LIV's Graeme McDowell still wants Europe to regain Ryder Cup - ESPN

European golfers denied Ryder Cup candidacy in the wake of joining LIV Golf are relegated to fan participation this week when the 2023 event is played at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Guidonia Montecelio, Italy, near Rome.

Henrik Stenson was bumped from his captaincy; Spain's Sergio Garcia owns a magnificent record in Ryder Cup play; and Team Europe regulars Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell can't play, either.

But McDowell told Golf Digest this week that he'll be up with his just-after-midnight alarm at his Florida home to root for his team and fellow countryman Rory McIlroy to regain the Ryder Cup.

«I love the Ryder Cup,» McDowell told Golf Digest. «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.»

Garcia is the only LIV player worthy of «making the 12» this year, in McDowell's estimation. McDowell himself hasn't finished a tournament in the top 10.

«Maybe Paul Casey, if he had been fully fit. Myself, Lee [Westwood] and Ian haven't played well enough,» he said.

«The schedule we've played hasn't helped either. Henrik is still a really good player. But would any of us have 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 [Donald] out.