Graeme McDowell is closing in on €1 million in prizemoney despite a moderate start to his life on the LIV golf tour.
The Northern Irish golfer was in the first batch of golfers to sign up to the controversial Saudi-backed tour and has played in all three of the LIV golf invitational tournaments thus far.
At the first event at the Centurion Club in London, McDowell shot a final round 66 to come in a tie for 10th place in the 48-man field.
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It was a performance that saw McDowell bag $560,000 which was more money than he earned playing in his previous 15 PGA tour events.
The 2010 US Open winner's performances in the two subsequent LIV events have been disappointing. He finished on seven-over-par for the tournament in both Portland and Bedminster.
But the 42-year-old still had very healthy pay days. His tied 35th finish in Portland saw him pocket $146,000, while his tied 36th finish in Bedminster saw him pocket $141,000.
Altogether McDowell has made $847,000 (€832,000) in just three events despite never being contention for any titles, with a tie for 10th place his best effort to date.
To put that into some context, on the DP World Tour (formerly the European Tour) this week, over 150 players are competing for a first prize of €291,660 at the Cazoo Open in Wales.
A 36th place finish (where McDowell came in Bedminster) will see them pocket less than €13,000.
McDowell has revealed that he has received death threats since joining the breakaway circuit which has caused a huge split in the world of golf, with many criticising it due to its funding from the Saudi Arabian government.
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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