Bryson DeChambeau has appealed for LIV Golf to be given “one more shot” as doubts grow over the Saudi breakaway’s long-term future.
The two-time US Open champion hit back at Rory McIlroy, who had questioned whether the American and Spaniard Jon Rahm, LIV’s standout figures, generated any real value for the tour.
It follows the withdrawal of support by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which previously provided $5 billion, but announced it would cut funding at the end of the season.
Although LIV stated this month that it has found a new main investor to run a scaled-down circuit next year, a deal is yet to be signed.
Speaking at the season-ending tournament in Indianapolis, DeChambeau said: “I think we just have a bit of a responsibility to continue to show this. If it works, it works; awesome. If it doesn’t, we’ll figure things out.”
He added: “Time will move on, and I would say that time heals things. I hope people can see that we actually bring value to the game of golf. My wish is that people give us one more shot and be open minded.”
Earlier this week, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil admitted the rebel league is in a race against time to finalise a new investment deal, but expressed optimism about the future.
We have a very compressed timeline to get the deal done,” O’Neil said. “I’m not going to share that here. But I can tell you we’re well on our way to a transaction. Very excited about the future.”
Ted Goldthorpe, head of the investment group BC Partners, is reportedly the prospective lead investor who has agreed a term sheet with LIV. However, that prospective financing remains conditional on how many top players agree to stay with the league for 2027 and beyond, a detail O’Neil largely confirmed on Wednesday.
“Look, the entirety of our focus is to get to this transaction and get through it,” O’Neil said. “Without the players, that becomes very difficult. I have a good level of confidence in my conversation that we’ll have a critical mass of the right players to move this league forward.”
