to the winner's enclosure by winning first the Ballantine's Championship in South Korea, and then the Barclays Scottish Open. He played in the 2008 Ryder Cup, earning 2.5 points for the European team and finished the season ranked fifth on the Order of Merit.
In June 2010, McDowell won the Celtic Manor Wales Open by three shots. This was his fifth European win.
In June 2010, McDowell won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, becoming the first Northern Irishman to accomplish the feat, and the first European U.S. Open winner since Tony Jacklin in 1970. McDowell was also the first player from the United Kingdom to win a major championship since Paul Lawrie won The Open Championship in 1999, and the first Northern Irishman to win a major since Fred Daly won the 1947 Open Championship. McDowell was only the second European to win the U.S. Open since 1925. He rose to number 13 in the world rankings, then a career high, and became the eighth European in the top 15.Week 25 – Graeme McDowell Wins The US Open At Pebble Beach And Jumps To World Number 13 McDowell embraced his father, Kenny, on Father's Day, and almost immediately called fellow golfer Rory McIlroy to joke about a possible partnership in the 2010 Ryder Cup. He celebrated with a large crowd, including fellow golfer Pádraig Harrington, in the United States.
There were celebrations in his native Portrush as well when news of McDowell's win broke, with "the mother of all parties" planned to get underway in the town. The "famous win" set off "a brand new life" for McDowell, according to The Guardians golf correspondent, Lawrence Donegan. The Daily Telegraphs Mark Reason opined: "The previous three tournaments in the United States have been won by Lee Westwood, Justin Rose [both English] and now McDowell. It's an unprecedented surge and America must feel like it is being invaded". McDowell's manager, Conor Ridge, accepted bookings for American TV shows, such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as well as a cameo role in Entourage. Shortly after winning the U.S. Open, McDowell joined the PGA Tour and earned a five-year exemption for winning a major.
On Monday, 4 October 2010, McDowell was charged with putting to win on the 17th green of the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor. His was the last match of the 12 player singles, with his opponent being Hunter Mahan, to win the tournament 14.5/13.5 for Europe, and it was his 5-foot putt that was conceded to give victory to Europe.
McDowell finished the 2010 season with another win at the Andalucía Valderrama Masters and was second behind Martin Kaymer in the 2010 Race to Dubai standings. On 5 December 2010, McDowell beat Tiger Woods in a playoff to win the 2010 Chevron World Challenge. McDowell and Kaymer shared the European Tour Golfer of the Year award.Historic Joint Award For Kaymer and McDowell At the end of 2010, McDowell was ranked 6th in the world.
McDowell had a solid but unspectacular season in 2011 where he did not record a win on either of the main tours. He finished third on four occasions, three on the European Tour and once on the PGA Tour. McDowell finished the year 16th on the European Tour's Race to Dubai, his year consisting of 17 out of 18 cuts made and five top-10 finishes.
PGA Tour In May 2011, McDowell was in contention to win the PGA Tour's flagship event, The Players Championship, but shot a final round 79 to end his chances. He earned over a million dollars on the PGA Tour but could only finish the year 73rd in the FedEx Cup standings.
McDowell opened up the year with a third-place finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship on the European Tour in January. He finished two strokes behind winner Robert Rock. In March 2012, McDowell recorded his joint best finish on the PGA Tour outside of his U.S. Open win, when he finished as runner-up, five strokes behind Tiger Woods at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. This was the second time McDowell had been a runner-up on the PGA Tour. Two weeks later, McDowell had his best performance at The Masters, when he finished in a tie for 12th. He shot a final round of 68 to jump up inside the top 15. McDowell was runner up in May 2012 at the Volvo World Match Play Championship at the Finca Cortesin Golf Club, losing the final 1 down to Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts. In a tight match, McDowell was never more than 2 down but was never in front in the match either. After the match he admitted that the better player won and that he played poorly, shooting five over for the round. Previously in the knockout stages, McDowell had beaten Richard Finch 3&2, Sergio García on the 19th hole and Rafa Cabrera-Bello 2 up.
In June 2012, the U.S. Open returned to California, when it was held at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, less than 100 miles from Pebble Beach, the site of McDowell's 2010 U.S. Open victory. Again he was in contention after rounds of 69-72-68 on the first three days had positioned him at one under for the championship. McDowell was tied for the lead going into the final day with Jim Furyk, both playing in the final group on Sunday. The second time in three years that McDowell had featured in the final group of the U.S. Open. Despite a disappointing front nine, where he found himself four over, he made several birdies on the back nine, including one on the 17th hole to trail by one shot with one hole to play. After a good drive and approach to the green, he was faced with a 25-foot putt to tie the lead and force a playoff, but narrowly missed it to the left and had to settle for a par. This led to McDowell finishing in a tie for second place with Michael Thompson, one stroke behind the champion, Webb Simpson. The following month, at the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes, McDowell was in contention on Sunday for the second consecutive major. He had shot rounds of 67-69-67 during the first three days to be at seven under par and trail leader Adam Scott by four strokes in second place with Brandt Snedeker. McDowell played in the final group on Sunday for the second consecutive major championship and third time overall, alongside Scott. He had a disappointing round of 75 (+5) and was never in contention for the championship all afternoon. His challenge was ended at the par five 11th, when he snap hooked his second shot into the trees left and had to take a penalty drop, costing him a bogey. He finished the championship in a tie for 5th with fellow European Luke Donald. It was however his best ever placing at The Open Championship. In December, he won the World Challenge, beating Keegan Bradley by three shots.
McDowell started the season on the PGA Tour at the Northern Trust Open, where he shot 73–72 to miss the cut. He played the following week at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship and reached the quarter-finals. It was his best ever showing at the tournament, beating Pádraig Harrington 2-up, Alex Norén in 20 holes and Shane Lowry 3&2, before losing 1-down to Jason Day in the quarter-finals.
McDowell played in The Honda Classic the week after and recorded his second consecutive top-10 with a T-9 finish. The next week he played in the final group with Tiger Woods in the WGC-Cadillac Championship and finished in a T-3 position. He missed the cut in the Masters Tournament by one stroke, bogeying the last hole. The next week he played the RBC Heritage. In the final round in stormy weather, he posted a two-under-par 69. He entered a playoff with fellow U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson. Simpson bogeyed the first hole and McDowell parred to win his first regular PGA Tour event and his first tour win since 2010.
The win moved him into 8th in the world rankings. In the 2013 Volvo World Match Play Championship, he defeated Thongchai Jaidee, 2 & 1, to win. The win moved him to the top of the Race to Dubai and 7th in the world. He missed the cut in the European Tour's flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship. In the 2013 U.S. Open he missed the cut; the event he had won in 2010. This was the first time that he had ever missed the cut in that event. In July 2013, he won the Alstom Open de France, shooting a final round of 67 to finish four shots ahead of Richard Sterne. In 2014, McDowell continued to play on both the European Tour and PGA Tour. In the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship he made comebacks including winning the 18th in each of his first 3 matches before losing to eventual runner up Victor Dubuisson in the quarter finals.
McDowell followed this up with a top-10 finish at the second World Golf Championship of the season at the Cadillac Championship, before missing the cut at the first major of the year at the Masters.
McDowell made the cut at the U.S. Open and came close to a maiden national open win at the Irish Open where he finished in a tie for 6th.
In his next event, Alstom Open de France, he recorded his only win of the season, defending the title he won in 2013 despite going into the final round 8 shots behind Kevin Stadler.
Following this McDowell continued his good form at the Open Championship with a top-10 finish, and further top-10 finishes in his next two events at the RBC Canadian Open and the Bridgestone Invitational.
At the PGA Championship, McDowell made the cut finishing in a tie of 46th, subsequently competing in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, however he failed to progress to the year end Tour Championship finishing outside the top-30 in 56th place.
McDowell qualified to represent Europe at the 2014 Ryder Cup narrowly edging Stephen Gallacher for the final place based on Official World Golf Ranking points.