Graeme McDowell doesn’t regret taking the money — he just wishes he’d admitted it.
McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champ, is one of many LIV Golf transplants who claimed the decision to jump from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf was about “growing the game.”
The refrain was mocked by many given the absurd guaranteed contracts that LIV — backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) — were giving out.
McDowell told Sports Illustrated he was contemplating retirement in 2022 before being approached by LIV — and then was in the first wave of players to bolt to the rebel league.
“I was ready to jump ship and go get a real job,” the Northern Irishman told the magazine Tuesday. “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, 46, might be searching for a “real job” again soon. PIF is pulling their financial backing of LIV Golf after this season and the tour is looking for new ways to finance itself.
Much of the criticism that followed players who left for LIV was focused on the source of the money, given Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations.
It led to death threats for McDowell and subjected his family to online abuse. He does admit that LIV and its players could have done things a little differently.
“At the beginning, no doubt, there was a lot of excess,” said McDowell ahead of LIV Golf Virginia, where he had his best LIV finish with a tie for second last year.
“It was maybe a little too flashy on some levels. The purse prizes are incredible. I could never imagine. I remember going to WGCs [World Golf Championship events] when I was in my late 20s, early 30s, thinking these are the most unbelievable things I’ve ever heard of, playing for $7 million. It’s insane. And then we’re playing for $20 million out here. The complacency that can come with that is just embarrassing. You obviously adjust to your surroundings and get on with it.”
McDowell said he hopes that PIF pulling out could alter the negativity associated with the tour, if it surives.
“I don’t think we could have ever imagined how deep this would go,” McDowell said. “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.”