Graeme McDowell's LIV prospects looked to be in serious trouble, but it now looks as though an unlikely source may have come to the rescue of the Northern Irishman.
The 2010 US Open champion has been a part of the contentious breakaway series ever since its first event in London in June 2022, but has failed to deliver consistent results across his now two seasons in the league.
He has managed just a single top ten finish in his time in LIV, and has consistently finished a fair distance away from each event's winning golfer.
Nonetheless, McDowell has pulled in a huge amount of cash for his endeavours in LIV thus far, and he will no doubt be keen to maintain his place in the league going forward.
Crucially, McDowell's initial contract was shorter than those handed out to others at the outset of LIV Golf, with the Northern Irish golfer only signing a two-year deal compared to the lengthy contracts handed out to some of his former Ryder Cup teammates.
With those two years now up, and McDowell's form leaving question marks over his place in LIV, it seems as though Brooks Koepka may have come to the rescue to salvage his place in the breakaway series.
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Graeme McDowell offered LIV lifeline by Brooks Koepka
1 July 2021; Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland watches his tee shot from the sixth tee box during day one of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Golf Championship at Mount Juliet Golf Club in Thomastown, Kilkenny. Photo by Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Graeme McDowell spent the 2023 season with the "Cleeks" team captained by Martin Kaymer, but could only manage a 40th place finish in the overall standings for the season. When asked recently about his plans for 2024, Kaymer suggested he would look for a replacement for McDowell, leaving the Northern Irishman's future in the series under threat.
With relationships frosty with the PGA Tour and DP World Tour (to say the least), McDowell's 2024 options would have been severely limited, but it seems that he has been offered a path back in to LIV by none other than Brooks Koepka.
A report in the Telegraph this week suggested that Koepka was set to announce McDowell as a new arrival on his "Smash" team for 2024 - potentially at the expense of Koepka's own brother Chase.
That news was confirmed by Koepka in a post on Twitter on Friday, with McDowell joining the "Smash" team for the upcoming season.
Welcome to the #SmashGC family @Graeme_McDowell
Ready to get to work 👊 Come hang with us on 2024 🌎 tour - https://t.co/VtmQQmpFMy pic.twitter.com/z4VcqAMzpb— Smash GC (@SmashGC) November 30, 2023
Brooks Koepka is the only player to have won a major since joining LIV, coming out on top at last year's PGA Championship, and remains perhaps the biggest name in the entire series - meaning that McDowell has somehow hit the jackpot mere weeks after his future seemed to be up in the air.
An insider went on to tell the Telegraph that McDowell "cannot believe his luck," and that he had been expecting to spend 2024 playing on the Asian Tour.
The move comes as LIV reportedly seek to bolster their star power, with suggestions in recent weeks that Jon Rahm is in talks to join the series, in what would undoubtedly be the biggest coup yet.
McDowell has alienated himself from many former allies - not only by signing up for LIV, but for his many controversial remarks since joining the series.
The Saudi Arabian monetary backing the series enjoys has caused much controversy, and McDowell stuck his foot in it with his initial comments when joining LIV - something he now says he regrets.
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