Mark Harris
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Bryson DeChambeau was one of golf’s biggest stars to jump ship from the PGA Tour and sign with LIV Golf. Like other big-name players who did the same, DeChambeau received a massive signing bonus to join the Saudi-backed circuit.
Now that the Tour and LIV have agreed upon a merger, DeChambeau is looking like a genius while players who passed on huge paydays look foolish.
The Saudis approached every player with name recognition to join LIV Golf. Hideki Matsuyama was reportedly offered $300 million to join the league, with Rickie Fowler is rumored to have turned down $75 million at some point as well.
While it’s easy for DeChambeau to say he feels bad for those players who turned down generation-changing money given the merger announcement and his bank account already benefitting from his decision, he tried to sound as genuine as possible with his assessment of the new reality.
“I do feel bad for the PGA Tour players because they were told one thing and something else happened, and our side, we were told one thing and it’s come to fruition,” DeChambeau told CNN on Tuesday night.
“It does stink a little bit from my perspective that the PGA Tour players are not necessarily winning. I hope they can find a way to make sure that they are valued in the same way that we are over at LIV.
“I think that’ll happen, it’s just going to take some time.”
With the PGA Tour entering this agreement with the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF) it’s nearly a guarantee that much of the millions (billions?) of dollars it will be pumping into the Tour and new for-profit entity finds its way into the pockets of players.
How that happens, whether it be as simple as a direct deposit hitting bank accounts or LIV players paying a fine to return to the Tour, is still a burning question.
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