LIV Golf chief executive Scott O’Neil says the league won’t have to worry about surviving without Bryson DeChambeau as he’s confident the two-time U.S. Open champion will extend his stay with the breakaway tour.
DeChambeau’s contract expires at the end of the season and he was looking to sign a lucrative extension, reported to be worth at least $500m, before Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) announced it was set to pull its financial support.
The 32-year-old American said he was left “completely shocked” by the PIF announcement as he was of the opinion the league had secured funding until at least 2032.
Before LIV Golf’s event in Virginia, DeChambeau said he was willing to focus on growing his YouTube channel and play in “the tournaments that actually want me” if the league doesn’t survive.
But O’Neil told GOLF’s Alan Bastable in a wide-ranging interview that he doesn’t believe DeChambeau is going anywhere soon.
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Bryson DeChambeau
“We have negotiations with players ongoing,” he said. “His happens to get quite a bit of attention.
“Bryson is an extraordinary partner. He is the most popular golfer on the planet. He’s winning. He loves team golf. He believes in the vision of LIV.
“He’s willing to travel around the world, grow the game. And of all the athletes I’ve worked with in my career — and there’ve been a lot of them, from a lot of different sports — he’s the most pure to the mission of an athlete I’ve ever met.
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“And Bryson has asked to sit side by side with me and Ducera [LIV’s investment bank] to raise money together.”
O’Neil said he doesn’t have to worry about DeChambeau not being part of the deal in pitches to investors.
“Bryson is more pro-LIV than I am,” he said.
“We talked yesterday [Tuesday] about him joining me for the investor meetings, so I think that’ll be a pretty good indication as to what’s going to transpire. He’s really smart. He’s very intuitive. He’s as good a brand builder as I’ve ever seen.
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“From a marketing standpoint, his creativity almost knows no bounds, surrounds himself with good people, and has a real strong opinion as to how we should go forward together. So he’s very well in the plans, and he’ll be joining me on a lot of investor pitches.”
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Asked why he was so confident that DeChambeau will be part of LIV’s future, O’Neil said: “I [have] spent [so much] time with him. He’s my partner in this business. He’s a great thought partner. He’s a leader. And he believes in this product.
“I’ve seen it, every day. He does what he says he’s gonna do at a world-class level. When the light shines brightest, he can certainly step up, and when the lights aren’t on, it’s the same thing, which I love.”
O’Neil also said he had an investment figure in mind that he believes LIV needs to raise to make the league viable, but refused to share it.
McIlroy sees LIV defectors returning to PGA Tour as “good business” 
Rory McIlroy
Elsewhere, reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy says bringing back LIV Golf defectors would be “good business” for the PGA Tour.
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McIlroy was once one of LIV’s fiercest critics but he his stance has softened significantly.
And he has no issue if there are players that wish to re-join the PGA Tour should the league collapse.
“It’s a question if [players] do want to come back,” said McIlroy after round two of the Truist Championship in Charlotte.
“Obviously we have seen the quotes over the last few days. And, you know, it seems like it all depends on what happens to LIV.
Rory McIlroy
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“But if it is a scenario where they have the option to come back and play on the traditional tours, you know, I think [PGA Tour chief executive] Brian Rolapp has said anything that makes this tour stronger, anything that makes the DP World Tour stronger, I think everyone should be open to that.
“That’s just good business practice.”
McIlroy also questioned LIV’s ability to find new funding.
“When one of the wealthiest sovereign wealth funds in the world thinks that you’re too expensive for them, that sort of says something,” he said.
The 37-year-old also took a dig at LIV by saying that “it says something about you” if you don’t want to play on the PGA Tour as it is the only place where players can be “the most competitive golfer you can be”.
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McIlroy also expressed his relief that Jon Rahm has settled his long-running rift with the DP World Tour.
The Spaniard is now eligible to compete in next year’s Ryder Cup after settling his fines with the Wentworth-based circuit for playing in conflicting LIV Golf events without official permission.
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