McDowell sees big things over the horizon

Graeme McDowell flies out to his winter pad in Lake Nona, Florida, later this week having just put in place what he believes to be the final piece in the jigsaw that will move him into the "upper echelons" of world golf.

Having changed caddie, coach and golf clubs inside the past year, the 28-year-old from Portrush in Co Antrim has now switched to fledgling Dublin-based sport management company Horizon, ending his five-and-a-half-year association with the star-laden International Sports Management company.

"Stagnation is a fear of mine and this was just a personal decision to freshen things up and get a little boost of energy from a new company," said McDowell.

"ISM were absolutely the perfect fit for me in the beginning . . . but, maybe, I needed to change. My association with Chubby (Chandler, of ISM) started with a handshake and it ended with a handshake. I don't regret anything. He has got me to where I am in the world right now and I feel I am in a position to attack the upper echelons in the world rankings again. I feel like I am back on the right track again."

In leaving a stable of players that includes Ernie Els, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Rory McIlroy to join Conor Ridge's Horizon, McDowell has effectively wiped the slate clean in his bid to move back into the world's top-50 (which secures guaranteed places in the four majors and WGC events). The Ulsterman is ranked 102nd, the second-placed Irishman after British Open champion Pádraig Harrington, who is seventh.

McDowell, who won the Scandinavian Masters in 2002 in only his fourth outing on the European Tour, has not won since claiming the Italian Open in 2004.

"There's no doubt I've had more peaks and troughs than most young players . . . but I'm definitely ready to get back into the winner's enclosure again. In truth, I probably lost sight of my goals after the car crash (in 2005). I took out my PGA Tour card in 2006, physically suffered and lost my confidence.

"This is a confidence game and it has taken me a full 18 months to get back on the path. It has been a little bit of a voyage of rediscovery maybe, but I feel like I've learned a lot. Unfortunately, you've got to make mistakes sometimes to learn."

Of those dark times, that saw him fall from a high of 38th in the world rankings early in 2005, McDowell said: "I don't ever want to go there again. I've made my mistakes. I'm here in late '07 a very experienced player. I've learned from my mistakes and I am ready to go again. It has been 18 months of rebuilding, hiring and firing and getting a good team around me."

McDowell - who finished the 2007 season with a tied-fourth place at the Volvo Masters to be 37th on the final money list and has made a good start to the Ryder Cup qualifying campaign, lying 16th on the European money points list and 17th on the world rankings qualifying - believes he has put all the pieces of "Team McDowell" into place and is ready to fulfil his vast potential.

As things stand, the team McDowell has in place includes caddie Ken Comboy (the long-time bagman for Thomas Bjorn), short game coach Pete Cowen, swing coach Clive Tucker, sports psychologist Dr Karl Morris and physiotherapist Dale Richardson.

"The future is very bright for me. I'm looking forward to getting back up the world rankings and becoming a proper player again."

McDowell, who has moved home to live in Portrush, having previously based himself in Cardiff and Manchester, heads out this week for a three-week stint of warm-weather training in Florida before returning home for Christmas. Thereafter, he plans an intensive campaign that will start with the Abu Dhabi championship in January, the first of three tournaments in the Gulf region (also taking in the Qatar Masters and the Dubai Desert Classic) and the historic first ever European Tour event in India in Delhi.

"My main aims for 2008 are to make the Ryder Cup team (in Valhalla) and to win tournaments again. I want to come out firing in January. The key is not to be under pressure come June. I hope to have half the job done by then. You don't want to be going out in the main bulk of the season with your Ryder Cup life on the line. I think if I maintain the consistency of the last few months that I will be right there in the mix."

He added: "It is all about getting myself back up in the world rankings, about competing in majors and getting on the Ryder Cup team . . . as far as having a master plan is concerned, I don't have one. But I think I am back on the path to winning tournaments and not letting the rest of the stuff get in the way."