Bryson DeChambeau, the two times US Open champion, has denied reports he is seeking a way out of the beleaguered LIV Golf, the rebel series whose future looks bleak after Saudi Arabian backers indicated they are pulling their multibillion-dollar sponsorship at the end of the 2026 season.
LIV Golf is seeking to secure fresh backers in the wake of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) decision to scrap its $5bn investment in golf, as part of a general retreat from sports sponsorship. There is every prospect the 2026 season will prove LIV’s last.
LIV had already confirmed appointment of new board members, aimed with raising finance, by the time the PIF confirmed its position on Thursday. LIV Golf has a new independent board but the situation has raised questions about the organisation’s ability to keep its biggest stars, including DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cameron Smith.
Reports last week indicated DeChambeau’s representatives had started talks with the PGA Tour over a possible return to the series five years after its launch. “It’s completely untrue. I’m working as hard as I can to find a solution,” the 32-year-old American told Flushing It Golf, when questioned about his immediate future.
“I’m committed to making team golf work in the best way possible. I think there’s a place for it in the ecosystem and I want to continue to grow the game across the world. That’s always been our mission and it’s never been more true than now.”
LIV is even working on a junior golf initiative, according to DeChambeau. “We’re building a bunch of junior golf events right now and each [LIV] team is looking to build junior golf academies,” he said. “That’s something that we’ve been working on for almost three or four months now. We’re looking to host an event here coming up, probably in the next, I’d say, couple of months.”
In June 2022, DeChambeau joined LIV on a reported $125m contract that is set to expire at the end of this season. He was reportedly seeking a $500m deal to stay with LIV before the league’s funding issues were revealed.
“We’re still working on a potential contract,” DeChambeau said. “I haven’t given up on that and I think there will be a solution. But as of right now, my job is to help make the league work after this year. I just feel like I have a responsibility. I’ve put a lot of effort into it. So that’s what I’m going to do, we’re going to make this work.”
Even with reports that LIV has increased revenue streams in five years of operation, it is likely nowhere near enough to fund the league as it had been operating in its early years. “There’s a lot of moving parts like in any business,” DeChambeau told Flushing It Golf after he withdrew from last month’s event at Mexico City.
“It’s a startup, right? And so there’s going to be times where we’re squeezed and punched. This is one of those moments. But I’m going to do everything in my power to make it work and I really see the value in franchise golf.”