The two-time U.S. Open champion told Sports Illustrated that no one from the Tour reached out to him before announcing its “Returning Member Program.”
As one of the proponents of the LIV Golf League’s mission and perhaps its biggest attraction, the two-time major champion has been keen on seeing the controversial circuit grow and opportunities expand.
But his former colleague on LIV Golf, Brooks Koepka, is the biggest story in the game at the moment andhas left DeChambeau to answer some uncomfortable questions while also knowing he possesses the ultimate leverage. DeChambeau said again Tuesday at a LIV Golf season preview event which involved nearly all of the players in the league that he is contracted with LIV through 2026 and “we’ll see how it all plays out.” It would be naïve for anyone to think that the three players the PGA Tour singled out along with Koepka who are being offered a pathway back would say anything other than the company line. LIV Golf’s season begins in less than a month in Riyadh and this preseason event has become an annual place for the league to gather marketing and publicity material with its players while offering media opportunities. Clearly the subject of Koepka—who after four years with LIV announced last month he was leaving and then Monday saw his PGA Tour membership reinstated—was going to be a topic. In announcing that Koepka will play in two weeks at the Farmers Insurance Open, the Tour released what it is calling the “Returning Member Program” that specifically applies to only Koepka, DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Cam Smith. All four won major championships since LIV began in 2022 and thus would have immediate status on the PGA Tour if they were to return. Koepka is doing so; none others, as expected, pledged anything other than loyalty to LIV Golf.But they did seem somewhat surprised they were included by name in the information the Tour released. There’s been no indication that the Tour reached out to any of them to gauge their interest in returning, all three said they had not heard anything about the pathway until it was reported on Monday.. “It’s not surprising. I don’t get shocked by much anymore. I know both sides too well, but what I can say is that it is interesting and we’ll see how it all plays out.” DeChambeau said nobody from the Tour reached out to him or his representatives in advance. “It developed on the spot,” he said. His contract status with LIV Golf is known because he made it public and DeChambeau finds himself in an advantageous position. The PGA Tour, surely, would love to have him back and while it won’t be this year, the possibility exists for next year or beyond. Does that mean that LIV Golf and its Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia has to pony up another nine-figure contract to keep him? And if it doesn’t, how damaging is that to the league? Cam Smith reiterated his support of LIV Golf on Tuesday as discussion continued around Brooks Koepka’s departure and quick return to the PGA Tour. | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images The contract situation for Rahm and Smith is less clear. Neither has disclosed the length. Rahm, who won the 2021 U.S. Open and 2023 Masters, has been part of the league for two seasons and is believed to have signed a multi-year deal that extends beyond this year and possibly beyond 2027. Smith, who won the 2022 British Open at St. Andrews, signed soon after that victory said he’s committed to his all-Australian team.But he also acknowledged that Monday’s announcement “definitely came from left field. I really don’t know what to think of it at the moment. It feels like there’s a ton of good players out here who should earn the right to do that or not. It doesn’t make sense to me. It really doesn’t.” Smith was referring to the fact that the pathway presented Monday was only open to those four named players. No other players fit the criteria of having won majors during that time. “We’ve gone away and now we get an opportunity to go back,” said Smith, who said either he nor his representatives had been contacted in advance. “That doesn’t make sense to me.” Rahm said he was unaware his name was even in the Tour statement but did suggest he was aware some sort of pathway was in the works. “I had heard rumors for quite a few weeks, some of them going back to last year already,” he said during a media session with several of LIV Golf’s captains. “It wasn’t a surprise whatsoever. I haven’t seen much. Obviously I’m aware of what’s going on. Did us three get named personally—actually named personally? “Well, I wasn’t aware of that. But the criteria itself would obviously be enough for us to know who it is. Wasn’t surprised at all. There’s been quite a few rumors I’ve heard about for a while. Not really surprised at all by the news .”BOB HARIG Bob Harig is a senior writer covering golf for Sports Illustrated. He has more than 25 years experience on the beat, including 15 at ESPN. Harig is a regular guest on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio and has written two books, "DRIVE: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods" and "Tiger and Phil: Golf's Most Fascinating Rivalry." He graduated from Indiana University where he earned an Evans Scholarship, named in honor of the great amateur golfer Charles Evans Jr. Harig, a former president of the Golf Writers Association of America, lives in Clearwater, Fla.
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