The pro golf world is trying hard to make team golf happen. As evidenced first by the creation of LIV Golf and soon after TGL, top golfers and stakeholders in the game are betting that the future holds a place for golfers competing on fan-supported teams as with other pro sports. Bryson DeChambeau is chief among them.
However, with the big exception of the Ryder Cup, team golf events haven’t broken through the public’s consciousness as traditional individual stroke-play events have. Next week’s TGL finale, for example, will not draw the same audience as the 2026 Masters in April.
But earlier this week, DeChambeau served up an idea that would surely interest fans: a grudge match between Tiger Woods’ TGL team and DeChambeau’s LIV Golf team.
DeChambeau floats LIV vs. TGL team match: ‘Big growing-the-game moment’
DeChambeau is in South Africa this week for LIV Golf’s first-ever tournament in the country. Hordes of fans are expected to pack The Club at Steyn City to watch Bryson and co. as they set off on Thursday.
Earlier in the week, DeChambeau sat for his Crushers GC team’s pre-tournament press conference.
As he has in the past, Bryson argued his belief that team golf could be at the “forefront” of the game in the coming years.
“I do think there’s an opportunity in the future for team golf to be next to the forefront of golf, with all the — even the majors and whatnot. I do think at some point we can get close,” DeChambeau said on Tuesday in South Africa. “It’ll never be a major, obviously, but having team golf rivalries, whether it’s just the Crushers versus Southern Guards or whatnot is great.”
Then Bryson floated his idea for the ultimate team rivalry match: his Crushers LIV team against Tiger’s Jupiter Links TGL team.
“Imagine a scenario where we’re going up against Jupiter Links on an 18-hole showcase, four man/four man, going up against each other on a Netflix show or something, or whoever wants to put it on a show,” DeChambeau continued.
The way DeChambeau sees it, team golf could attract sports fans who don’t typically watch golf, using NFL football as an example.
“I think there’s a lot of opportunity for teams to go up against teams in the future that could be a big growing-the-game moment of people that never played the game watching and just tuning in. Maybe they don’t ever play the game, but they tune in, just like football,” he said.
The big distinction is that far more people watch football than play it, while more people play golf than watch it, as DeChambeau explained on Tuesday.
“Only about 2 million people play football, but there’s like over 50 million that watch every week. The Super Bowl gets over 100 million people watching that, a two and a half, three-hour showcase,” DeChameau said. “In golf it’s almost the opposite where you’re getting 3 to 5 million people watching a week on various tours and you can add it together and — those aren’t the perfect numbers, but you know what I mean. Then there’s probably 50 to 60 million people playing the game… I think there’s an opportunity for the world to see the game for what it could be, which is rivalries and teams against teams.”
He continued: “I guess we’re an individual sport; I understand that. But we do play team events. We’ve got the Ryder Cup. We’ve got the Presidents Cup. There should be something else. Why not?”
As for the hypothetical LIV vs. TGL match, DeChambeau suggested 4-on-4 stroke play for the format.
“How about the Crushers goes up against Jupiter Links in an 18-hole match, 4-v-4 stroke play. We can just call them out right now and say let’s go. Let’s do it,” DeChambeau declared. “Why not? That would be fun. Show them who’s the best, who’s the best team in the world, or any of them. LA, it doesn’t matter. We’d go up against them. Jon Rahm’s team, we’d all go up against them. How great would that be for golf, too, by the way?”
For now, DeChambeau will have to settle for LIV vs. LIV team matches. Heading into LIV South Africa, his Crushers squad is currently ranked seventh in the LIV team standings.
