Graeme McDowell Faces Uncertain LIV Golf Future After Disappointing Season

There were some obvious winners and losers from the LIV Golf season.

In the plus column, the likes of individual champion Talor Gooch and Bryson DeChambeau, who led his Crushers GC team to victory in the season finale, can look back on a job well done. For others, it’s a case of what might have been, including the four relegated at the end of the season.

However, other players are in a state of limbo now the 14-tournament season has concluded. One unsure of his future on the circuit is 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell.

The 44-year-old was one of the initial intake of players to LIV Golf, but things haven’t worked out for him as well as he would have liked, and he finished 42nd out of 48 in the individual standings in 2023.

That left him well below the threshold of the top 24 needed to guarantee a contract for next season, and even before his two-year deal elapsed at the end of the season, he admitted to Sports Illustrated that his days as a LIV Golf player could be numbered, saying: “Being logical about it, I have to look at the list of guys and know I have to be vulnerable. I will cross that bridge when I come to it.”

As to why McDowell has failed to show his best form with LIV Golf, he put it down to its competitive nature, saying before the Asian Tour's International Series Singapore: “It has been difficult getting any momentum for me on the LIV Golf League. I feel like it is a very competitive tour, you just can’t afford to have a slow nine holes. I feel like I have struggled to build on my momentum and confidence.”

It’s not just this season where McDowell has failed to perform to the best of his abilities, either. He admitted before June’s LIV Golf Andalucia at Valderrama that the criticism he faced after joining the circuit knocked him out of his stride, saying it was something he “struggled with for months.” That was also reflected in his finishing position in the individual standings of 34th.

He has also explained why he felt he couldn’t turn the chance down, though, telling the Five Clubs Podcast: “When something came along that had nothing but upside, it was a very compelling opportunity at that point in my career. For a guy at 43 years old, running out of time in the sport, it was a great chance.”

Nevertheless, the decision put paid to his Ryder Cup hopes. In his Telegraph column, where he questioned the Ryder Cup course set-up after a fifth big home win in a row, he also reflected on his future at the match, saying: “I hope one day I will be back in some sort of capacity. Anything to represent that shade of blue again.”

With the next Ryder Cup not taking place until 2025 at Bethpage Black, of more immediate concern to McDowell will be where he plies his trade next year. On that subject, he admitted to Sports Illustrated that he is not ready to give up hope of retaining his place with LIV Golf.

He said: “I feel like I’ve been a good spokesman for the league and a good ambassador for the tour and hopefully there is a captain that wants me on his team.”