OAKMONT, Pa. — Bryson DeChambeau, two days before he starts his second U.S. Open title defense, said he will start negotiating a new contract with LIV Golf at the end of the year.
What comes of those talks, of course, is the question. The subject was raised on Tuesday during DeChambeau’s pre-tournament press conference at Oakmont Country Club, where a reporter asked about his current deal’s status and whether he’d thought about life post-LIV.
“Yeah, how do I phrase this?” DeChambeau started. “Yeah, next year is when it ends. We’re looking to negotiate end of this year, and I’m very excited. They see the value in me. I see the value in what they can provide, and I believe we’ll come to some sort of resolution on that.
“Super excited for the future.”
The status of DeChambeau’s and other LIV players’ deals looks to be closely monitored. In 2022, LIV launched opposite the PGA Tour, DeChambeau was among the Tour pros to sign big-money, guaranteed contracts with the series — and the men’s pro golf divide, along with potential reunification, has been a subject ever since. Two years ago, the Tour and LIV’s primary backer, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, agreed to a come to an agreement, giving hope to the idea of a return to one tour, but those talks stalled in the spring.
A new DeChambeau contract with LIV would bolster the circuit’s prospects. But should LIV lose the two-time major winner and others, it would face viability questions.
On Tuesday, DeChambeau said that he believed LIV “is not going anywhere” and that team golf, the format in which LIV plays, is “a viable commercial option.” To the latter point, DeChambeau praised TGL, the simulator-based, team-golf league that started in January and features Tour players.
“TGL has done a great job,” DeChambeau said. “They’ve got some teams that are making some money, and I believe there is a sustainable model out there.
“How it all works with the game of golf, who knows, but I know my worth. I know what LIV brings to the table. And I’m excited for the future of what golf is going to be.”
DeChambeau was also asked how his sponsors have changed since his first U.S. Open win, in 2020, and whether LIV has influenced his sponsor appeal — and he said “it’s not been LIV’s undoing.”
“I would say that, yeah, there was a lot of sponsors, and in all honesty, LIV has been very freeing for me, in a good way, in a really good way, where the people that want to be with us want to be with us. We’ve got Qualcomm now, Reebok, still with Rolex. Rolex has been a great — I’ve had a great relationship with them for a long time, since I turned professional in 2016. There are a few other partners, Google, that I’m working with now.
“If anything, it’s helped almost reestablish, like, who wants to be a part of this, and I think that’s really cool. My perspective is who wants to be a part of the Crushers [DeChambeau’s LIV team], who wants to be a part of my YouTube content. It’s almost freeing in a way, and it kind of was a reset to see who wanted to be around and who wanted to continue to support and who I wanted to support, as well, continue to support.
“I think it’s actually been a great thing, and from a sponsorship perspective, we’re starting to move now. We’ve got a lot of great revenue coming about, and probably in a year from now, I hope to unveil some incredible master plans of what we’re going to do with the Crushers and whatnot. There’s some exciting stuff down the line.”
