17 February 2023 , 09:02
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Graeme McDowell admits he gave himself sleepless nights as he weighed up his Ryder Cup legacy against a big-money move to LIV Golf.
US Open winner McDowell, 43, was one of a number of high-profile golf stars to make the move to the Saudi-backed series ahead of its inaugural campaign.
The Northern Irishman pocketed some healthy cheques in 2022 but his move likely came at a cost, having accepted his Ryder Cup days may be over.
McDowell has already represented Europe on four occasions and even imagined himself lining up as captain in his home country in 2027. He admits those chances have now been "greatly reduced" though, with LIV-contracted players not expected to be permitted to compete.
"I picture myself standing there on the stage giving the opening speech looking at my team behind me. I mean, beautiful. You know, I've got a tear in my eye just thinking about it. But that wasn't a guarantee, it wasn't a given," he told the 5 Clubs podcast.
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"If I'm old and grey and 75-years-old and I look back and I never had the shot, I never captained a European team I will be incredibly disappointed."
Prior to the emergence of LIV, McDowell believes fellow Ryder Cup icons Lee Westwood and Justin Rose would have also been in the hat for captaincy at Adare Manor in 2027 - the latter still will be after sticking with the PGA Tour. And he has admitted his chances of pipping them to the post came into his thinking, when he deliberated over joining Greg Norman's lucrative venture.
McDowell made the winning putt for Europe back in 2010 (Getty Images)He added: "I'm thinking, 'I'm not sure I'm necessarily winning this job' you know so this is the type of reasoning that I had to go through in my head. These two or three things we're talking about were the things that kept me awake at night as to whether I thought I was making the right decision or not.
"Are my chances greatly reduced now of ever being a part of a Ryder Cup team in any level? Yeah, of course."
McDowell admits the option to join LIV coincided with offers to take up a broadcasting role, but he maintains he still has a lot to offer on the course ahead of the opening event in Mexico next week.
"It was a complex equation and at the end of the day, I had to look through the short term lens. Contrary to what anyone thinks, I'm not showing up at 14 LIV events this year, taking my pay check and going home. I still believe that I'm good enough, I still believe that I can win golf tournaments," he said.