Graeme McDowell has come out swinging against the wave of heavy criticism which he has faced since ditching the PGA Tour for the LIV Golf series.
While practically every other big-name golfer who has made the controversial switch has kept their head down as much as possible in their dealings with the media, McDowell has vaulted himself to the top of the LIV discussion by continually speaking at length about why he feels it will benefit the sport.
His justification has largely been derided and made him a prime target for online abuse from disgruntled golf fans who are annoyed by their sport seemingly being used by the Saudi government to sportswash its reputation.
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Speaking at the JP McManus Pro-Am today, McDowell told RTE Radio that over recent weeks he's been the victim of out of order abuse as a result of swapping tours.
He said: "I expected negativity, I expected consequences, but you know this level of how vitriolic the attacks have been, pretty scary really.
"I can't jump on my social media without someone telling me to go die every day, which is pretty interesting.
"At the end of the day I'm a pro golfer who has made a business decision based on money.
"I've never thought about where money comes from in 20 years out here, I played in all parts of the world from China to the Middle East to South Africa.
"Listen, I've never hyper-analysed the morals and the ethics behind thoise dollar bills that I've made in my career and this opportunity has come with a huge negative spotlight over the Saudi regime.
"Does that mean every person in Saudi Arabia is a bad person?
"The LIV Golf people are just trying to run a golf tour, and it's a very good one, and it has attracted some of the best players in the world.
"I've acknowledged the things that have happened in Saudi Arabia, I have acknowledged their history and what the regime are responsible for.
"You have to put that to one side and realise that's over there, this is professional golf over here and we're not the only sport making money playing their sport in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, we've spent lots and lots of time out there in the European Tour.
"They've been in the golf eco-system since 2019. The European Tour brought these guys to the table, I won a tournament there in 2020.
"When that million dollars landed in my bank account, no-one told me on my Twitter account to go die.
"This is such a competitive threat, the narrative has been built around the fact these guys shouldn't be around golf, sport - sportwashing and all of the above.
"I get it, I get people's opinions and where they are coming from but I think it's unfair that it sits on my shoulders and that it sits on any golfer's shoulders because we're just professional athletes who had made a living around the world for many, many years and we certainly don't claim to try and solve any situations in any country at any point."
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