It’s Time to Read the Tea Leaves with Bryson DeChambeau

It’s not what’s said that’s important, it’s how it’s delivered. When Brooks Koepka returned to the PGA TOUR via the Returning Members Program, three other players were eligible to do the same: Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, and Cameron Smith.

At a LIV Golf press conference in January, DeChambeau was asked his thoughts on the news: “I’m contracted through 2026, so excited about this year.” On the surface, it sounded like good news for the Saudi-backed circuit and all of its hundreds of fans. But instead of just reading the quote, watch how it was said:

I’d say his demeanor and tone don’t necessarily ooze what he called excitement.

On Monday, Today’s Golfer published quotes from the same event from several players addressing LIV’s change to move from 54 holes to 72, including DeChambeau. And again, he sounded anything but committed.

“It’s definitely changed away from what we had initially been told it was going to be. So there is some movement that we’ve all been, I would say, interested in, and going, ‘why that movement?’ Because we were told it was going to be this. So that’s definitely made us have some different thoughts about it.

“I’ve got a contract for this year, and we’ll go through it there and see what happens after that…Is it what we ultimately signed up for? No. So I think we’re supposed to be different, so I’m a little indifferent to it right now…We didn’t sign up to play for 72.”

For LIV, this move was made in an effort to gain World Ranking points. But everything that made the league different from the TOUR is nearly gone. Players are now wearing pants, tournaments are 72 holes. All that’s left is bad EDM music on the first tee and teams named by kindergartners.

Add that to a subpar offseason for LIV, where they signed a handful of non-needle-movers and the reigning NCAA champ but lost Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, and it’s easy to see where DeChambeau’s frustration is coming from.

Am I saying the two-time U.S. Open champion is bound for the TOUR in 2027? Not necessarily. There’s absolutely a world where DeChambeau plays in the four major championships and fully commits to his YouTube channel.

But if you read the tea leaves, I think it’s safe to say he’s done with the LIV Golf experiment—of course, $500 million could always change his mind (something he now has the leverage to ask for).