GRAEME MCDOWELL LEFT Pebble Beach with a smile on his face after racing up the leaderboard on Sunday, finishing in a tie for seventh.

Playing his first tournament after eight weeks off the course, McDowell closed out with a 67 to finish on six-under par, five shots behind winner Jimmy Walker.

“I played pretty well Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and just really made nothing on the greens,” McDowell said. “Today the putter got a little hot.”

McDowell’s playing partner at the annual pro-am was his dad Kenny and, added to his encouraging form on the course, it all made for a “fun week.”

“It was nice to kind of come back here and play as well as I have and post some sort of a decent finish after eight weeks off, really pleasing.

“[There's] some good stuff to work on here on my week off and [it was] a pleasing way to finish the week.

“A dream week really, like I say, having the chance to be out here and play with my dad in this tournament. It’s a dream come true for everyone.”

Padraig Harrington finished in a tie for 27th on two-under-par.