Does The PGA Tour Need Bryson?

Last week, the MyGolfSpy staff group chat had a poll with a simple question:

“Does the PGA Tour need Bryson?”

The votes were decidedly in the negative. No, the Tour does not need him.

It’s a fascinating question, right? No matter your opinion of Bryson DeChambeau, he’s, at minimum, the third-biggest draw of any active player in the game.

Who brings more eyeballs to golf? Tiger is basically retired. Maybe you could argue for a Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth or Scottie Scheffler ahead of him. Still, Bryson might be considered No. 1 in terms of driving fan interest in a tournament.

He’s beloved by some and villainized by many. He’s one of the few golfers fans either love or hate, which the Tour could use.

But it’s fair to say the question changes dramatically if you change need to want.

The Tour doesn’t necessarily need any single player. It has survived in the post-Tiger era—and if it can survive without him, it can survive without Bryson. TV ratings are solid this year and the guys are playing for $20-million purses.

It will likely remain successful with or without Bryson. Agreed?

So maybe the Tour doesn’t need Bryson in the that he is necessary for their growth or survival.

But does the Tour want Bryson back?

They’ve already shown their cards that they do want him back (cue the Jackson 5).

The potentially messy return of LIV golfers

You’re undoubtedly aware of LIV Golf’s current situation. Although it seems likely the league will play out the remainder of its events for the 2026 season, anything beyond that is very much in danger of not happening.

Without the Saudi Public Investment Fund bankrolling LIV, the circuit now has to play by the normal rules of business. That means a sudden and profound infusion of corporate dollars.

I guess paying Bryson $500 million doesn’t help the spreadsheet very much. Hell, paying him $5 million might be too much of a burden here.

Regardless, you get the point: LIV is on life support.

I’ve written at length before about how LIV golfers can return to the Tour (if they want to).

The simple part is that Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has stated several times that he wants to improve the Tour product. That is his mission. And adding world-class talent like Bryson and Jon Rahm would be accomplishing that.

The Tour has already offered to take them back via the Returning Member Program from earlier this year. They could, in theory, get LIV’s two stars back into the fold with minimal interference. Brooks Koepka is an active example of that.

However, Rolapp has signaled that future punishments would be harsher given the circumstances.

Bryson called that reality “quite unfortunate in my opinion, considering what I could do for them.”

Geez, man. Can you at least pretend to be humble?

There will likely be suspensions and repercussions for guys like DeChambeau to find their way back. It could be more than a full year until we see him back on Tour, even if LIV goes extinct after this season.

Setting that aside for a moment, let’s talk about whether Bryson would come back to the Tour if the opportunity presents itself.

Bryson is giving mixed signals (and his PR team has work to do)

Earlier this year, I wrote about whether DeChambeau would seriously consider playing YouTube golf full-time.

“I think, from my perspective, I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” DeChambeau told ESPN. “I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I’d love to play tournaments that want me.”

It’s possible from a financial perspective—and he continues to flaunt the option—but I think one massive problem would prevent him from doing that.

Imagine showing up to the Masters and having limited competitive reps? Breaking 50 is not exactly The Players Championship.

It just seems that Bryson would eventually fall out of form if he didn’t have a home tour where he was consistently playing competitive golf against world-class talent. Say what you want about LIV and its exhibition golf tendencies, those were at least structured tournaments with pros. YouTube golf is just for content.

So what about coming back to the Tour? Would he do that?

The short summary is that we’re not really sure. He’s giving mixed signals.

In recent interviews, DeChambeau has been coming off even more egotistical than normal.

“Look, the PGA Tour isn’t doing great, either,” he told ESPN. “Let’s be honest about the situation. They’ve got the media. They’ve got everybody on the side that helps pump it up. But they’re reducing field sizes, cutting employees and restructuring their business, too.”

The Tour recently cut 56 staff members in a recent downsizing, although DeChambeau’s characterization of the Tour is a little extreme, especially when you consider LIV’s situation.

In another interview, DeChambeau said it would be up to the Tour’s membership to decide whether he is welcome back or not, which seemed to indicate he would be interested (there have also been reports that his team has been in contact with Tour officials about a return).

Personally, I think a little awareness and contrition would go a long way here.

He’s been chipping away at any goodwill he earned through being a content creator the past few years. I think he needs a new PR team.

Just say you are playing LIV for the rest of your contract—which ends after this season—and then you will evaluate your options.

The issue of media rights

One of the issues the Tour has with getting Bryson back is his inability to create content around Tour events. He brought up the problem prior to LIV Virginia.

“If I was to film a video during the week of one of their events with a content creator or a celebrity, that would be in violation, to my knowledge … It’s their policy, they didn’t let me do it when I was on there,” he told Skratch.

That’s not entirely correct, however. There is currently no limit on how much on-site player-created content can be published during non-competition days. DeChambeau could film an entire practice round at a Tour event and publish it, according to Front Office Sports.

There are still restrictions on competition days but the Tour is getting ready to roll out new media guidelines that offer slightly more freedom.

Changes include:

• Players will now be allowed to distribute three minutes of content created on-site during competition days, up from two minutes previously. 
• After a tournament round’s TV coverage window ends, players will now be allowed to post broadcast footage of up to six shots per round, totaling up to one minute of highlights, up from a single shot previously. 
• Players can post more extensive highlights from TV coverage on social media 72 hours after an event ends—that’s considered archive footage, which is being increased to eight minutes allowed per video (up from five) and 120 minutes total on any player’s YouTube channel (up from 60). 

The Tour has been less restrictive with media rights and it feels inevitable that more flexibility will be coming in the future. It doesn’t seem like a blanket excuse Bryson could use to avoid playing the Tour.

The bottom line

Does the Tour need Bryson?

No. It would survive without him.

However, it’s clear the Tour would benefit from DeChambeau’s involvement. He gets fans interested in the product.

I feel the Tour will be motivated to figure out a way to get him back. And I think Bryson would want to come back, even if there are some consequences to work through.

What are your thoughts? Let me know below in the comments.

Top Photo Caption: Bryson DeChambeau could be looking for a way back to the PGA Tour. (GETTY IMAGES/Hector Vivas)