Bryson DeChambeau said he would prioritize his YouTube channel over a potential return to the PGA Tour if LIV Golf were to fail.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced it would cut funding to segregated golf leagues after the end of the 2026 season.
“As the Fund’s investment strategy moves forward, the large investments required are no longer consistent,” PIF said in a statement Thursday.
DeChambeau’s future is now one of great interest as one of LIV Golf’s biggest stars, along with Spain’s Jon Rahm, who reached an agreement with the DP World Tour on Tuesday to pay all outstanding fines as part of a return-to-play agreement on the circuit.
“From my perspective, I want to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” DeChambeau, who has 2.69 million YouTube subscribers, told ESPN.
“I would love to do that. I would love to do a lot of dubbing in different languages and give the world more reasons to watch YouTube. And I would love to play in tournaments that need me.
“Egos need to go. Everyone needs to come in with a level playing field and an opportunistic mindset to grow the game of golf. That’s why I came here. That’s why I’m doing what I’m doing on YouTube.”
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Sky Sports’ Jamie Weir explains the story behind Jon Rahm’s return to the DP World Tour, what it means for LIV Golf and whether we might see him again on the PGA Tour.
“I think it’s very unfortunate considering what could have been done for them,” DeChambeau added of the possibility of penalties or fines for his return to the PGA Tour.
The 32-year-old also admitted that the announcement from Saudi Arabia came as a big surprise to him, especially given that he had been led to believe that LIV Golf would be funded for a further six years until 2032.
“I was completely shocked,” DeChambeau said. “We didn’t expect this to happen. A few months before that, we were like, ‘We’re here until 2032. We have the funds to get to 2032,’ so we told everyone that. That’s what they said.
“And, you know, I never heard back. And unfortunately, things are going in a different direction. Obviously, they wanted to move on.”
Yasir Al-Rumayan, head of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), announced that funding for LIV Gold will be cut after the 2026 season.
“If we have a great business model and they (PGA Tour, DP World Tour) are very interested in joining forces, that’s the Kumbaya moment, right?
“So it’s our job to come up with a better business plan on the[top company’s]side. The team’s franchise is now profitable enough to sell for close to $200m (£147m), but that’s not about my team.”
“I think it’s going to require everyone to let their guard down a little bit and for everyone to come together and say, ‘Okay, what’s best for golf?’
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Eamonn Lynch told Golf Channel’s Golf Today that a return to the PGA Tour for either Rahm or DeChambeau would prove extremely difficult for both players.
Since DeChambeau won the 2023 U.S. Open, he is exempt from playing the U.S. Open until 2033, but he is only guaranteed a spot at the Masters, Open Championship and PGA until 2028.
The Californian, whose contract with LIV Golf ends at the end of this season, said he is confident LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neill will attract new investors.
“There are several different models,” he said. “Look, things aren’t going so well (on the PGA Tour) either, let’s be honest about the situation.
“They have the media, and everyone is there to promote the media, but they are downsizing their operations, cutting employees, and restructuring their businesses.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” DeChambeau said of whether his contract with LIV Golf will be paid.
“Many of these people will find a path in some way.”
PGA Tour and DP World Tour player Billy Horschel told the Sky Sports Golf Podcast:
“If you offer a price and the person doesn’t agree, you come back again. That offer isn’t on the table yet. That offer will change a little bit.”
“Going forward, I think for these three players, if they make any offers, it’s going to be different offers. As for the other players, I don’t think any of them have a PGA Tour spot, so I don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s going to be a path open for a lot of these players one way or another.”
“Some of them may not have a path. I don’t see a path for Phil Mickelson to get back on the PGA Tour. Even though he’s a lifetime member of the PGA Tour and has accomplished a lot and there’s a lot of things that he says he’s done and things that he says he’s done and things that were going on behind the scenes before LIV came along, I don’t think it’s going to work out for him. And rightfully so, he doesn’t even want that.” Please come back to the PGA Tour and Champions Tour.
“After all this, it’s good to not have these arguments. I’m all for competition. There’s a sense that you have to make changes to get better. You have to be innovative and you have to do something to still be at the top of professional golf.”
“Going forward, I hope that players who want to return to playing PGA Tour golf and players who want to return to the DP World Tour can be harmonized to some extent under one large umbrella.”
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