GRAEME MCDOWELL ADMITS that he regrets some of the comments he made when he first joined LIV Golf, and feels that he should have been more upfront with his reasons for joining the breakaway golf tour.
McDowell is set to tee it up at LIV Virginia this week against the backdrop of continuing uncertainty about the tour’s viability and future. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) confirmed that it will stop funding LIV at the end of the 2026 season, forcing the tour to begin a search for new “long-term financial partners” in order to survive.
McDowell was widely criticised for some of the early comments he made on joining LIV in 2022, where he said that he was “proud” to help Saudi Arabia “use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be” and “help grow the sport”, and subsequently revealed that he was receiving death threats on social media.
“And then these guys came along and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this tour. Do you want to come play?’ I love playing. I love competing.
I regret a few things I said in the beginning, stuff like growing the game. I should have just said it for what it was: this is good for my bank account, and I’m getting a runway to play the game of golf for as long as I possibly can.
McDowell is uncertain about LIV’s future without the support of the PIF, who have reportedly ploughed over €4.3 billion ($5 billion) into the tour over the past five years.
Before the news of the PIF’s withdrawal, McDowell said earlier this year that he is considering re-applying for membership of the DP World Tour, with a view to playing at the Irish Open and opening the door to potential involvement in next year’s Ryder Cup at Adare Manor.
“There are people who hate this, hate this product with passion, and they can’t wait for it to fail,” he said. “I partly get it, and I partly don’t get it.
“It’s a little sad on some levels. I guess it comes from a traditionalist, protective… trying to protect what this game is on a lot of levels, which is history, tradition, legacy.
“But I love a lot about it. I feel very fortunate that it came along [when] it did, just on a personal level.”
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McDowell's LIV regret: 'I should have just said it for what it was: this is good for my bank account'
GRAEME MCDOWELL ADMITS that he regrets some of the comments he made when he first joined LIV Golf, and feels that he should have been more upfront with his reasons for joining the breakaway golf tour.
McDowell is set to tee it up at LIV Virginia this week against the backdrop of continuing uncertainty about the tour’s viability and future. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) confirmed that it will stop funding LIV at the end of the 2026 season, forcing the tour to begin a search for new “long-term financial partners” in order to survive.
McDowell was widely criticised for some of the early comments he made on joining LIV in 2022, where he said that he was “proud” to help Saudi Arabia “use the game of golf as a way for them to get to where they want to be” and “help grow the sport”, and subsequently revealed that he was receiving death threats on social media.
“I was ready to jump ship and go get a real job,” McDowell said in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
“And then these guys came along and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to do this tour. Do you want to come play?’ I love playing. I love competing.
McDowell is uncertain about LIV’s future without the support of the PIF, who have reportedly ploughed over €4.3 billion ($5 billion) into the tour over the past five years.
Before the news of the PIF’s withdrawal, McDowell said earlier this year that he is considering re-applying for membership of the DP World Tour, with a view to playing at the Irish Open and opening the door to potential involvement in next year’s Ryder Cup at Adare Manor.
“There are people who hate this, hate this product with passion, and they can’t wait for it to fail,” he said. “I partly get it, and I partly don’t get it.
“It’s a little sad on some levels. I guess it comes from a traditionalist, protective… trying to protect what this game is on a lot of levels, which is history, tradition, legacy.
“But I love a lot about it. I feel very fortunate that it came along [when] it did, just on a personal level.”
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Golf Graeme McDowell liv golf PIF Saudi Arabia