Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell says he hopes the “nasty narrative” around LIV Golf will end now the league’s funding won’t come from Saudi Arabia.
McDowell was among the first wave of players to be recruited by the breakaway tour in 2022.
Alongside his former European Ryder Cup teammates such as Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, McDowell endured a tough period facing questions about the source of LIV’s funding.
The backlash was so severe that the Northern Irishman, now 46, even received death threats and his family were subjected to abuse.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated ahead of LIV Golf’s latest event in Virginia amid a turbulent period for the league, McDowell expressed regret about some of the comments he made four years ago.
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“Stuff like ‘growing the game,'” McDowell told the publication.
“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 added: “I don’t think we could have ever imagined how deep this would go. The hatred.
“It’s funny, but if we can shift the narrative away from Saudi Arabia and bring some U.S. money and get rid of that narrative, because that narrative is just nasty.”
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund announced last week that they would no longer bankroll LIV Golf beyond 2026.
Two new board members, Gene Davis and Jon Zinman, have been hired to identify “long-term strategic investment partners”.
An investment bank has also been hired to advise on their new “multi-partner model”.
LIV’s chief executive, Scott O’Neil, was bullish about the future during his news conference held on Tuesday and is confident the league is “where players want to be”.
Jon Rahm and his Legion XIII team address the media on Tuesday
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McDowell said: “When you’ve kind of got the type of cash that we had in the beginning for a startup company, it was a little crazy and maybe not very real.
“It’s kind of like we’re turning 18 now. I’m going to go into the real world. We got to fend for ourselves a little bit. We try to make this into legit business.”
Several LIV players have reportedly put out feelers to the PGA and DP World Tour to see if they would be welcomed back into the fold.
Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau confirmed on Tuesday he has held talks with the PGA Tour about a return but is reluctant to do so if LIV doesn’t survive as he believes the penalties would be too severe.
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DeChambeau said he is likely to focus on growing his YouTube channel if LIV Golf doesn’t survive.
Jon Rahm said he “doesn’t see a way out” of his contract that expires after the 2028 season.
Jon Rahm
“I don’t know where this is going to go,” McDowell said.
“There’s a lot of players out here that if this goes away, they’ve got nowhere to go.
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“Do they deserve that? Is that their own fault? There’s a lot of people out here that have their jobs tied to this, people who work here.
“All the negativity on social media the last three weeks … it just disappoints me on so many levels.
“There are people who hate this, hate this product with a passion, and they can’t wait for it to fail.
“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.
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“But I love a lot about it. I feel very, I feel very fortunate that it came along what it did just on a personal level.”
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