Is Golf Better Off Without Bryson DeChambeau?

Bryson DeChambeau may not need the PGA Tour.

But does golf need him?

That is the question hanging over the sport after LIV Golf confirmed it will not relaunch in 2027.

LIV's lawyers told a federal bankruptcy judge in Trenton, New Jersey, on Thursday that the league is winding down instead.

"The debtors are not currently proceeding with the LIV 2.0 plan," Matthew Williams, an attorney for LIV, said in court.

The league — initially funded by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund — spent more than $5 billion after launching in 2022.

In April the fund said it was done paying after this season.

LIV filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September and pinned its future on a smaller league backed by up to $300 million from private investment firm BC Partners Credit.

The Financial Times reported Wednesday that BC was walking away.

The Athletic reported the firm didn't believe LIV had enough players.

DeChambeau was one of the players it didn't have.

He spent the fall talking up LIV 2.0 harder than anyone.

On the "Figuring Out" podcast, he said his Crushers GC team generated $8 million last year in EBITDA, which is earnings before interest, taxes and some accounting costs.

Then the deadline came, and he didn't sign.

Sports Business Journal reported that DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Cameron Smith and Joaquin Niemann all passed.

Four players publicly committed: Richard Bland, Cameron Triangle, Brendan Steele and Ben Campbell.

DeChambeau was going to be a free agent anyway.

His LIV contract ran through 2026.

A bankruptcy judge has since approved LIV's rejection of that deal and 18 others.

Rejection is the legal step that frees a bankruptcy company from contracts it can't afford to keep.

Getting paid is a separate filing.

Filings show LIV owes $500 million to $1 billion to at least 1,000 creditors.

DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Johnson hold the biggest unsecured claims, each more than $5 million.

In April, The Telegraph reported DeChambeau was seeking as much as $500 million to stay with LIV.

Now, he's in line for $5.77 million.

There's an interesting business wrinkle too.

BC Partners Credit invested in GSE Worldwide, DeChambeau's agency, in 2024.

GSE has said BC is only a lender and that the agency had no part in the LIV talks.

So what happens now?

DeChambeau had a door in January, but he didn't walk through it.

The PGA Tour built a Returning Member Program for players who had defected.

Brooks Koepka used it to come back this year.

Jon Rahm turned it down.

The Telegraph reported that the PGA Tour could offer the same deal to Rahm once again, as well as DeChambeau and Cameron Smith — although that is unlikely at this stage.

Instead, the DP World Tour is set to offer DeChambeau a free route back into men's professional golf.

According to James Corrigan at The Telegraph, the two-time major winner is eligible to take up full playing privileges on the DP World Tour courtesy of his 2024 U.S. Open victory.

Should the 33-year-old take up this option, he would be eligible to play his way back to the PGA Tour for 2028 via the top-10 cards available on the Race to Dubai.

But DeChambeau may not accept.

He previously stated his desire to become "a YouTube golfer" to grow his 10 million social media following and still be a force in the four majors.

He can still play major championships through 2029 because of his 2024 U.S. Open victory.

He can make appearances at tournaments around the world.

His online presence gives him another way to stay connected with golf fans.

That is a pretty attractive position to be in.

But there is something the numbers and social media following don't necessarily tell us.

Does DeChambeau really want to give up the week-to-week competition against the best players in the world?

There is a difference between being popular and being competitively satisfied.

I suspect the latter still matters to him.

Golf insider Dan Rapoport doesn't see a return happening anytime soon.

He believes DeChambeau was one of LIV Golf's most committed supporters and may not be interested in putting in the work required to regain regular PGA Tour status.