Graeme McDowell repays Brooks Koepka's leap of faith with huge LIV Golf payday
Graeme McDowell overcame a disastrous start to the LIV Golf season to help Brooks Koepka 's Smash GC to the Las Vegas Invitational team title.
McDowell, 44, finished 45th out of 54 players at the season-opening tournament at Mayakoba, Mexico, in his first start for Smash after switching teams during the offseason. The 2010 US Open champion was facing the infamy of missing out on a roster spot after being let go by Cleeks GC last year at the end of his contract.
Finishing 40th in the 48-man field for 2023 left the Northern Irishman at risk, as only the top 24 finishers are guaranteed spots. That is where Koepka came in to hand McDowell a second chance in the series.
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The former world No. 4 replaced Koepka's younger brother Chase on the team, who was relegated from the series last year as one of the four worst finishers. Koepka may have questioned showing such faith in McDowell after Mexico, but the decision has since paid off in Sin City.
After only once finishing in the top ten of any LIV Golf event - at the inaugural tournament at Centurion - the new signing finished fifth on the Las Vegas leaderboard at nine-under, three shots shy of the winner, Dustin Johnson.
Only Talor Gooch, finishing a shot off the lead in joint second, performed better than McDowell from Koepka's team. Jason Kokrak joined his new teammate on nine-under, finishing seventh.
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Koepka singled McDowell out for particular praise after the Las Vegas Invitational (Matthew Bolt/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Captain Koepka came three shots shy of those two down in 13th place. But that was enough to give the team a combined score of 33-under and finish seven shots clear of Johnson's 4Aces in second place.
The four of them will now split £3.17million ($4m) in prize money between them, receiving £792k ($1m) each for the team's success. They also receive remuneration for the individual finishes, with McDowell and Kokrak earning an additional £554k ($700k) after tying for fifth to take their totals north of £1m.
Koepka called the Northern Irishman's performance "spectacular" during a post-round press conference. McDowell, meanwhile, could not help but mention the novelty of the occasion. "They keep handing me the trophy because I've never had one before," he remarked.
Referring to the teammates beside him, he added: "Proud to be part of this unit. I appreciate Brooks putting the trust in me to have me on the roster this year.
"Sundays are always difficult at any event. There's an expectation level that you have for yourself." He added: "I still feel like I'm good enough to win golf tournaments, and that's the key for me."
McDowell's last win came four years ago at the Saudi International in February 2020. "Today, personally, was a big day. I kind of need that, that little bit of belief in myself as we move into the season because we want to be on the podium many, many times."
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