Bryson DeChambeau lays out 2 quests for a PGA Tour comeback

We heard a lot from Bryson DeChambeau at this week’s LIV Golf event at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia. LIV’s first tournament since the league confirmed reports that Saudi Arabia’s PIF will withdraw funding after this season.

As a result, reporters and fans alike were eager to hear what DeChambeau, LIV’s biggest star, thought of the epic news. He told GOLF’s Alan Bastable that he was caught off guard when news of the PIF funding first emerged.

“There’s no way. That’s not happening, considering what I heard a few months ago. I thought there was a plan in 2032. It was the flip of a switch,” DeChambeau said Tuesday in Virginia.

He told other outlets that if LIV Golf were to end, he might consider devoting himself full-time to his popular YouTube channel.

But what about the two-time major leaguer’s return to the PGA Tour?

On Wednesday, DeChambeau revealed his current thoughts on the return of the PGA Tour. In an interview with Skratch Golf, he laid out two specific requirements he would need to meet to make the return of the PGA Tour a reality.

Bryson DeChambeau on PGA Tour comeback: ‘It’s really about whether the membership wants me back’

In his recent interview with Skratch’s Garrett Johnston, DeChambeau explained two obstacles that are preventing him from joining the PGA Tour.

The first obstacle he identified was current PGA Tour players. DeChambeau announced that eventually they would need to “want him back” before he would consider returning.

“I think there’s a way to solve any problem. It’s about whether the membership wants me and whether they just want me back. That’s what it’s all about,” DeChambeau admitted. “I don’t even think Brian Rolapp or anyone else like one of the senior officials, actually if the players want me to come back and if not, I understand that.”

Bryson’s comments speak to how brutal the PGA Tour-LIV Golf rift has been over the past five years. The rise of LIV has alienated the top players, and relations have become strained. That’s especially true when it comes to great players like DeChambeau, who is tearing golf fans apart at the best of times.

Another issue for DeChambeau has to do with his YouTube account and other social media. Bryson has said many times that those things will be a big part of his future. He told Skratch that the PGA Tour’s policy governing players’ creation of social media content at tournaments was one of the biggest pain points that prevented him from returning to the tour.

DeChambeau argued, “If you look at it, it’s affiliate marketing, so my ability to create content on that golf course that week at that event should bring value to the tournament, and that’s what I care about the most, which is exciting as I’ve always said from day one.”

But he also incorrectly stated that the PGA Tour prohibits players from creating tournament content during practice and pro-ams.

“So if I was going to record a video during the week of one of their events with a content creator or a celebrity, that would be a violation of my knowledge. It’s their policy, they didn’t let me do it while I was there. I asked several times,” said DeChambeau.

The PGA Tour clarified to Skratch that under the PGA Tour Social Media Policy Tour pros are allowed to create content at events prior to tournament rounds.

There is one fact that makes a PGA Tour comeback more likely for DeChambeau than for his LIV compatriots.

DeChambeau’s current LIV deal expires at the end of the season. Therefore, he is not required to play LIV events after 2026. In addition, the big new contract he originally wanted may not be on the table due to LIV’s funding issues.

That’s very different from Jon Rahm, for example. Rahm is under contract with LIV for the next several years, making him a little more flexible than DeChambeau going forward.