Rumors about Bryson DeChambeau’s future continue to swirl. Last week, reports surfaced that LIV Golf only has 35 days to resign star players in order to secure 2.0 funding. A short while later, PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp again shot down an extension of the Returning Players program that welcomed Brooks Koepka back into the fold earlier this year.
At some point very soon, DeChambeau—one of biggest global names in golf—is going to have to stick or twist, but for now he’s just trolling. This weekend, DeChambeau teased he was “Coming Home” in a cryptic story on Instagram, and the Internet quickly did what the Internet does (lose its mind).
As anyone with a shred of media literacy realized, however, “home” didn’t mean the PGA Tour, it meant, quite literally, home. Many believed DeChambeau was teasing the return of his viral 2024 hole-in-one challenge, when he attempted to make a hole-in-one OVER HIS HOUSE each day for over two weeks until he finally, triumphantly prevailed. Instead, the current (former?) Crushers captain announced something entirely new: Bryson’s Backyard Games.
The setup is simple. Over the next 10 days, 10 golfers—a mix of randoms and YouTube stars such as Grant Horvat, Brad Dalke, Chazzy and the Bryan Bros.—will play one-hole elimination matches from a variety of whacky routings in DeChambeau’s backyard. Eventually those 10 golfers will be whittled down to one, who will then face DeChambeau in a three-hole shootout to determine who takes home the $100,000 pot. If DeChambeau wins, that pot will go to one of his lucky Instagram followers.
Bryson DeChambeau says he will make an announcement on Monday, teasing fans by posting a white image with the text: “I’m coming home.” It remains to be seen whether the announcement, which is due at 1:00 p.m. ET, is anything of substance or just a plug for engagement. Few would be surprised if he unveils a sponsorship deal or something related to his YouTube channel, but DeChambeau is at a fascinating crossroads in his career.
LIV Golf is in peril after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after being ditched by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment fund, and the two-time major champion is out of contract. He has repeatedly pledged his commitment to LIV, but with cracks widening in the breakaway league as it tries to secure player buy-in for 2027, calls have grown for DeChambeau to return to the PGA Tour.
However, a PGA Tour insider told Mirror Sports U.S. that DeChambeau’s post is “nothing to do with us.” And with LIV in the midst of court proceedings as it hopes to shed its massive debts and relaunch as a new entity next year, it is highly unlikely that DeChambeau will pledge his official commitment to the league in the immediate future.
Across the board, LIV players have been tight-lipped about their plans for next season as they await the conclusion of LIV’s bankruptcy proceedings. Members of the breakaway league who teed it up at this week’s BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour gave little away, though Joaquin Niemann did give a little insight. “No, nothing yet,” he told Golf Digest when asked if he had formally committed to “LIV 2.0.” On the status of LIV, he added: “I have no idea. I mean, I wish to say something, but I have no idea.”
DeChambeau, LIV’s biggest star was prominently involved in talks with prospective investors after the league learned of the PIF’s withdrawal in April. Those talks ultimately resulted in a $300 million rescue package being agreed in principle with the credit arm of private equity firm BC Partners. The viability of the deal hinges on top stars committing for 2027, but it is widely expected that Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will be among those to cut and run.
Yet DeChambeau, 32, spoke optimistically about LIV’s chances of survival at the season finale in Indianapolis last month. “I think there’s a lot of potential moving forward,” he said. “It’s been an interesting ride, that’s for sure. You know just as much as I have everything that we’ve gone through and the tough moments that we’ve had. But it’s made us stronger. As much as we’re transitioning from LIV 1.0 to 2.0, I have great thoughts about what could happen next year. I wish I could be more up front about it. But ultimately I’m proud of the fact of what we’ve done, the good and some of the bad that we’ve unfortunately had, things that have occurred. I’m going to be real with it; not everything was perfect. But for the most part we’ve done a solid job. If there’s one thing that I could say, it’s we did something different in the game of golf, and I’m proud of that.”
