Graeme McDowell to join Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC amid Jon Rahm speculations

Graeme McDowell is set to join the Brooks Koepka-led Smash GC for the upcoming season of LIV Golf after slipping into the Open Zone in the season standings.

McDowell faced a tough time in the 2023 LIV Golf season, failing to secure a top-10 finish and managing no better than a 12th-place finish in Bedminster. He concluded the season at 42nd in the standings and fell into the open zone.

For the uninitiated, the players in Open Zone (No. 25–44) have the option of either extending their contract by their current team or getting traded to another The third and final option will be to finish in the top-3 at the LIV Golf Promotions event next month.

The 2010 US Open Champion was not retained by Cleeks GC's captain Martin Kaymer, and he was on the verge of not making it to the next season. However, Koepka has offered him a new lifeline and a bit of relief for at least one more year.

Smash GC had one vacant slot after Chase Koepka ended the season in a drop zone. That means he can only rejoin the league by finishing in the top-3 at the Abu Dhabi event next month.

Smash GC features captain Brooks Koepka along with McDowell, Matt Wolff and Jason Kokrak. While Kokrak is almost certain for the next season, the five-time major champion is probably looking to replace Wolff after their tiff this year.

Cleeks also has two spots open after McDowell's switch and Bernd Wiesberger's return to the DP World Tour. Wiesberger decided to switch back to his home tour after his poor returns in his first two seasons on LIV Golf. His membership application was accepted by the European Tour last week.

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How was the 2023 season for Graeme McDowell and Cleeks GC?

Cleeks GC didn't have a great year, as three of their players finished outside the top-20 in the individual standings. Their best performer was Richard Bland, who finished 20th this season. Captain Martin Kaymer was the worst performer, finishing in penultimate spot in the standings.

Bern Wieseberger and Graeme McDowell finished the season at 41st and 42nd places, respectively. While both fell into the free zone, Kaymer was unaffected due to being the captain.

Cleek's best result this season was a third-place finish at Jeddah. Their only other top-five finish came at LIV Golf Orlando. In five of 14 starts, they finished at the bottom.

No golfer apart from Bland could finish in the top-10 of any of the events this year. He had three top-10 finishes, including a third-place finish at the Greenbrier. Bland was also the team's best performer in the inaugural season.

Here's a look at Cleek's results in the LIV Golf 2023 season:

• LIV Golf Mayakoba: 12
• LIV Golf Tucson: 11
• LIV Golf Orlando: 5
• LIV Golf Adelaide: 12
• LIV Golf Singapore: 12
• LIV Golf Tulsa: 12
• LIV Golf DC: 7
• LIV Golf Andalucía: 12
• LIV Golf London: 6
• LIV Golf Greenbrier: 7
• LIV Golf Bedminster: 9
• LIV Golf Chicago: 9
• LIV Golf Jeddah: 3