Bryson DeChambeau: The Pin Holding LIV Together

As covered multiple times, several LIV golfers have been rumored to be considering jumping ship back to the PGA Tour.  It wasn’t until Laurie Canter made the jump that a path was clear.  Now, with there being a definite path to return to, PGA fans are wondering if LIV Golf will have a ‘mass exodus’ of all its star players.  This also, in part, centers around Bryson DeChambeau.

LIV Golf’s History

LIV Golf is only a few years old.  It only got its start in 2022 after the PIF brought it into existence.  Since then, the leagues’ connections with the government of Saudi Arabia have always made it divisive.  It, however, has been very disruptive, granted.  The PGA has been around for over a hundred years and has grown complacent with its standing on the world stage.  Golfers from all around the world have gone to the PGA for their professional careers.  Even players from the DP Tour have tried for and acquired their Tour cards.  When LIV showed up on the scene, it shook PGA to its core for better and for worse.  Rory McIlroy famously hates LIV Golf for numerous reasons, but he can’t deny some of the good it forced the PGA to do for the players.

“Whether you stayed on the PGA Tour or you left, we have all benefited from this. I’ve been on the record saying this a lot: We’re playing for a $20 million prize fund this week. That would have never happened if LIV hadn’t come around.”

DeChambeau and More Rumors

LIV Golf got a lot of ire from the PGA because they tended to snipe players using lucrative multi-year contracts.  Players like Bryson DeChambeau got contracts worth over $100 million.  Dustin Johnson is so confident in his contracts that he let some sponsorships expire.  Yet it seems that players aren’t entirely satisfied.  This season has been plagued with rumors of players leaving, like with the aforementioned DeChambeau.  It is still unknown how much of it is true, but recently, LIV golf has been showing some cracks.  

A recent episode of the MrShort Game Golf Podcast revealed that Bryson DeChambeau didn’t know that he didn’t own his own name under contract and found out that LIV owned his personal YouTube channel.  

“The reason he’s not participating in the dules is because he’s having a conflict with LIV Golf right now about this.  Bryson DeChambeau does not own his YouTube channel.  That is owned by LIV Golf…All LIV players are under contract with LIV, and it’s an NIL.”

The show’s host, Matt Fisher, goes on to say that he has heard that the Saudi government is not happy with all the money LIV has been using since its inception, with so little return on investment. With DeChambeau’s contract at the center of these rumors, the host speculates that once the LIV Golf players’ initial contracts are up, there will be an exodus, starting with Bryson DeChambeau.

“I’m hearing that there is going to be an exodus from LIV back to the PGA Tour. That could very well happen. This is all happening quickly. Because LIV moves fast.” 

LIV Golf’s Future

This is all still hearsay, rumors, and a helping of speculation.  Nothing is set in stone or coming from an official source.  Official sources will deny rumors of an exodus for obvious reasons; imagine if shareholders and investors found out that an organization was on the verge of collapse.  LIV Golf has still yet to turn a profit.  Its viewership has yet to come close to surpassing that of the PGA.  As of right now, the future of LIV may be up in the air.