"Kept me awake at night" - Graeme McDowell opens up about LIV Golf decision

Northern Irish golfer Graeme McDowell recently appeared on the 5 Clubs podcast with Gary Williams where he discussed his move to the controversial LIV Golf series, his dream of captaining the European team, and his mates in the Saudi-backed league amongst other things.

He had said on the Asian Tour last week that his chances of playing at this year's Ryder Cup have been greatly reduced. Decisions regarding the future of LIV Golf players have been varied. While the PGA Tour banned all defectors last year, the Masters has permitted qualified players from the league to take part this year.

No concrete decision has been made regarding their participation in the 2023 Ryder Cup, but their chances seem to be rather slim. Graeme McDowell said that the decision to join LIV Golf and potentially say goodbye to the Ryder Cup and possible future TV broadcast deals were thoughts that kept him "awake at night".

"These two or three things we're talking about were the things that kept me awake at night as to whether I thought I was making the right decision or not. Are my chances greatly reduced now of ever being a part of a Ryder Cup team in any level? Yeah, of course they're greatly reduced."

Graeme McDowell at the 43rd Ryder Cup - Previews (Image via Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

He was in the running to captain the European side at the 2027 Ryder Cup at Adare Manor before joining LIV Golf. He got teary-eyed just imagining the prospect.

"Would I love to be the Ryder Cup captain in Ireland in '27? I picture myself standing there on the stage giving the opening speech looking at my team behind me. I mean, beautiful. You know, I've got a tear in my eye just thinking about it. But that wasn't a guarantee, it wasn't a given."

Graeme McDowell later laid down what the scenario would have been like if LIV Golf hadn't been in the picture.

"I was potentially gonna be against Westwood and Justin Rose for that Ryder Cup. Say LIV hadn't come along, (Westwood) would have turned Rome down so now he was looking at '27 because Poulter was gonna take '25 at Bethpage Black."

He further added:

"He said that eight years ago and wanted to get into a fight with Mickelson on the stage in New York City. I mean I haven't really thought about it, that may be one of the most fundamental things that may come out of this thing that we don't get to see Phil versus Poulter in Bethpage Black. You know, that probably won't happen now."

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"I still believe that I can win golf tournaments," - Graeme McDowell is not ready to retire anytime soon

Graeme McDowell at the PIF Saudi International - Previews (Image via Tom Dulat/Getty Images)

Graeme McDowell is a four-time Ryder Cup competitor who famously scored the winning point at Celtic Manor in 2010. He revealed on the 5 Clubs podcast with Gary Williams about how he would feel if captained captains Europe in the Ryder Cup again.

"It was a difficult one, and if I'm old and grey and 75-years-old and I look back and I never had the shot, I never captained a European team I will be incredibly disappointed."

He further talked about not being ready to retire just yet after the prospect of a possible broadcasting role came up.

"I balanced all these things up, I weighed all these things up. It was a complex equation and at the end of the day, I had to look through the short term lens. I had TV deals kind of knocking on my door, I wasn't ready for that. I wasn't ready to hang the clubs up and I had to have that conversation."

He believes that he still has a lot left in the tank and that he was not playing in LIV Golf just to pick up a pay cheque.

"Contrary to what anyone thinks, I'm not showing up at 14 LIV events this year, taking my pay cheque and going home. I still believe that I'm good enough, I still believe that I can win golf tournaments. I still believe that I can compete at any level. And that's the competitor inside of me."

Well, certainly if Graeme McDowell believes he can, he surely can. There is no doubt that he is still one of the most prominent and highly-valued players in the golfing community.

It will be interesting to see what he does in the second edition of the controversial LIV Golf series that will traverse the globe and has promised to be bigger and better than their debut season. This is quite a commitment, especially if their whopping signing amounts, fees and cash prizes are taken into consideration.