While LIV Golf is unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon, the league surely cannot afford to lose Bryson DeChambeau when his contract expires at the end of the year.
Bryson DeChambeau‘s future is under the microscope following Brooks Koepka‘s decision to leave LIV Golf in December. DeChambeau is now the only player in the league to have won a major after signing with LIV.
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He is also one of the most popular players on the planet. So losing him would be a huge setback to LIV as they presumably look to rival the PGA Tour.
But Rory McIlroy thinks LIV may already be in a no-win situation when it comes to DeChambeau.
Rory McIlroy suggests the impact Bryson DeChambeau re-signing with LIV Golf would have
DeChambeau reportedly wants $500 million to sign a new contract. LIV are expected to meet those demands to ensure that the Crushers captain stays.
But speaking to The Telegraph, McIlroy has suggested that while LIV may not be able to lose DeChambeau, tying him down to a new contract does not leave them in a significantly better position.
He said: “It’s not as if they made any huge signings this year, is it?”.
“They haven’t signed anyone who moves the needle and I don’t think they will. I mean, they could re-sign Bryson for hundreds of millions of dollars, but even if they do, it doesn’t change their product does it?
“They’ll just be paying for the exact same thing. And they’ve lost Brooks, so they’ll be paying out all this money.”
The PGA Tour is under little pressure as DeChambeau weighs up his future
To the more casual golf fan, it would be a positive statement from LIV Golf if DeChambeau ended up signing a new contract.
LIV’s momentum looks to have completely stalled. So convincing DeChambeau to extend his stay with the league would be a much-needed boost.
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Brooks Koepka has left, while they have signed the likes of Laurie Canter and Thomas Detry so far
It may send an encouraging message to players considering joining LIV. Those on the fence may be happy to sit there until it becomes clear whether the league’s best players will be staying.
But the PGA Tour has weathered the storm and reemerged as the number one stage for the world’s best players while DeChambeau has been on LIV.
It would be a further boost if they could convince DeChambeau to return. But it is surely much more important for LIV to not lose him than it is for the PGA Tour to bring him back.
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