Graeme McDowell has revealed he has received death threats following his decision to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series last month. The breakaway circuit has caused a huge split in the world of golf, with many criticising the series due to its funding from the Saudi Arabian government.
Following his decision to join, McDowell admitted that expected some consequences to arise but has been left shocked at the hate he has received - most notably on social media. The Northern Irishman is competing at the JP McManus Pro-Am this week alongside a number of other LIV Golf rebels, including Ian Poulter, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
The former Ryder Cup star made headlines at the breakaway circuit’s inaugural event at Centurion Club in June, after defending his actions - and the LIV Golf cause.
Speaking about the backlash, McDowell told BBC NI: “I never really have made my peace with how vitriolic the attacks would be regarding my reputation, on social media the things that I'd said being absolutely torn to shreds. And it's really hard because I'm being asked questions that there are no right answers to.
"I'm having my moral integrity attacked all the time when, at the end of the day, all I'm trying to do is play golf. I'm trying to make a business decision for me and my family. And, you know, I've paid my dues in this game over the last 20 years, I've tried to carry myself the right way.”
Discussing the harrowing threats he has received, McDowell added: “I don't wake up and feel proud of myself every day. You know, I can't turn on my Instagram or Twitter account without someone telling me to go die. It's been a really tough couple of months. But again, I expected it, I knew what the consequences were going to be, I just didn't realise kind of just how heavily this was going to be hammered, trying to answer questions which are unanswerable.
"That's probably the only mistake I made in London at the first event when I was in my press conference - I just wish I'd said nothing. I just wish I just sat there and just kind of shook my head and said no comment. But it's not who I am. I always try and be truthful and try to answer questions. I shouldn't have bothered."
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The LIV Golf rebels have received plenty of criticism for lacking to admit the financial incentive behind their decision, with a lucrative £20 million prize pot on offer at each event. McDowell has now openly admitted a key component in his Saudi switch was of course the mega money on offer to those competing.
“What I do is I play professional golf, I play golf for money,” he said. I've chased that money all over the world all my career. I'm 43 next month and, you know, the LIV Golf opportunity was incredibly lucrative. Do I research into the morals of every dollar I've ever made? No, I don't.
"And, unfortunately, because of the competitive threat that this tour is compared to the other tours in the world the negativity has been focused heavily on here and it really hurts to kind of see my name attacked the way it has."
