Jim Nantz points out the only thing which is stopping Bryson DeChambeau from reaching ‘gigantic stardom’

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There are no two ways about the fact that Bryson DeChambeau is one of the most in-form golfers on the planet right now.

Ahead of the upcoming PGA Championship, the long-hitting DeChambeau is one of the standout favourites to win the second major of the year, alongside Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy of course.

DeChambeau will have a huge advantage at The PGA Championship, due to his mammoth length off the tee.

He has driven the ball supremely well this season, and has even added some accuracy to complement his distance off the tee.

The 31-year-old finally got his first win of 2025 nine days ago on LIV in South Korea, and he will be extremely confident heading into the PGA.

DeChambeau is one of the hardest workers in the game, and golf fans absolutely love him.

However, is there another level for the two-time major winner still to reach?

Jim Nantz thinks LIV Golf is stopping Bryson DeChambeau from reaching ‘gigantic stardom’

The 31-year-old switched to LIV Golf from the PGA Tour back in 2022.

Since then, DeChambeau has won three events on the Saudi-backed golf league.

And to his credit, he has been a regular feature on the leaderboards at majors as well, with his standout performance coming at Pinehurst when he won the US Open in 2024.

Nantz admitted that he is a huge fan of DeChambeau, when speaking on the 5 Clubs podcast.

However, Nantz suggested that he’s not as big of a draw for TV as he would be if he was playing on the PGA Tour.

“Well, he’s been a TV asset when he’s playing at the major championships. I can’t say he’s a TV asset on LIV, just to make, you know, not trying to take a shot here. I’m just talking about the pure numbers. People haven’t really been watching, and he is a TV star, though, when it comes to social media, YouTube, and all those videos.

“My son, Jamo, he loves all those Bryson videos. He watches him over and over again, so would he be a big draw? I mean, I’m not going to hide the fact, I have no reason to. I’m very fond of Bryson. I think he would be a tremendous draw, and I expect him to be in the thick of things here.

“If I boil it down to your question. I think that if he was playing where we saw him all the time on a regular basis, his stardom would be gigantic. We just don’t get a chance to see him very often, compete against the players he’s going to compete against this week, and he has seized this stage really well. I mean, look what he did at Valhalla a year ago, and he rallied thousands of people behind him. So I wish him well. I think he’s done a lot of great things for the game, and I think he’s going to be right there. “

I understand the point that Nantz is making, but it’s still hard to argue that the two-time US Open champion isn’t one of the three biggest draws in golf right now, regardless of what tour he is playing on.

What PGA Tour players really think of Bryson DeChambeau

DeChambeau is a hugely divisive character. Some people love him, whilst others think he might just be putting on an act.

“He’s way more well-rounded. The short game, the putting, he has reinvented himself with that putter. And as uncomfortable as it looks, and as weird as it is that he goes and paces off the distance and has that yard stick that he practices with, and he knows how far to take it back for a putt – it’s weird. But it works for him. It is who he is,” he said.

“Whether it’s real or it’s fake, the engagement he has with the fans, he’s got more support than he ever has. Who would have thought Sunday at Augusta that it was even a question in the last group with Rory McIlroy that yeah, Bryson’s going to have his fair share of fans out there, and he proved that he did.

“Of all the guys who went to LIV, he’s the only one that has really benefitted from that decision because it’s allowed him to be himself a little bit more and express himself in different ways. Good on him. He’s been great to me. Every time I ask him to do anything, he does it. I know that a lot of players still think he’s completely full of it, but I don’t care. He’s got it figured out.”

The fact that a lot of players on tour think that DeChambeau is ‘full of it’, will surely only serve to make him even more determined to win.

And not one person would be surprised if the American ended up winning the PGA Championship this week.