McDowell ready to cope with major pressure

Graeme McDowell believes he is far better equipped to deal with the pressures of The Open Championship after the biggest win of his career.

McDowell won The Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond Golf Club last week to move to second in the European Tour Order of Merit, sixth in the Ryder Cup standings and a career-high 29th in the world.

The win was his fourth career title on the European Tour and second of the season, and followed impressive displays in the French and European Opens, where he finished third behind Sergio Garcia and Ross Fisher.

With his experience of links golf in his native Northern Ireland, McDowell is being talked of as a contender at Royal Birkdale this week.

And the 28-year-old feels his game can now stand up to the demands of leading The Open, as he did after the first round at the Hoylake in 2006.

"When I led in 2006 I wasn't playing particularly well," explained the former Walker Cup star. "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.

"I've worked very hard with my coach, Clive Tucker, over the last year and a half to have a golf swing which I can trust a bit more down the stretch under pressure. I've been able to shape the ball both ways, especially from left to right, that's a shot I've never really had in the bag over the years.

"I have a lot more belief, a lot more trust in my game than I did a couple of years ago, and if I get that chance again this week I think I'll be able to do something a little different with it."

The Open will be McDowell's fifth tournament in-a-row but he insists fatigue will not be a factor.

"It's the biggest tournament on the planet next week so I should be able to get myself up for it," he added. "But if things don't work out, so be it.

"I've given myself a great run these last three weeks. I've put some (Ryder Cup) points on the board, which is what I set out to do. I really targeted this run of five events. Hopefully I've left something in the tank.

"I really didn't have too much planned the next few days anyway as far as practice and preparation. I played the golf course already and I was really going to go with a chilled-out approach."

Elsewhere, Justin Rose feels it is time to forget the good old days and get his "game face on" ten years after his amazing fourth-place finish in The Open Championship as a 17 year old.

Rose, playing as an amateur, holed out from around 50 yards on the final hole at Royal Birkdale in 1998 to finish a shot behind Tiger Woods and just two off the play-off eventually won by Mark O'Meara.

With The Open returning to Royal Birkdale a decade later, Rose believes he should concentrate on the serious business of attempting to win a first Major after finishing in the top 12 in all four in 2007.

"But, in a sense, it's time to get the game face on and do what I need to do this week. I always feel like I've played well when it really matters, although it's going to be a different kind of week for me.

"I'm going into it feeling like the game is there or thereabouts and just hopefully a little bit of spark or something and we'll be off and running."