McDOWELL IMPRESSED BY BULGARIAN VENUE FOR MATCH-PLAY
NEWS RELEASE FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Graeme
McDowell is hoping the Volvo World Match-Play Championship’s pioneering
visit to Bulgaria will inspire him to go one better than last year when
he finished runner-up to Nicolas Colsaerts.
McDowell
was suitably impressed by the quite stunning Thracian Cliffs and Beach
Resort ahead of his first-round matches against Stephen Gallacher and
Chris Wood in the Seve Ballesteros group, with the top two going through
to the weekend
knock-out rounds.
Bulgaria is the 40th
different country to stage a European Tour event, and 2010 US Open
Champion McDowell cites that great variety as the tour’s unique selling
point.
“This
tournament is what The European Tour is all about really,” said
McDowell. “We have certainly been taking tournaments to new countries
and destinations around the world and really pioneering the professional
game.
“I
think the Tour has been a huge influence in Asia and other amazing
places around the world. It's cool to be able to come to a place like
Bulgaria, somewhere I've never been before, and experience a new
culture. We are introducing
this country to golf in many ways and that's what's great about The
European Tour.
“The US PGA Tour can be a little one dimensional, great conditions every week;
same conditions every week, weather and hotels and restaurants and I
think what's great about The European Tour is all new cultures and new
environments and
new places that we play. You've got to adapt your game and you've got
to dig in there sometimes.
“And
the camaraderie that this tour creates is all because of the way we
travel, I think that it's what's very unique and it's what's great about
this tour and why we are certainly trying to get behind it and try and
put it back on the
map again as far as getting more sponsors like Volvo in golf
who are really looking to grow the game globally.”
McDowell, a winner on the PGA Tour just two weeks ago, is hoping to take his winning form to Bulgaria.
“My form is really good,” he
continued. “My game is ticking over nicely, taking some nice form, and
it’s nice to be back in Europe for a couple weeks.
“This
match-play format is obviously a little fickle so you just have to take
each game as it comes. You certainly can't take anybody lightly this
weekend.
“Chris
Wood obviously won earlier in the year at Qatar, good player; I like
the way he plays, and Stephen Gallacher is one of those streaky players -
when he gets going, he's hard to beat, he's long and strikes it great.
“There
are no easy matches this week, there really isn't. It’s just a case of
getting out there and hoping you can get the job done. I don't think
there's such a thing as an easy group looking down the list, so just
have to put my head
down Thursday and Friday and hope for the best really.”
PROGRAMME OF MATCHES
Thursday
Gonzalo FERNANDEZ-CASTANO v Jamie DONALDSON
Thorbjorn OLESEN v Carl PETTERSSON
Henrik STENSON v Francesco MOLINARI
Branden GRACE v Nicolas COLSAERTS
Bo VAN PELT v Richard STERNE
Peter HANSON v George COETZEE
Ian POULTER v Thongchai JAIDEE
Graeme McDOWELL v Chris WOOD
Friday
Morning
DONALDSON v Brett RUMFORD
PETTERSSON v Scott JAMIESON
MOLINARI v Felipe AGUILAR
COLSAERTS v Kiradech APHIBARNRAT
STERNE v Geoff OGILVY
COETZEE v Shane LOWRY
JAIDEE v Thomas AIKEN
WOOD v Stephen GALLACHER
Afternoon
FERNANDEZ-CASTANO v RUMFORD
OLESEN v JAMIESON
STENSON v AGUILAR
GRACE v APHIBARNRAT
VAN PELT v OGILVY
HANSON v LOWRY
POULTER v AIKEN
McDOWELL v GALLACHER
Labels: EUROPEAN TOUR
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