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Superstar Bryson DeChambeau sounded non-committal, at least not yet, when discussing renewing his contract with LIV Golf in an interview with Flushing It Golf.
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The two-time US Open champion’s LIV deal expires after 2026 and speaking exclusively to Tom Hobbs from Flushing It, DeChambeau felt negotiations were progressing “to a place that makes sense for both sides” but the Californian added, “You never know.”
“I mean, look, it’s confidential,” DeChambeau said. “I’m not going to share too much, but the conversations are in process. We have to get to a place where both parties have a good understanding of one another. It is getting to a place that makes sense for both sides. And, I think that can happen, but you never know. Life throws curve balls and, obviously, we saw what happened (with Brooks Koepka leaving LIV Golf) and that was quite a shock to a lot of people and something that, you know, it is what it is.
“People make decisions for whatever their needs and wants are and, ultimately, you have to respect it and move on and it feels like it was a mutual understanding and that’s great. I think that as a league now we have more opportunity to make some movements and I think that team has an opportunity to do some things differently than the past few seasons. So, we’ll see where it all goes and where it all leads. Ultimately, it’s quite interesting.”
Will his decision be made before the first event of the LIV Golf League season in Riyadh, in February?
“I don’t know about before Riyadh, there’s a lot of things to go through,” DeChambeau said. “You know, it’s a scenario that is very unique. With Brooks leaving it definitely throws in some unique things. And look, I mean, like I’ve said all along, I want to do this, I want to grow team golf across the globe. But it has to be right. And there’s a lot of things that have to be done in order for it to be right, you know?”
DeChambeau, 32, joined LIV during its first season in 2022 and has claimed three victories there as well as a second US Open crown, coming last year at Pinehurst, in that time. He said there was still growth for the LIV league to make. In 2026, Scott O’Neil will enter his second year as LIV Golf chief executive officer.
“Things have got to change. Things have got to improve,” DeChambeau said. “And I think Scott’s done a fabulous job with the year that he’s had. And I think this year’s going to be even better, now he’s got the right people in place and he can run the organisation the way he wants to do this here. So it’s going to be interesting to see, especially with the new branding coming on. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens.”
Last week, LIV revealed significant news that five-time major winner Koepka was leaving, effective immediately. His path forward is not yet clear and the PGA Tour only released a vague statement after Koepka’s league departure. Pro golfers have typically been suspended by the PGA Tour for competing in LIV events, dating 12 months since their most recent LIV start.
Does DeChambeau believe the PGA Tour should create a pathway to let him back?
“I don’t know, man,” DeChambeau said. “I don’t know what they should allow or not … if they’re going to be doing it by the book, they should do it by the book and not give any special exemption. But if there’s a special exemption, it definitely opens the doors for others to do the same, which, you know, it’s a slippery slope for sure.”
