McDowell says he's 'proud' to be on Saudi journey

Graeme McDowell has conceded that the contentious Saudi-backed LIV Invitational Series is "polarising" but said he's proud to be part of the new event.

The controversial eight-event breakaway series starts just north of London on Thursday with 48 players competing for an eye-watering $25m (€23.4m) prize pot.

Despite the threat of sanctions from the PGA Tour, who along with the Europe-based DP World Tour have declined requests from members to be released to compete at Centurion, the 42-year-old McDowell said it would have been "crazy" to decline the chance to top up his bank account in the latter stages of his career.

Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) is bankrolling the $255m (€238m) series, and while players spoke of new opportunities and exciting formats during Tuesday's news conference at the Centurion Club, the elephant in the room remained accusations of Saudi sportswashing.

Critics say PIF, chaired by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is a vehicle for the country to improve its image in the face of criticism of its human rights record.

Former world number one Greg Norman, CEO of LIV Golf, recently attracted scorn by downplaying the 2018 killing of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi after entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, saying: "We've all made mistakes."

A US report last year said that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the operation to kill or capture the Washington Post journalist.

"I really feel like golf is a force of good."

The Saudi government has denied any involvement by the crown prince and dismissed the report's findings.

Questioned on ethics of competing in the Saudi-backed series, McDowell said: "This has been incredibly polarising. I think we all agree up here. Take the