Graeme McDowell is no stranger to slumps. In fact, he had one shortly after he won the 2010 United States Open. Still, it didn’t take him long to recover. He had solid seasons in 2012 and 2013, and the manner in which he rebounded to crowd the top of the sport gave rise to the contention that he would have plenty more highs than lows. In his own words, however, life “just got in the way,” and he saw bliss off the course, courtesy of marriage and fatherhood, coinciding with tumult inside the ropes. “I don’t think I’ve ever sat back and rested in my laurels. Just my practice changed, the time I was giving to the game changed, and I was less effective in what I was doing.”
These days, though, McDowell seems to have struck a good, if imperfect, balance among his priorities. Following up on the strides he made last year, he turned a solid showing from the get-go into victory at the Saudi International. So confident and focused was he that not even a head-scratching violation for slow play could deter him from meeting his date with fate; with his group having already been put on the clock for being out of position earlier in his second round, he found himself cited and in danger of a one-stroke penalty for any subsequent transgression after granting a television interview with a European Tour partner.
For all the fundamental incongruence of the penalty with the circuit’s desire to get closer to fans, McDowell refused to let it mark his campaign at the Al Murooj course of the Royal Greens Club. He kept his cool, and, more importantly, his eye on the ultimate prize, in the process ending a five-and-a-half-year drought on tour. The development enabled him to jump to 47th in world rankings, still far from the top but nonetheless representing significant progress from his place in the high 200s last year.
McDowell knows he won’t get plenty more chances to rub elbows with the best of the best. If anything, he understands that, at 40, his current stab might well be his last. “I’ve been working hard the last year and a half,” he contended. “I want to be back up there one more time.” Whether or not he meets the challenge is anybody’s guess. What isn’t, though, is his intent to try — and give his all in so doing.
***
POSTSCRIPT: As BusinessWorld reported yesterday, Carlo Singson will be bidding NBA Philippines goodbye. Even as the associate vice-president and managing director will be marking his last day in office on Feb. 14, the league appears to be in no hurry to name a successor. Executive vice-president and NBA Asia managing director Scott Levy will spearhead the search, which has no definite timetable.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
