If Bryson DeChambeau elects to focus on growing his social media platform in the event LIV Golf shuts down, that's his choice. But Masters champion Rory McIlroy made it clear what he would think if DeChambeau decided not to rejoin the PGA Tour.
“If you want to be the most competitive golfer you can be, this (PGA Tour) is the place to be," McIlroy told reporters at the Truist Championship in Charlotte, N.C. "And if you don’t want to play here, I think that says something about you.”
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DeChambeau, and his LIV peers, were asked about Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund confirming reports it would stop funding LIV Golf after this season. LIV is playing at Donald Trump's course in Virginia.
While DeChambeau told reporters in Virginia he was "shocked" by the announcement and said he will do all he can to help LIV survive beyond 2026, he also is thinking about his options.
One of which does not include returning to the PGA Tour if the penalties are severe enough.
"O.K., so if I can’t help, if we can’t help and the players can’t help find the funding and we don’t find a solution, for me I think it’s really enticing, depending on what everybody says on the (PGA) Tour and what they're going to strike me with as a penalty, which is quite unfortunate in my opinion, considering what I could do for them,” he said.
“I think, from my perspective, I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times. Maybe even more. I would love to. I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I'd love to play tournaments that want me."
DeChambeau, who has 2.7 million YouTube subscribers, turned down the Tour's first offer to return, which came early this year. DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith were given the option to return under the same penalties Brooks Koepka accepted to return. That one time offer expired in February.
DeChambeau's contract with LIV is up after this year, which may not matter.
Rory McIlroy: PIF not funding LIV 'says something'
McIlroy, speaking after his second round at Truist, believes LIV's future is dire if a trillion dollar sovereign wealth fund believes it is not worth funding. The PIF has invested more than $5.3 billion into the league since its 2022 debut.
"It's never been for me and, look, it doesn't mean that LIV is going to go away," McIlroy said. "They're going to go and try and find alternative investment, whatever that may look like. But when one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world thinks that you're too expensive for them, that sort of says something."
McIlroy admitted he was "probably too judgmental" when it came to the players who defected from the PGA Tour for LIV.
"I was seeing it from my point of view and maybe not seeing it from other points of view," he said.
"But if it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, I think (PGA Tour CEO) Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this Tour stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that. That's just good business practice."
Tom D'Angelo is a senior sports columnist and reporter for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Rory McIlroy not fan of Bryson DeChambeau potentially ducking PGA Tour