Four-time Ryder Cup player, four-time PGA Tour winner, and 2010 U.S. Open champion earned it the hard way; that’s what Graeme McDowell has in front of his name. Then came LIV Golf, and with it, a version of himself he barely recognizes on social media.

“Anytime there’s speculation and no one really understands the facts, and you go on social media, this league’s always had a huge amount of negativity tossed its way,” McDowell said. “I felt like I spent 20 years building a reputation in the sport, and if I read my Twitter feed, that reputation is dumb, and it’s disappointing if that’s real.”

The criticism has always been about more than just golf. When players left for LIV Golf in 2022, people’s perception of Saudi Arabia made the move deeply controversial. For Graeme McDowell, it went beyond online arguments. He received death threats, and his family was subjected to abuse. He acknowledged back then, at Adare Manor, that it hit harder than he expected.

“I can’t wake up and turn on my Instagram or Twitter account without someone telling me to go die,” he said in 2022. “It’s been a really tough couple of months.” He also admitted he wished he had stayed silent at his London press conference rather than attempting to answer what he felt were unanswerable questions. But McDowell’s experience was far from unique.

Harold Varner III, one of McDowell’s current Oklahoma GC teammates, said the backlash hit him immediately after he posted on Instagram explaining his decision to join LIV in 2022.

“It s—–,” Varner said. “Who likes to be hated? It’s terrible. I hate being hated. I’d rather not even be known than be hated.”

Phil Mickelson, arguably LIV Golf’s biggest name, paid an even steeper price. KPMG, Heineken/Amstel Light, and Workday all dropped their ties with the six-time major champion after his comments about Saudi Arabia became public, with Callaway, his equipment sponsor since 2004, also pausing its partnership.

Despite all of it, McDowell has said he has no regrets. Earlier this season, he recorded a T6 finish and back-to-back holes-in-one in Singapore and Hong Kong. He is now part of the rebranded Oklahoma GC alongside captain Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, and Jason Kokrak, formerly Smash GC. A video of him speaking about the new team in stiff, corporate language drew mockery online, adding another uncomfortable moment.

“All the haters have come flooding back out of their holes, and the public noise and the narrative are disappointing,” McDowell said, before conceding it was nothing new. “As a league and as players, we’ve always kind of faced that a little bit.”

With everyone going around, Graeme McDowell is already thinking about what comes next if LIV folds.

Graeme McDowell eyes future if LIV Golf shuts down

McDowell admitted he has not given a PGA Tour return serious thought yet, but the door is not completely shut either. His status there is minimal at best, with the past champion category sitting at the very bottom of priority rankings. On the European Tour, he still holds some standing.

What he is banking on more than status is relationships. McDowell believes the way he carried himself through most of his career will count for something when he goes knocking on old doors. For now, his focus is on performing through the remaining months of the 2026 season and trusting the people in LIV’s boardroom to find a solution.

“We got some smart people trying to figure this all out,” he said.

On May 2, 2026, LIV Golf canceled its Louisiana event, citing hot weather and the football World Cup. Shortly after, the Saudi PIF confirmed it would stop funding the league after the 2026 season, ending a financial commitment that had totalled somewhere between $5 billion and $6 billion since the league launched in 2022. Though LIV is trying to get back on its feet after 2026, things remain uncertain as of now.