Inside Graeme McDowell's life away from golf with wife & kids as he makes commentary debut at The Open
The
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McDowell joined Sky Sports' regular commentators such as Laura Davies and Wayne Riley
Credit: Getty
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He married partner Kristin Stape in 2013
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They have two children together
Credit: Getty Images - Getty
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Nowadays he is a teammate of Brooks Koepka on the Smash GC team on the LIV Golf circuit
Credit: AP
He had hoped to play at the 153rd edition of the world's oldest golf tournament but
Here, SunSport delves into the 2010 US Open winner's life away from the golf course:
WIFE AND CHILDREN
Around the time of that career highlight Major victory, Graeme met his spouse Kristin.
He'd initially hired her as an interior designer while he was building his home in the ultra-wealthy Florida community of Lake Nona in Florida.
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They wound up dating and got engaged in October 2012. They tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in The Bahamas in September 2013.
The couple have two children together. Their daughter Vale was born in 2014 whilst son Wills came into the world two years later.
Graeme is a very private individual so there are no photos of them publicly available with his
EARLY LIFE
He's been based in the US for much of his life as he went to college at the University of Alabama in Georgia after transferring over from Belfast's Queen's University where he'd studied engineering.
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The former
When asked about his personal sense of identity he emphasizes that he doesn't like picking one nationality over another.
Tense moment as furious Jon Rahm confronts golf fan at The Open
When asked about potentially playing in the
He explained: "I'm not bothered who I play for. I'll be honoured to represent Britain or Ireland or both. I'm proud to play golf for Europe."
He added: "Yes, I sit on the fence but why not? There's no right or wrong answer. I'm always going to upset someone so why not sit on the fence?"
The 45-year-old ultimately never represented either on the Olympic stage as he chose not to replace
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The 'Golf, But Louder' circuit has seen him play in tournaments around the world compared to the more US-centric PGA Tour
Credit: Reuters
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Talor Gooch is another relatively famous teammate of his at Smash GC
Credit: Reuters
NET WORTH
McDowell's become a somewhat peripheral figure in playing terms ever since
Playing on
Multiple sites such as celebritynetworth.com, therichest.com and nichess.com estimate his net worth to be around $40million.
This leaves him trailing only McIlroy in
COMMENTARY PRAISE
Despite only being a quarter of the way into this year's final Major, he's proven a hit with viewers as a co-commentator.
Among the online posts hailing his insight on Thursday, the GolfisLife account hailed: "Graeme McDowell is doing a great job on the Open broadcast as the in-booth player commentary.
"It is amazing the booth crew are also being respectful on LIV and asking about LIV. This plus 19 LIV guys in the field it seems very appropriate."
Similarly, Golf Monthly tweeted: "Very much enjoyed listening to Graeme McDowell in the booth today."
To which Terry agreed: "Yes. Him and Faldo commentate without eulogising or speculating, the twin curses of most the others."
Lastly, Luke reckoned: "One thing many missed in the division of golf is that great people & their ability to article the game went to LIV.
"Players like Mickelson, McDowell & Casey would all make exceptional broadcasters & it was moronic to initially blackball them."
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