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Mark Schlabach
Multiple Authors
STERLING, Va. — If LIV Golf can’t survive beyond this season without Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund’s purse strings, two-time major champion Bryson DeChambeau said Tuesday that he’s prepared to grow his YouTube channel and play in tournaments that want him.
DeChambeau, 32, said he had some conversations with the PGA Tour, but not specifically about what his potential pathway back to his former circuit might look like if LIV folds.
“I think, from my perspective, I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” DeChambeau said, while practicing Tuesday in preparation for this week’s LIV Golf tournament at Trump National Golf Club.
“I would love to. I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I’d love to play tournaments that want me.”
Though DeChambeau didn’t get into specifics, he suggested that the PGA Tour is prepared to hit him with severe penalties if he wants to come back.
DeChambeau was one of the biggest stars to join the breakaway circuit in June 2022, and he was among 11 golfers who sued the PGA Tour later that year, alleging it used its monopoly power to unfairly suspend players who joined LIV Golf. He withdrew from the federal lawsuit in May 2023.
On Tuesday, DeChambeau described potential punishment from the PGA Tour as “quite unfortunate in my opinion, considering what I could do for them.”
At the same time, DeChambeau suggested that LIV Golf and the PGA Tour need to work together to reunify men’s professional golf.
The PGA Tour seems to have the most leverage now, after the PIF announced last week that it will no longer fund the circuit with $30 million purses.
“The egos need to get dropped,” DeChambeau said. “Everybody needs to come in with a level-headed playing field, with an opportunistic mindset to grow the game of golf. That’s why I came over here. That’s why I do what I do on YouTube.”
Before last week’s announcement, DeChambeau believed the PIF would finance LIV Golf through at least the 2032 season.
“I was completely shocked,” DeChambeau said. “I didn’t expect it to happen. A couple months before that, it’s like, ‘We’re here until 2032. We’ve got financing until 2032,’ and so I told everybody, and that’s what I was told.
“And then, you know, I haven’t had any communication. And unfortunately, things are moving on in a different direction. Obviously, they wanted to move on.”
A potential merger between the tours would require concessions from both sides, DeChambeau said.
“If we have a great business model and they’re very interested in combining forces, that’s the Kumbaya moment, right?” DeChambeau said. “So, it’s our job to come up with a better business plan on the [top company] side. The team franchises, there’s enough making profit now to where we could sell them for close to $200 million, and that’s not talking about my team either.
“I think it requires a little bit of everybody kind of just lowering their guards and all coming together and going, ‘OK, what’s best for the game of golf?'”
DeChambeau said he’s confident that LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil and the league’s new independent board of directors and advisers will develop a solid business plan that will attract new investors.
“There’s a few different models,” DeChambeau said. “Look, the [PGA Tour] isn’t doing great either. Let’s be honest about the situation. They’ve got the media. They’ve got everybody on the side that helps pump it up. But they’re reducing field sizes, cutting employees and restructuring their business too.”
It won’t be long before DeChambeau must decide his future. His contract with LIV Golf expires after this season.
When DeChambeau was asked if he had concerns about PIF not paying out the remainder of his contract, he said, “Your guess is as good as mine.”
Earlier Tuesday, O’Neil was asked if DeChambeau would have a new contract before he took LIV Golf to market.
“Well, that’s an interesting question,” O’Neil said. “I’m not sure. We’ll sort through and work through. I appreciate the question. Bryson’s special. He’s different and special. … He’s smart, he’s driven, he’s committed, and he’s a heck of a partner.”
