What came across as criticism in July sounded a lot more like a compliment Tuesday when Rory McIlroy contemplated the nebulous future of Bryson DeChambeau.
DeChambeau was theatrical as ever when he protested a two-shot penalty for improving the path of his swing while stomping around in waist-high grass at the British Open. There were questions about whether he would withdraw and rumors he was planning to call President Trump. It led to players having to wait until nearly midnight to get Saturday tee times.
“I think a lot of it is performative,” McIlroy said at Royal Birkdale, making clear he was not a big fan of DeChambeau.
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And now? DeChambeau is searching for a new home after the demise of LIV Golf, which on Tuesday filed a joint Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan.
The PGA Tour typically has a one-year ban of players dating to their most recent LIV Golf appearance, which could be longer if there are other disciplinary considerations (such as DeChambeau being part of the antitrust lawsuit against the tour).
He has the option of joining the European tour from winning a major in the last five years. That was the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 when he got up-and-down with a 55-yard bunker shot to win by one over McIlroy, who peeled out of the parking lot without a word.
DeChambeau already was planning to play the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, which the European tour co-sanctions, on Dec. 4-7. He has until Sunday to inform the European tour whether he wants to take up membership.
It’s that “performative” nature that makes McIlroy say DeChambeau would be a positive addition to the European tour.
“I think a name like Bryson DeChambeau and everything he brings with him, good and bad, he brings eyeballs, which is a good thing for tournaments,” McIlroy said at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
“And honestly — look, I’m certainly not in his shoes, and nor would I ever want to be — but it doesn’t seem like he’s got many options,” McIlroy said. “If he wants to play competitive golf, it doesn’t seem like he’s got many options.”
There’s always YouTube, which has given DeChambeau plenty of eyeballs. He has more than 3 million subscribers. DeChambeau has suggested he could devote time to YouTube and play the four majors, though it’s always hard to tell if he’s serious.
In his first public comments since the breakaway golf league announced it would shutter rather than launch a new version, DeChambeau in a social media post Sunday expressed no regrets for his last four years on LIV Golf and offered no clear details what was next for him.
He also invoked Arnold Palmer in saying the golf universe doesn’t revolve around him.
“Arnold Palmer said no player is bigger than the game, and I want to acknowledge that along the way, I’ve said some things that didn’t help,” DeChambeau wrote in Sunday’s post. “Whatever comes next, I’ll approach it with humility and respect for the people who carried this game long before me.”
It was Palmer who single-handedly put an end to Greg Norman’s attempt to start a World Golf Tour in 1994, a separate league with big prize money for only the elite players. Palmer said at a players meeting that he didn’t like the idea, and the plan lost support. That was one of many reasons Palmer was known as The King.
DeChambeau only said of his future, “I’ll go about whatever is next the right way.” He also said he thought there was still a place in golf for team golf, even if it doesn’t include his Crushers.
DeChambeau was picked for the last Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in 2025, and he was performative and had eyeballs on him, just not many points. He won only one of the five matches he played, though he made a hellacious comeback to halve his singles match.
Are those eyeballs important for the U.S. team in Ireland in September 2027? They might be considered more additive than valuable for a PGA Tour that already has the cream of golf minus a few players from LIV, DeChambeau and Jon Rahm among them.
DeChambeau won five times on LIV Golf, one when he shot 58 in the final round at The Greenbrier. The limited schedule hasn’t appeared to have any effect on his performance in the majors. Along with winning another U.S. Open, he finished one behind at the 2024 PGA Championship, played in the final group when McIlroy won the 2025 Masters and was runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
This year was a setback — he missed cuts in three straight majors — until Royal Birkdale. The penalty took him out of the final group on Saturday. A lost ball for a triple bogey took him out of contention for good. He was high-fiving and engaging the crowd through it all.
Performative? Yes. Eyeballs? Most definitely. The stage? Still to be determined.
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