G-Mac: “Figuring Out How to Stay Sharp Between LIV Events

Graeme McDowell thoughts about his first round LIV Virginia.

all right we’ve got uh Smash GC’s Graham McDow four under 67 today put you in a tie for third right now uh can you just sum up the the day for us yeah we go um you know solid day hit a lot of greens um uh you know been working pretty hard on my game the last few weeks i really been feeling it trending in the right direction this golf course you know the way it’s set up you know you got to drive it well get it in play off the tea and then you know really be sharp with your irons because these you know Robert Tron Jones likes these little sections in the greens and you got to be uh you got to be pretty accurate so I was super happy with a lot of shots I hit today um you know the break kind of killed my momentum a little bit it was uh you know I kind of felt a bit flat going out there after the break but it’s the same for everyone you got to get on with it um was happy to get in at 4:00 and you know we’ll reset and got a lot of work to do boogie freeze a day yeah bogey freeze are always nice um you know big part of my game lately is that I haven’t really been making a lot of mistakes but I haven’t been making enough birdies either so it was nice to make you know four out there today and you know obviously have to uh make a bunch more if I want to try and hang in there this weekend and try and compete give myself a chance to uh be there Sunday afternoon which is what it’s all about wanted to ask you about this course and especially veteran experience you’ve got you Philist here Marty Kimer’s type for the lead do you feel like it’s a course that kind of requires some experience yeah I think um you know historically I have like golf courses that require you to you maybe think a little bit about what you’re doing um you know it’s not just a kind of point and shoot it’s very much a kind of a you know what side of this flag do I need to be on you know the pins were I thought some of the pins were pretty tucked out there you had to be smart you had to be on the correct side of it you know they’re firm and fast enough and the rough’s just kind of gnarly enough where you know if you do short side yourself you’re in trouble you know so it requires a little bit of thought and a little bit of time coming into the greens i spent some extra times the last couple days just really trying to figure out where to be on these greens and uh place is just unbelievable condition um you know if you play good you can you can you can kind of make a bunch of birdies but this golf course you know will quickly find you out so like you say interesting to see some kind of more veteran type players out there you know that have been been around the block a few times some some more than others all right we’ll open it up for questions for GMAC matt over here to the left gma there’s a lot of talk at times when when players are off for a while with developing Rust is it kind of the opposite for veteran players like yourself where it gives you a chance to reset and recharge and and get ready yeah good question you know I mean I have to say my first couple of seasons in Liv I I I struggled with it honestly uh I struggled with having as much time off as we do have um you know used to playing 25 to 30 times a year and all of a sudden you know I think I played 16 times last year so that that’s that’s a that’s a lot less volume for me which you know is it’s a two-sided coin because less volume means you know more time to you know kind of look after your body look after your health mentally more than anything perhaps um but at the same time like you say it’s easy to come out here and maybe not be as sharp as you need to be so you know I played the US Open qualifier in a Monday which I saw as a a big benefit kind of win lose or draw because I you know 36 holes with a card in your pocket coming into a week like this after after four weeks off so I really felt like that that was a big help because I at least I came out of there you know disappointed not to play better but um I came out of there knowing where my game was at coming into this weekend and probably a little sharper than I would have been without that so um it is something I’ve you know I’ve had to figure out a little bit the last couple of seasons i feel like I’m getting better at it um you know I used to I used to wonder how Tiger did it you I mean obviously he was really good so that helped but um you know to play as little as he did and to show up kind of so sharp and so ready to play every you know it’s a it’s an art form and uh something I struggle with early on in my live career and I feel like I’m starting to get my head around it a little bit and and and doing a better job showing up you know after two three weeks off ready to go wanted to ask you one question about uh obviously we’re the Open’s going to your own stomping grounds um you’ve got this tournament you’ve got the one in Dallas uh obviously you want to try to get into that uh with one of the qualifiers what’s your mindset how much focus do you have on getting back to Royal Port Rush yeah I mean listen with the Open going back to Royal Port Rush this year it’s you know it’s been a big focus i went to Macau chasing a few of those spots didn’t get didn’t get it done there um so like you said I’ll play Dallas and then I’ll fly straight to London i’ll go down to the uh the qualifier i’m going to Royal St reports on the Tuesday right after Dallas so maybe not the most unbelievable prep in the world coming in from Dallas to London but uh I’ll be pretty fired up you know i mean it’ll be it would be a dream it was a dream come true to be there in 19 actually the RBC Canadian Opens this week i I may you know I qualified via the RBC Canadian Open in 19 to get into the Open um you know and obviously uh I’ll go to Sink Ports and and it’ll be it’ll be a big day for me i’m excited um it’ll certainly be bittersweet to to not be there um but uh I’ll definitely be giving him my full attention and uh be trying hard it would be it’d be amazing i mean it’s going to be you know with everything that Rory’s done this year you know with Shane being the defending champion go back to Port Rush it’s going to be a special week and uh it goes without saying that I’d love to be part of it all right any other questions for GMAC all right we appreciate the time all the best this weekend thanks