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“Eke out a living.” This is Graeme McDowell’s reason to Bunkered.com for joining the LIV as the first few players. Needless to say, the quote did not sit right with the golf world. And if history has served as any reminder to the Northern Irishman, he should have thought at least once before speaking his mind. But now the words are out, the storm is massive (it’s like deja vu) — as was seen in the latest episode of the Shotgun Start. Hosts Andy Johnson and Brendon Porath went all in on McDowell’s comment, calling them nothing but “tone-deaf.” “It’s a terrible, terrible quote. He looks like a clown, an idiot, all that stuff. I would actually like to extend him some grace. I think he just chose the wrong word,” says Porath. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Porath might be right here. For a player who has reportedly made around $14 million in LIV prize money alone (and possibly up to $40 million including bonuses), describing his decision to join LIV as a way to “eke out a living” is not exactly making the point, Graeme McDowell thought it would make. “It’s stupid, honestly,” continued Porath. “Eke out a living connotes, you know, I need a pot to p*ss in. I need money, and how can I put a roof over my family’s head? That was a bad choice of words. I want to extend him grace.” ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad While Porath’s words might come as harsh, he actually might be onto something. Before joining LIV, McDowell had accumulated substantial wealth through his 20-year pro golf career. He earned somewhere around $19.1 million in total just from the PGA Tour’s prize money from his 271 career starts. And from his European Tour/DP World Tour, you can add an extra $17-18 million in 2021. So if you combine it all, it’s $36-37 M. And this is just a rough estimate. On top of this, there must’ve been several sponsor or brand deals as well. But McDowell said what he felt was right. He did end up apologizing, though, as he’s done several times before as well. Yeah, this was certainly not the first time Graeme McDowell made a controversial statement and was forced to address it. Back when he joined LIV, he admitted to being “proud” to take Saudi Arabia’s golfing ambition forward. Of course, it created a political uproar. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports Pondering over the interview, McDowell later shared that there was an option for him to sit quietly without making any comment. But he did not want to do it. “It’s not who I am,” he said. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Porath then went on to state that despite his poor choice of words during the interview, he is not the ‘dumbest guy in golf.’ He also attempted to play Devil’s advocate and try to make sense of what the LIV Pro was talking about. “I think he meant to extend our careers and just play golf competitively for lots of money to be clear in their 40s.” That actually could be a reason for his switching sides. He was 42 when he joined the league and had not won a PGA Tour event since March 2019. His last significant victory came at the 2020 Saudi International, which improved his ranking from 104 to 47, but that was still two years before LIV. As per the Shotgun Start hosts, McDowell was just waiting to be a “sponsor’s exemption” on the Tours. In the broader context, these sparks were caused by his desire to actually captain the next Ryder Cup. Now, as a LIV player, he might not be able to do that (and he blames politics for it), but he’s ready to do “whatever it took”…aside from giving his LIV status. Anyway, this was just one part of the discussion, as another part of the quote soon became the lightning rod for the hosts. Graeme McDowell shifts the blame regarding golf’s divisiveness In the same Bunkered interview, Graeme McDowell lamented that the “divisiveness” that golf sees right now (between PGA Tour/DP World Tour and LIV, to be clear) has come “from the best players in the world.” The blame that veterans like him, or his fellow LIV signers, is baseless. This claim did not sit well with hosts Brendon Porath and Andy Johnson. “A lot of the 40-somethings were suing the tours. What are we talking about? It’s not like they were just sitting in the corner, not talking. Throwing logs on the fire, trying to burn the f*cking house down,” Johnson said. To name names, alongside McDowell, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and even Sergio Garcia, had been among the loudest voices during golf’s civil war. In August 2022, 11 LIV players filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour, alleging monopolistic practices and unlawful suspensions. As per them, the PGA Tour threatened lifetime bans, colluded with the DPWT to block LIV events, and coerced sponsors and agents. Obviously, the PGA Tour countersued, alleging LIV intentionally interfered with player contracts. While many of these players eventually withdrew from the lawsuit, this was enough to heighten tension between the two entities. “I just want to know who he was talking about. I guess on the other side, he’s saying maybe Rory, like, who would be the best player?” questioned Porath. Rory McIlroy indeed had been a very vocal critic of LIV Golf. But he isn’t the only one. It was Scottie Scheffler who said that players who left for LIV are to blame for the divisions in the sport. And these are just a few names. In truth, McDowell’s situation captures the broader LIV dilemma perfectly: players who took the money, justified it poorly, and now find themselves trying to rebrand as misunderstood veterans rather than mercenaries. Meanwhile, both entities have been trying to sort out a merger, but there has not been any solution in sight.
