Bryson DeChambeau offered no regrets for taking Saudi riches to join LIV Golf and no indication about his immediate future, saying only that he will approach it with “humility and respect for the game.”
DeChambeau posted his thoughts on social media Sunday, his first public comments since LIV on Thursday abandoned plans to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy with a new version of the league. He had the most gravitas of any player supporting LIV 2.0.
“I’m not going to rewrite the last four years,” DeChambeau wrote. “I made a decision I believed in, and I’m grateful for what came with it: playing in front of fans new and old around the world who rarely got to see the best players at home.”
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DeChambeau and Jon Rahm, both two-time major champions, are the two biggest names in the rival league that no longer is supported by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia. The bankruptcy court in New Jersey approved the end of Rahm’s contract with LIV.
Rahm won the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday, moving him back into the top 10 in the world.
Rahm fought off Ryder Cup teammates Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton to win the Abu Dhabi Championship on Sunday for his first European tour title in four years, marking a successful start to the Spaniard’s career rebuild following the demise of LIV Golf.
Rahm shot 5-under 67 and was 23-under par for the week at Yas Links, two strokes clear of Hatton (68) and four ahead of McIlroy (69) in the first of the two season-ending playoff tournaments in the United Arab Emirates.
This was Rahm’s first event in seven weeks, during which time his wife gave birth to their second daughter — their fourth child — and he set about finalizing a departure from LIV that will see him giving up millions of dollars owed to him.
“After everything that’s gone on,” Rahm said, “and some poor play and some battles mentally with a lot of noise, to come back out after a bit of rest and being with the family, it’s quite special.”
His last victory on the European tour’s regular circuit was the World Tour Championship in November 2022, which was followed by a green jacket at the Masters a few months later and then the world No. 1 ranking before a controversial move to LIV.
His peerless iron play this week suggests a return to his 2021-23 level, when he collected his two major titles. It was certainly too good for McIlroy and their rivals in an exciting final round at Yas Links.
DeChambeau has said he has not spoken to the PGA Tour about a path back — for now, the Spaniard is looking at a European tour schedule for 2027 because the PGA Tour has banned LIV players for one year since their last appearance.
DeChambeau’s case might be more complex because he was among the players who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the PGA Tour.
He also said in a CNN interview after the June 2023 framework agreement among the PGA Tour, European tour and PIF: “It does stink from my perspective that the PGA Tour players are not necessarily winning. I hope they can find a way to make sure they are valued in the same way we are over at LIV.”
“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.”
DeChambeau is scheduled to play the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa - site of his fifth and final LIV Golf victory - on Dec. 3-6 in Johannesburg. It will be only his third tournament outside of LIV and the majors since he left the PGA Tour in June 2022.
“Beyond that, I’ll go about whatever is next the right way,” he said.
DeChambeau, who led the Crushers to a season title in 2023, said he still believes in team golf beyond the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
“It may look different in the future, but I still believe it’s essential to growing the game,” he said.
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