Graeme McDowell has opened up on how difficult a decision it was to join LIV Golf and the disappointment he would feel if he got to the end of his career in the game without captaining a Ryder Cup team.
Following his chats with media last week on the Asian Tour, where he said he had “accepted” his Ryder Cup days may be over, the 2010 US Open champion appeared on the 5 Clubs podcast with Gary Williams (opens in new tab) to discuss his move to LIV and his future in the USA vs Europe biennial match.
In the in-depth interview, McDowell admitted that his Ryder Cup chances are “greatly reduced”, while explaining how deciding to join LIV and potentially say goodbye to the Ryder Cup and a possible future TV broadcast deal “were the things that kept me awake at night.”
He even began to get teary when imagining himself as captain at Adare Manor in 2027, a role he was well in the running for prior to joining the Saudi-backed circuit.
“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,” McDowell told Gary Williams.
Consequential decisions are not easy. They come with potential costs. @Graeme_McDowell shared some of those, and the emotions behind them, in regards to his decision to join @livgolf_league @Garywilliams1Up | @golfpridegrips Watch Full: https://t.co/M1KnlqP8U7… https://t.co/aZ1UzqbjzG pic.twitter.com/XmW3q0VhrsFebruary 15, 2023
“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 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.
“Westwood is one of the most decorated European Tour players of all time. So I’m going against him and I’m thinking, ‘I’m not sure I’m necessarily winning this job’ you know so this is the type of reasoning that I had to go through in my head.
“These two or three things we’re talking about were the things that kept me awake at night as to…
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