07-16-2008, 10:42 AM
http://www.al.com/uab/birminghamnews/ind...xml&coll=2
UAB golf coach Alan Kaufman will stay glued to his television set this weekend as he watches a former pupil chase what would easily be the biggest win of a relatively young golf career.
But the veteran coach insists he won't get nervous if former Blazer Graeme McDowell (pronounced Mc-Doe-el) finds himself in the hunt for the British Open championship.
"There's not much you can do about it here," Kaufman said. "And he's just playing good. It's a very satisfying feeling watching him play."
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McDowell, the most decorated golfer to play at UAB, is playing better than ever entering Thursday's first round at Royal Birkdale in Southport, Merseyside England.
The 28-year-old Northern Ireland native is four days removed from winning the Scottish Open. The win was his fourth on the European Tour over the past seven seasons and moved him to second in the European Tour Order of Merit and 29th in the world rankings. It also may have solidified a spot in September's Ryder Cup as he remained sixth in the race for the 10 spots on Team Europe.
McDowell, who finished third in the European Open, the tournament before the Scottish Open, also carries plenty of momentum into the only one of the PGA Tour's four major tournaments that he has led during his career. McDowell earned that lead on opening day in 2006 when he fired a 66 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. However, his lead vanished quickly and McDowell finished tied for 61st.
"When I led in 2006, I wasn't playing particularly well," McDowell said in story posted on europeantour.com. "I just had one of those rounds where everything went in the fairway and I holed a few putts and, bang, I was leading the Open. But I didn't have the belief in my swing that I do now."
Although McDowell has split time between the PGA and European Tours since turning pro in 2002, he has spent most of his time on the European Tour. His most profitable seasons on the PGA Tour came in 2005 and 2006 when he combined for $1.7 million in tournament winnings. His best finish on the European Tour was in 2004 when he finished sixth in the Order of Merit winnings.
Kaufman didn't expect that kind of future success when he first met McDowell. In fact, Kaufman knew nothing about McDowell when he went looking for some players to add to his roster in 1999.
"I asked Chris Devlin, who played here, if he knew anybody," Kaufman said. "He gave me two names and I didn't know one from the other. The first guy I called had already committed to another school so I called Graeme. He came for a visit, liked what he saw and came to school here."
It wasn't instant success. McDowell was nothing special as a freshman but went home to Ireland the following summer and won six tournaments. His summer performance jump-started a college career that culminated with a then-NCAA record stroke average of 69.6 as a senior.
He won six of 12 tournaments his senior year and was awarded the Fred Haskins Award, given to the top college golfer in the nation in 2002.
Kaufman said McDowell is still making an impact on the UAB program.
"You name drop like everything else," Kaufman said. "These high school players know a whole lot about what's happening. Obviously, it's a tremendous tool for recruiting." Check out Irvine's blog at blog.al.com/offthevine. sirvine@bhamnews.com.
UAB golf coach Alan Kaufman will stay glued to his television set this weekend as he watches a former pupil chase what would easily be the biggest win of a relatively young golf career.
But the veteran coach insists he won't get nervous if former Blazer Graeme McDowell (pronounced Mc-Doe-el) finds himself in the hunt for the British Open championship.
"There's not much you can do about it here," Kaufman said. "And he's just playing good. It's a very satisfying feeling watching him play."
Advertisement
McDowell, the most decorated golfer to play at UAB, is playing better than ever entering Thursday's first round at Royal Birkdale in Southport, Merseyside England.
The 28-year-old Northern Ireland native is four days removed from winning the Scottish Open. The win was his fourth on the European Tour over the past seven seasons and moved him to second in the European Tour Order of Merit and 29th in the world rankings. It also may have solidified a spot in September's Ryder Cup as he remained sixth in the race for the 10 spots on Team Europe.
McDowell, who finished third in the European Open, the tournament before the Scottish Open, also carries plenty of momentum into the only one of the PGA Tour's four major tournaments that he has led during his career. McDowell earned that lead on opening day in 2006 when he fired a 66 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. However, his lead vanished quickly and McDowell finished tied for 61st.
"When I led in 2006, I wasn't playing particularly well," McDowell said in story posted on europeantour.com. "I just had one of those rounds where everything went in the fairway and I holed a few putts and, bang, I was leading the Open. But I didn't have the belief in my swing that I do now."
Although McDowell has split time between the PGA and European Tours since turning pro in 2002, he has spent most of his time on the European Tour. His most profitable seasons on the PGA Tour came in 2005 and 2006 when he combined for $1.7 million in tournament winnings. His best finish on the European Tour was in 2004 when he finished sixth in the Order of Merit winnings.
Kaufman didn't expect that kind of future success when he first met McDowell. In fact, Kaufman knew nothing about McDowell when he went looking for some players to add to his roster in 1999.
"I asked Chris Devlin, who played here, if he knew anybody," Kaufman said. "He gave me two names and I didn't know one from the other. The first guy I called had already committed to another school so I called Graeme. He came for a visit, liked what he saw and came to school here."
It wasn't instant success. McDowell was nothing special as a freshman but went home to Ireland the following summer and won six tournaments. His summer performance jump-started a college career that culminated with a then-NCAA record stroke average of 69.6 as a senior.
He won six of 12 tournaments his senior year and was awarded the Fred Haskins Award, given to the top college golfer in the nation in 2002.
Kaufman said McDowell is still making an impact on the UAB program.
"You name drop like everything else," Kaufman said. "These high school players know a whole lot about what's happening. Obviously, it's a tremendous tool for recruiting." Check out Irvine's blog at blog.al.com/offthevine. sirvine@bhamnews.com.