The Ambassador

Graeme McDowell, an Audemars Piguet brand ambassador for the past eight years, talks exclusively to Charles McLaughlin about his 2010 US Open victory, his goals for the season ahead and his new life as a married man

McDowell married Kristin Snape at a small ceremony in the Bahamas in September

Congratulations on your recent marriage! Will Kristin be travelling with you and will married life have any effect on your playing schedule?

I got married on 28 September in the Bahamas with close friends and family. It was an amazing few days and Kristin and I are very happy together. I took the guts of a month off afterwards to spend time with my new wife and it was very special. We have a new home in Lake Nona together and we’re really excited for what the future holds.

Kristin has always been in incredibly supportive of my career and she comes to tournaments when she can. We definitely want to have children of our own and hopefully we do in the near future. Of course parenting brings with it a fair share of responsibilities and that would naturally have an effect on my tournament schedule. But that is all part of life, part of being a family, and it’s a great problem to have. But overall, from my career perspective, nothing has changed for me since getting married. Kristin is as supportiveas ever and will always be, and I look forward to my first tournament win as her husband. We couldn’t be happier.

Further congratulations on the opening and success of your restaurant in Florida, Nona Blue. What influenced you to get into the business?

Nona Blue is located near my home at Lake Nona in Orlando. It's what they call in the US an "upscale tavern". We've been very busy since we opened earlier this year. I was influenced to get into the restaurant business initially by some friends of mine in Portrush who run a fantastic restaurant called The Wine Bar. I'm delighted I had the opportunity to get involved in the business.

One of your sponsors, Audemars Piguet, holds quite a number of golf events annually, including the most recent Audemars Piguet Time with the Masters Golf day at Shanghai Lanhai Golf Club. How much do you enjoy these events and the time playing with their guests?

It’s nice to work with a great sponsor like Audemars Piguet, you get to meet so many of their customers and get to know a bit more about them. It helps to bring the sponsorship to life. It’s always good to spend time with aspiring golfers, especially in emerging markets like China.

As an Audemars Piguet ambassador since 2005, how has the Audemars Piguet brand's philosophy "To break the rules, you must first master them" inspire you?

I’ve been a proud ambassador for Audemars Piguet since 2005. They are a great brand, with great people and I very much enjoy being part of their team.

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