While Bryson DeChambeau is committing to LIV Golf for 2026, his future with the Saudi-backed rebel league is completely up in the air.
And an unexpected change made by LIV Golf might cause him to leave.
LIV is expanding from its three-round, 54-hole format to a more traditional four-round, 72-hole structure for the 2026 season, breaking away from the signature setup that the league is even named after; LIV is the roman numeral for 54.
“It’s definitely changed away from what we had initially been told it was going to be,” DeChambeau recently told Today’s Golfer. “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. Look, it’s 72 holes, it’s changed, but we’re still excited to play professionally and play for what we’re doing and go across the world. I think it’s going to be great for our [Crushers GC] team. 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.
“Hopefully, it weighs positively on me over the course of time, but you never know. I’m not sure. We didn’t sign up to play for 72.”
Brooks Koepka, who left the PGA Tour for LIV in 2022, recently departed LIV to return via the Tour’s new Returning Member Program, a “one-time” window for high-performing golfers that closes Monday. Koepka just competed in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines this past weekend, finishing tied for 56th at 4-under, 19 shots behind winner Justin Rose.
Patrick Reed is also leaving LIV for a PGA Tour return, though he didn’t qualify for the Returning Member Program because he didn’t win a major or the Players from 2022-25; he’s eligible to play on the Tour starting on Aug. 25, a year after his last LIV event.
DeChambeau previously floated the idea of focusing full-time on his YouTube channel, which boasts 2.58 million subscribers, and playing only in major championships.
“That’s an incredibly viable option, I’ll tell you that,” he told Front Office Sports.