Bryson DeChambeau made his LIV Golf debut in Portland in June before featuring in the latest event in Bedminster, won by Henrik Stenson; Members of the rival tour - including DeChambeau - are currently banned from competing on the PGA Tour
Wednesday 3 August 2022 13:08, UK
Bryson DeChambeau claimed he โpersonally knowsโ LIV Golf members will be able to return to the PGA Tour in future and offered a bizarre pizza shop analogy to describe the controversy surrounding the sport.
DeChambeau joined players including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Phil Mickelson in joining the breakaway tour, which has eight events scheduled in 2022 ahead of a more expanded calendar next season.
PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan indefinitely suspended any members who joined the Greg Norman-fronted series, although DeChambeau is confident a resolution can be found to enable players to play on both tours.
"It doesn't make sense (the ban)," DeChambeau told Fox News. "No, I'm not worried about that. I think it will get figured out. I personally know that it will get figured out, whether it's legally or whether they come to the table and work out terms. I definitely think it will all wash itself out in the future, pretty shortly."
Norman has previously said that banning LIV Golf players from other tours was "vindictive" and something that "deepens the divide between the [PGA] Tour and its members", while DeChambeau used an unusual comparison to try to explain why the new tour can "grow the game".
DeChambeau added: "It's so weird, because it's like - let's use this as a reference. I heard this earlier this week. You have a pizza shop that's been in existence for 50 years and all the customers go to it and it's a great product.
"All of a sudden, a new pizza shop opens up, right? And they start paying the customers to come eat at their place, and that pizza is potentially a little bit better of a pizza, right? And then, all of a sudden, that original pizza house goes, if you go over there, we're banning you from ever coming back to our pizza shop. What's wrong with that economic model?
"Any time anyone invests over a billion dollars into the game of golf, how is that not going to grow the game and how is that not going to provide more opportunities?"
PGA Tour players could take the "nuclear option" of boycotting events if LIV rebels successfully challenge their suspensions, according to former Ryder Cup captain Davis Love III.
Love believes those who have remained loyal to the PGA Tour are "fed up" with the Saudi-backed breakaway, which will expand to a 14-event league next year.
DP World Tour members won a court battle to get the punishments temporarily stayed, pending determination of a full appeal, and Love thinks a similar legal challenge from players indefinitely suspended from the PGA Tour could spark a dramatic reaction.
"If the LIV guys sue and are allowed to play on the PGA Tour, the players are enough fed up with it," Love said. "We understand that we make the rules on the PGA Tour and the commissioner is enforcing our rules and we don't want those guys playing, coming and cherry-picking our tournaments.
"We hold all the cards. We say to the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) and to Washington, 'No, we support the rules. We don't want those guys playing. We don't care what the courts say'. The nuclear option is to say 'Fine, if they have to play in our events we just won't play'."
Patrick Reed has committed to playing in two Asian Tour events this month, just weeks after saying that a limited schedule was one of the appeals of joining the LIV Golf circuit.
With the next LIV Golf event not until September 2-4 in Boston, Reed has confirmed he will play Asian Tour International Series events in Singapore from August 11-14 and South Korea a week later.
Reed, who previously said that the year-round FedExCup schedule was "forcing you to have to play, and that's not doing anything for you mentally and physically", is one of several LIV Golfers scheduled to feature in Singapore.
The Asian Tour events offer a significantly lower prize purse than LIV Golf events, with a first prize of $270,000 compared to the $4million on offer in Bedminster, although remain an avenue for LIV Golf members to earn world ranking points.
