Dougherty admits ' I hate playing golf at the moment'

12:51pm Thursday 10th July 2008

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Chorley's Nick Dougherty admits he is not in the right frame of mind ahead of next week’s Open Championship – going as far as to ‘hating’ golf at the moment.

The 26-year-old Shaw Hill professional made the confession after a downturn in form, that has seen him exit the top ten of Europe’s Ryder Cup points table, coupled with the emotional drain that followed the death of his mother Ennis earlier this summer.

With just a week to go before the Open at Royal Birkdale, Liverpudlian-born Dougherty would back himself to feature heavily up the leaderboard considering his knowledge of the West Lancashire Links course.

But ahead of today’s Scottish Open, Dougherty feels he is lacking the required motivation to grasp his first ever Major.

“It has been a tough year and I just haven’t got the heart for it right now. I don’t really want to be here. I’ve never felt like that before,” said Dougherty.

“I could think of 100 places I’d rather be than on a golf course and that’s not like me to feel like that.

“If it wasn’t for the Ryder Cup standings I just wouldn’t play.

“I’d definitely take a couple of months off, even with The Open coming up.

“I just need to get away from the game because it is just chewing me up.

“It gets to the stage where you hate playing golf and I’m really hating playing golf at the moment.

“When you’re just not with it every time you go out it is depressing.”