As golfthe civil war continues, with all the optimism coming from announcement in June 2023 that LIVGolf and the PGA Tour had a master agreement in place for a merger that has long dissipated, it’s hard to dispute that the situation has created many winners.
Players who moved to LIV have certainly been generously compensated from a financial standpoint, but they were hardly poor before and low-consumption LIV events appear to be hurting their chances of winning major tournaments – with players like Jon Rahm and Dustin Johnson. largely non-competitive since making the switch and Talor Gooch is now completely out due to the lack of ranking points available.
Golf fans have certainly suffered, with the best players on the planet now spread across two tours, making both less visible from week to week. The paltry viewing figures for LIV and the rapid collapse of television ratings for the PGA Tour are evidence of waning interest and the endless parade of golf politics as the civil war continues is hardly appealing to the casual fan.
Players who have remained loyal to the PGA Tour appear either powerless to control the direction of their sport or, in the case of the Rory McIlroys of the world, have become so deeply engaged in the split that they admit it is the case. . now having a negative impact their performance on the course. The Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffeles who are succeeding on the course seems to do so despite the split, rather than because of it, but even they can’t appreciate the constant questions and uncertainty about when everything will be resolved.
The PGA Tour itself, led by increasingly unpopular commissioner Jay Monahan, has drawn the ire of players and fans both for the lack of transparency and the inability to clean up the mess they are getting into. find. While even the PIF – Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund which funds LIV – cannot be happy with the lack of return on investment so far and the mess the sport finds itself in.
But amidst this negativity, there is one notable exception: the true winner of golf’s civil war must be Bryson DeChambeau. And 2024 was undoubtedly Bryson’s year.
You may remember that when the first defectors moved from the PGA Tour to LIV in 2022, there was a lot of talk about how excited they were about having a lighter schedule and being able to “grow the game.” Everyone implicitly understood that the main attraction was the money they received, often guaranteed rather than purely based on performance, but it was considered rude to admit this, so these slightly more spurious reasons became the explanations of the day.
While those discussions have gradually faded over the past couple of years, DeChambeau — who joined LIV in a $125 million deal and so certainly hasn’t gone hungry — is the only person who has genuinely took the step.
The extra freedom granted by LIV allowed the Californian to capitalize on his quirky personality by creating his own wildly popular YouTube channel. Since the creation of the channel a few years ago, the Californian has gained 1.65 million subscribers and his videos have accumulated 250 million views.
His “Break 50” challenge series sees him team up with a partner from inside and outside the golf world – Phil Mickelson, John Daly, Tom Brady and most memorably, President Donald Trump – shoot in the 40s on 18 holes from the front red tees on a suitable course. He’s also collaborated on videos with the biggest names in golf on YouTube, such as Bob Does Sports, Paige Spiranac and Garrett Clark – people who may not be familiar to a traditional golf fan but have themselves. even a huge online presence and millions of video views.
It’s still entertaining content, just like DeChambeau producing a series of videos that went viral of him trying to make a hole-in-one on the roof of his own house. He made it on day 16.
DeChambeau has exploited the possibilities that YouTube offers professional golfers – allowing people to see the personality behind the sportsman and reaching an audience that, with the best will in the world, television coverage of tour events such as the Genesis Invitational or the Farmers Insurance Open just can’t.
“You can see people for who they really are and that’s what YouTube told me,” DeChambeau explained in an interview with The telegraph earlier this year.
“I understand this whole thing of perception and reality. Perception is reality and by having control over presenting how I appear on my channel, I can show who I really am. YouTube is the next generation, untapped market of golf.
DeChambeau has arguably demonstrated more vision and innovation in a few years on YouTube than traditional golf brokers have in decades. When he talks about expanding the game, there may be a slight cheesiness to it that makes the cynic in you want to roll their eyes, but the seriousness with which he says it draws you in regardless.
“I believe time always tells us who the person really is and it’s more about me realizing all the good I can do for the world and what I want to do for the world, and trying to bring people together via the game of golf. Yeah, that’s my big thing,” he explained. “I want to play a big role in growing golf from 100 million to 150 million over the next decade.”
Perhaps the difference between Dechambeau and many others who opted for LIV – and suddenly saw many of their fans and former allies turn against them in golf’s civil war – is that the 31-year-old was, by his own admission, already an outcast.
He burst onto the golf scene with a “mad scientist” persona. He would think outside the box on how to improve his game, experiment with the details of clubs, balls, launch angles, putting technique and explain it all in punishing detail, while combining this with a brash personality and impetuous.
In the parlance of American high school movies, he was both a jock And a nerd but hated by both factions and found himself short of friends within professional golf. The famous clip of Brooks Koepka visibly grimacing when he heard DeChambeau walking behind him spoke volumes about his personality.
Yet beneath this boldness, DeChambeau felt an insecurity and a desperation to be liked, which meant he struggled to eliminate the negativity sent his way.
“I know I’m different and I like being different,” he said. “But at the same time, I want to be accepted.”
LIV Golf brought a sense of brotherhood to the American and he openly admitted that it helped him flourish.
“I haven’t changed who I am, it’s just people finally seeing who I am,” he added. “It would have been impossible for me to come this far without LIV. It gave me time to get healthy and develop.
“I arrived at LIV and suddenly there were players in the same boat as me. Because they were getting stick too, not from LIV fans but seemingly everywhere else. I wasn’t the only one who was hated and I could share those feelings with my teammates and colleagues.
The fact that even Koepka is now on good terms with DeChambeau and has admitted that he simply didn’t know him well enough before shows how far things have gone.
But ultimately, a golfer’s legacy is defined by results, and what cemented 2024 as DeChambeau’s year was the fact that he added a second major to his tally.
Having won the US Open in 2020 he did it again four years later and in the most spectacular way. In difficult conditions on the final day at Pinehurst, leader McIlroy collapsed with three bogeys in the final four holes, including a missed three-foot putt.
A 55-yard bunker shot to win the US Open.
It may not be remembered like Jack’s 1-iron or Tiger’s Torrey putt, but this legit is one of the best pressure shots EVER.
The degree of difficulty here is insane.
– Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) June 16, 2024
DeChambeau was also struggling but worked his way toward pars until he found himself in the bunker at the 18th. It looked like he would do well to make a bogey that would send him into the playoff against McIlroy, but he produced one of the best shots ever to launch the ball a few feet from the hole and convert for the over spectacular saves by. has win the tournament in one go.
It was a truly remarkable shot that has already entered golf folklore and was the icing on the cake of a promising year in the majors for DeChambeau as he also finished T-6 at the Masters and second at the US PGA. Happy with his lot at LIV, he carries this confidence to the biggest stage.
Who knows what 2025 will bring – perhaps a return to the Ryder Cup, or even another major title – but 2024 has been Bryson’s year on and off the course and he has shown the model for getting the most out of of an endless civil war.
