PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida, May 10 (Reuters) - Britain's Graeme McDowell is looking to put his poor recent form behind him and launch a bid to defend his U.S. Open crown with a good showing at this week's Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.
The Northern Irishman has missed the cut three times in his last four starts on the U.S. PGA Tour but believes he has put the worst behind him.
"I got off to a decent start early in the year, took about four weeks off, and haven't found the middle of the club since then pretty much," McDowell told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's been a pretty rough couple of months. I haven't really played my best by any shape or form. It's been a period of reflection, trying to work out where I go from here and just trying to re-prioritise and get my game back in shape again.
"I've been working hard the last few weeks. Had a great weekend in Orlando there with my coach, Pete Cowen, and I feel like I'm turning the corner".
McDowell gained extra encouragement from the fact that this time last year he was in similarly disappointing form before going on to win the Welsh Open and then the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June.
"At this point I've probably achieved more this season than I had in 2010," he said. "Last year turned out okay, so I'm trying to stay patient and I'm very excited about things."
The Northern Irishman won three times on the European Tour last year, including his first major title, and beat Tiger Woods in a playoff at the Chevron World Challenge in California in December.
McDowell, the world number five, has his eye on the top spot and believes he can achieve his goal because of the recent fluidity at the game's pinnacle.
"You know, it's something that hasn't been very achievable so far in my golf career in the Tiger Woods era, with his domination of the world rankings and the amount of daylight that he put between first and second," McDowell said.
"Things have changed. It's a very achievable target for me. My highest ranking so far is number four and I'm currently fifth in the world.
"I realise if I can even get to 75 percent of the form I had this time last year over the summer, it's certainly an achievable goal for me."
The Northern Irishman has missed the cut three times in his last four starts on the U.S. PGA Tour but believes he has put the worst behind him.
"I got off to a decent start early in the year, took about four weeks off, and haven't found the middle of the club since then pretty much," McDowell told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's been a pretty rough couple of months. I haven't really played my best by any shape or form. It's been a period of reflection, trying to work out where I go from here and just trying to re-prioritise and get my game back in shape again.
"I've been working hard the last few weeks. Had a great weekend in Orlando there with my coach, Pete Cowen, and I feel like I'm turning the corner".
McDowell gained extra encouragement from the fact that this time last year he was in similarly disappointing form before going on to win the Welsh Open and then the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June.
"At this point I've probably achieved more this season than I had in 2010," he said. "Last year turned out okay, so I'm trying to stay patient and I'm very excited about things."
The Northern Irishman won three times on the European Tour last year, including his first major title, and beat Tiger Woods in a playoff at the Chevron World Challenge in California in December.
McDowell, the world number five, has his eye on the top spot and believes he can achieve his goal because of the recent fluidity at the game's pinnacle.
"You know, it's something that hasn't been very achievable so far in my golf career in the Tiger Woods era, with his domination of the world rankings and the amount of daylight that he put between first and second," McDowell said.
"Things have changed. It's a very achievable target for me. My highest ranking so far is number four and I'm currently fifth in the world.
"I realise if I can even get to 75 percent of the form I had this time last year over the summer, it's certainly an achievable goal for me."
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