Bryson DeChambeau says the most important factor in whether he returns to the PGA Tour is whether his fellow players accept him back into the fold.
DeChambeau was one of the headline names to break from the PGA Tour and join LIV Golf, the rebel league lavishly financed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).
The future of LIV is in some doubt after the PIF confirmed that it would not be funding the series beyond the season, with the breakaway series now seeking new investors.
The 32-year-old was offered the chance to return to the PGA Tour earlier this year via the returning member programme, but declined to follow Brooks Koepka to instead remain with LIV.
DeChambeau is one of the marquee stars of the venture with a sizeable profile both within and outside of golf. His YouTube channel has 2.69m subscribers, and has featured guests including President Donald Trump and a host of sporting stars.
The two-time US Open champion has suggested his future focus could move away from professional golf to content creation in a bid to grow his YouTube following.
Key to his future is whether fellow pros would be willing to welcome back a player who was involved in a lawsuit against the PGA Tour when he left in 2022.
“I think there’s a way to solve any problem,” DeChambeau told Skratch. “It’s really about if the membership wants me back and if they just want me back. That’s what it’s about.
“I don’t even think it’s (PGA Tour CEO) Brian Rolapp or anybody like one of the top executives. It’s really if the players want me back and if not, then I understand that.”
He admitted last week that the announcement of LIV’s potential demise had come as a surprise, but that he hopes that it might enable golf to come back together.
“I was completely shocked,” DeChambeau said. “I didn’t expect it to happen. A couple months before that, it’s like: ‘We’re here until 2032. We’ve got financing until 2032,’ and so I told everybody, and that’s what I was told.
“And then, I haven’t had any communication. And unfortunately, things are moving on in a different direction. Obviously, they wanted to move on. If we have a great business model and they're [PGA Tour, DP World Tour] very interested in combining forces, that’s the Kumbaya moment, right?
“So, it’s our job to come up with a better business plan on the [top company] side. The team franchises, there’s enough making profit now to where we could sell them for close to $200m (£147m), and that’s not talking about my team either.
“I think it requires a little bit of everybody just lowering their guards and all coming together and going: ‘OK, what’s best for the game of golf?’”
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