26 September 2023 , 20:46
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Graeme McDowell will still tune in to this year’s Ryder Cup despite his frustrations with missing out on selection.
The Northern Irishman was ineligible for Team Europe this year after choosing to play LIV Golf and he is no longer a member of the DP World Tour as a result. One of the finest moments of the 44-year-old’s career came at the 2010 Ryder Cup, who produced the shot that clinched the title for Team Europe at Celtic Manor.
In total, he has made four appearances in the prestigious team event, including being part of two other winning teams in 2012 and 2014. Though his choice to play on the Saudi-backed circuit prevented him from being available for selection, McDowell’s bitterness will not prevent him from catching the action in France this weekend.
“I love the Ryder Cup,” McDowell said. “It is special to me. And it always will be. I’m very much trying to put the small bit of bitterness I feel to the side. It’s not bitterness towards anyone. It’s bitterness that I am not part of the eco-system. But I’m trying not to let that get in the way of what my true feelings are.
“I’ve had some of the greatest experiences of my life with my Ryder Cup teammates. And I enjoyed my two vice-captaincies. But this year it’s a little bittersweet for me. I just have to remember how cool it all is. There are no sour grapes on my end. I understand why I’m not involved.
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“I was texting with [European vice-captain] Edoardo Molinari the other day, telling him how much I wish I could be in Rome. I genuinely feel that.” Should the 2010 US Open winner have been available for selection, his form may well not have earned him a spot on Team Europe anyway.
At the LIV Golf event in Chicago this past weekend, McDowell tied for 32nd, 11 shots off the winner Bryson DeChambeau. McDowell’s best finish this season is tied for 11th place. Other European players such as Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia were also ineligible for the Ryder Cup because they opted to play for LIV Golf and quit the DP World Tour as a result.
Garcia is Team Europe's record points scorer with 28½ from 10 appearances, while Poulter won five of his seven starts. On reflection, McDowell believes the Spaniard is the only LIV player who had a realistic shot at being selected for Team Europe this year.
McDowell's shot clinched the Ryder Cup for Team Europe in 2010 (Andy Lyons/Getty Images)“I’m not sure, aside from maybe Sergio Garcia, who of the LIV players could have made the 12,” McDowell added. “Maybe Paul Casey, if he had been fully fit. Myself, Lee and Ian haven’t played well enough. The schedule we’ve played hasn’t helped either. Henrik is still a really good player.
"But would any of us been in the 12? I don’t think so. Maybe a pick if the world was a different place, but certainly not me. I wouldn’t be close. I’d love to have been part of the vice-captain squad and help Luke out. But it is what it is. I’m accepting of where we are in the world right now.”
Team Europe are looking to win back the Ryder Cup after suffering a 19-9 defeat to Team USA at Whistling Straights in 2021. The Americans are bidding to win the trophy on European soil for the first time in 30 years. A victory would also mark the first time the USA has retained the championship in three decades.