GOLF: Graeme McDowell hopes LIV can move on from controversy

Now that the LIV Golf League will no longer be financed by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, Graeme McDowell told Sports Illustrated that he is hopeful the league can shed some controversy and serve as a "viable golfing product."

McDowell, 46, received death threats and other backlash when he joined LIV in 2022.

"I don't think we could have ever imagined how deep this would go. The hatred," he said. "It's funny, but if we can shift the narrative away from Saudi Arabia and bring some U.S. money and get rid of that narrative ... because that narrative is just nasty."

When he signed with LIV, McDowell, the 2010 U.S. Open champion, called it "a compelling opportunity" and that it was the best decision for his family. He wishes he could take back those remarks.

"I was ready to jump ship and go get a real job," McDowell told Sports Illustrated. "And then these guys came along and said, ‘Hey, we're going to do this tour. Do you want to come play?' I love playing. I love competing. I regret a few things I said at the beginning, stuff like growing the game. I should have just said it for what it was: this is good for my bank account, and I'm getting a runway to play the game of golf for as long as I possibly can. "

PIF officially announced in April that it was done backing LIV after this season, leaving the future of the league in doubt. However, CEO Scott O'Neil told the media on Tuesday that he has confidence in LIV. O'Neil offered no specific plans.

"I think we all knew that we were going to have to stand on our own two feet at some point to be able to make this into a legitimate business," McDowell said. "When you've kind of got the type of cash that we had in the beginning for a startup company, it was a little crazy and maybe not very real. It's kind of like we're turning 18 now. I'm going to go into the real world. We got to fend for ourselves a little bit. We try to make this into legit business."

LIV Golf has seven tournaments remaining this year, beginning with this weekend's event at Trump National Golf Club in Washington, D.C.

-Field Level Media/Reuters