Bryson DeChambeau criticised for ‘very weak’ comments he has made ahead of the Ryder Cup by Dan Rapaport

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Bryson DeChambeau made a bit of history this past week by becoming the first LIV Golf star to automatically qualify for the US Ryder Cup team, with the two-time US Open champion’s spot in Keegan Bradley’s side now officially confirmed.

In truth, there seemed to be absolutely no chance of Bryson DeChambeau missing yet another Ryder Cup whatever happened in the last few weeks leading up to the BMW Championship on the PGA Tour. Of course, Keegan Bradley even confirmed DeChambeau would be involved during The Open Championship.

But DeChambeau deserves huge praise for qualifying automatically considering he could only earn points in the majors.

The problem for the Crushers captain is that LIV Golf‘s final event of the season is this week, with Michigan hosting the Team Championship.

Bryson DeChambeau criticised for comments he has made ahead of the Ryder Cup

Bradley wants as many of his players to tee it up at the Procore Championship in September as possible. The US side are determined to not make the same mistakes which cost them in 2023, when most of Zach Johnson‘s side had gone several weeks without playing in a tournament before heading to Rome.

Of course, the problem for DeChambeau is that he is no longer a PGA Tour member. With that, it looks highly unlikely that he is going to be able to play in Napa.

DeChambeau criticised the PGA Tour for not allowing him to play. But it seems that there is little sympathy for the 31-year-old.

Speaking on Dan on Golf, Dan Rapaport insisted that the PGA Tour are right to not roll out the red carpet for DeChambeau just to help him prepare for Bethpage.

“So Bryson DeChambeau was asked this week about not being allowed to play in the Napa PGA Tour event. He said: ‘it’s on them if they don’t let us come together as a team and play. It’s a scenario that’s unfortunate and I wish it was different, but LIV’s willing to let me play’. And I have been very complimentary of Bryson recently, but we have to call things like we see it, this is like that BS victim narrative. Decisions have consequences,” he said.

“The PGA Tour is under no obligation to let you play because you made the Ryder Cup team. It seems so open and closed. And it’s like: ‘I’m willing to do it, I’m willing to do it’, but you knew that your decision was going to come with ramifications. And also it’s like, ‘I’m going to blame the US Am for not letting me play’ – I didn’t qualify, I’m not in the field, but I’m going to blame them for not letting me play. Would LIV let all the PGA Tour guys play if they just wanted to play?

“There are rules, there are leagues. And also, nothing is stopping him from going to Napa and hanging out with the team. You can still bond and be together as a team. You can find an event to play in. I’ve been super complimentary of Bryson, I think it’s been a great year for him, but this ‘that’s on them’, it just feels very weak to me.”

Bryson DeChambeau’s past record at the Procore Championship

DeChambeau previously made three appearances in the event now known as the Procore Championship – so he can at least argue that he has previously supported the tournament.

He missed the cut on his debut back in 2017, before registering two top 20 finishes in 2018 and 2020.

Interestingly, his final appearance in the event came just one week before DeChambeau blew the golfing world away by winning his first major title at Winged Foot.

There could be other options for DeChambeau if he does want to play that week. The DP World Tour would be wise to invite him to Wentworth for their flagship event at the BMW PGA Championship.

You would imagine that that event will also see a host of European Ryder Cup players involved, so it could be a good opportunity for DeChambeau to make a bit of a statement if he gets the chance to play.

And, as Rapaport says, there is nothing stopping DeChambeau travelling to Napa simply to be amongst the team for a few days.

So it will be very interesting to see what he does as it could provide an indication as to whether DeChambeau is genuinely annoyed or simply saw an opportunity to take a shot at the PGA Tour.