It is undeniable that Bryson DeChambeau has a natural talent for attracting attention on social media. There are the undeniable numbers of his YouTube channel with more than two and a half million subscribers. His content, some of which is really well-crafted and brilliant, has captivated a very large audience. Perhaps that is why he has believed that the best way to engage in the public debate that has arisen about his future is with a supposedly clever post on his social media. It is a photo of him, shrugging, next to an exit sign with a question addressing the viewer: “What would you do?”
It all comes down to his yet-to-be-renewed contract with LIV Golf and the return offer that the PGA Tour has put on the table, which expires on the upcoming 2nd of February. Social media, or what is not social media, be it bar counters, clubhouse restaurants, or traditional coffee tables, have been wildly stirred by the real possibility that Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and/or Cameron Smith might follow in the footsteps of Brooks Koepka, who left LIV Golf at the end of December and has now accepted the PGA Tour’s proposal to return in exchange for paying five million dollars and renouncing for five years the equity distribution that the circuit makes among its members.
The million-dollar question is what Rahm, DeChambeau, or Smith will do. The Spaniard, as reported by TenGolf this past Monday, has no intention of leaving LIV Golf. Something very unusual would have to happen for him to change his stance in the next 20 days. He feels comfortable and important in the Saudi league. Smith has yet to speak up, although those who know him bet that he will not pack his bags. The only one who has publicly spoken is DeChambeau, and he has done so with the previously explained image that accompanies this article.
Surely, DeChambeau’s only intention with that image and question is nothing more than to make a joke, play with his followers, and make himself noticed. However, the question that really echoes in one’s mind as soon as you see his post is another: do you really, Bryson, think that’s so funny?
It is obvious that the Californian golfer, a two-time US Open champion, knows he holds the upper hand in either of the two possible negotiations, but beyond the pure business, which in style reminds one of Donald Trump, it seems a joke in very poor taste from both the LIV and PGA Tour sides.
If he leaves the Saudi league, the tease towards the PIF and Yassir Al Rumayyan, who showered him with dollars at a time when he was not exactly going through the most fertile period of his career, is tremendous. At the same time, if what he is going to do is reject the PGA Tour’s proposal and stay in LIV Golf, the post cannot be interpreted in any other way than as a mockery towards the American circuit. Any way you look at it, it is not funny at all.
Of course, the future of Bryson DeChambeau is important in the world of golf, but absolutely insignificant if we take a look at the current events surrounding us. He is fully entitled to push for what he deems appropriate and make any move that could bring him more money in a negotiation, but surely if he racks his brain a bit more, he can come up with a more clever, fun, and above all, classier and more stylish response. Not everything is about money. It’s not just about money.
That said, and using common sense, it would not be surprising if DeChambeau announces in a few hours with great fanfare his renewal with LIV Golf. The opposite would be going very, very, very overboard.
