“A very small cog in this big wheel”

Graeme McDowell recently said the LIV Golf-PGA Tour split came from the best players in the game, not him. He added that he was simply trying to look for better financial opportunities as a 40-year-old professional.

McDowell was in Hong Kong last week to attend the LINK Hong Kong Open. He is currently active in LIV Golf and was among the first players to join the Saudi-backed circuit in 2022.

In a recent interview with fortifiedthe 46-year-old Northern Irishman has expressed his desire to become a European Ryder Cup captain. However, he insisted he was not a major force behind it despite some blaming him for the split at professional level.

He added: “People will say that I did not deserve this, that I am responsible for a lot of what happened.” “But I’m just a very small cog in this big wheel.”

He added: “The split came from the best players in the world. It didn’t come from people in my 40s like me who are just trying to make a living and stay competitive for the opportunity we were given, which would have been crazy to say no to from a business standpoint.”

Graeme McDowell also spoke about his chances of captaining the Ryder Cup in detail.

“I’ve just seen some comments where Luke said he probably didn’t want to do it a third time,” he continued. “Justin Rose doesn’t want to because he wants to play. Obviously Rory’s not even close, right? He doesn’t want to play captain. So it’s like, ‘Who’s going to be?’ and why can’t it be me?”

“I would like to be the olive branch that potentially brings some of this back together,” he added.

Graeme McDowell has ‘cleared’ his dues from the DP World Tour but will not join

The 2010 US Open revealed he has paid his dues of over £1m to the DP World Tour but is unlikely to join the circuit anytime soon.

“I have cleared my fines,” he said. “I’m not a member of the European Tour simply because I didn’t want to take on any more fines. I didn’t feel like I would play enough golf to merit membership. But whatever it is, I’ll do it, apart from giving up my LIV status. Obviously I want to continue on the tour and I’m looking forward to playing in ’26.”

“But beyond that, I will do anything they want me to do. LEV will be finished by August. Do I play more in Europe to support the players, to be there, to communicate? Of course. I would be very happy to do that.”

Speaking of LIV Golf, McDowell had an average year and finished 34th in the season standings. A runner-up finish in Virginia was his only top-10 finish of 2025. The four-time PGA Tour champion competed at the Link Hong Kong Open this week but missed the cut by one stroke.