The Saudi Public Investment Fund may have pulled its funding from LIV Golf, but Bryson DeChambeau doesn't believe it's the only circuit that is suffering in the current environment.
The Crushers GC captain has also suggested the PGA Tour isn't thriving either.
DeChambeau gave his thoughts to ESPN ahead of LIV Golf Virginia, where he began by discussing what his future could look like if the circuit folds.
DeChambeau is arguably LIV Golf’s highest-profile asset, and that’s backed up by a huge social media presence, including 2.69 million YouTube subscribers. Not surprisingly, he would focus more on that.
He said: “I think, from my perspective, I'd love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more.
"I would love to. 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."
Like other LIV Golfers, DeChambeau is currently suspended from the PGA Tour. However, earlier in the year, he was handed an olive branch to resume his PGA Tour career immediately via the Returning Member Program.
DeChambeau was one of four players who could have taken advantage of it, but ultimately, only Brooks Koepka did, and at a significant financial cost.
The initiative was introduced before the Saudi Public Investment Fund announced it would withdraw its financial backing for LIV Golf at the end of the 2026 season, while it was stressed at the time that it was a “one-time, defined window and does not set a precedent for future situations.”
Despite that, it seems highly likely the PGA Tour would still welcome a player of DeChambeau’s stature back into the fold.
However, the idea of severe penalties doesn’t sit too well with him, describing the PGA Tour’s stance as “quite unfortunate in my opinion, considering what I could do for them."
Earlier in the week, LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil discussed the circuit’s future in his first press conference since the PIF announced it was pulling its funding.
In it, he spoke positively about LIV Golf’s appeal to potential investors, with one aspect in particular. He said: “If you ask me where the value of this business is, it's in the teams.”
DeChambeau shares that view and suggested the franchises could help make LIV Golf attractive in any future merger talks with the PGA Tour.
“If we have a great business model and they're very interested in combining forces, that's the Kumbaya moment, right?
"So, it's our job to come up with a better business plan on the [top company] side. The team franchises, there's enough making profit now to where we could sell them for close to $200 million, and that's not talking about my team either."
"I think it requires a little bit of everybody kind of just lowering their guards and all coming together and going, 'OK, what's best for the game of golf?'"
While that question will surely be tackled in due course, DeChambeau isn't convinced the PGA Tour is thriving in the current environment.
He added: "Look, the [PGA Tour] isn't doing great either. 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."
DeChambeau thinks whichever way the future is mapped out for men’s elite golf, it needs to happen with a can-do attitude, with his own YouTube success as an example.
"The egos need to get dropped,” he said. “Everybody needs to come in with a level-headed playing field, with an opportunistic mindset to grow the game of golf. That's why I came over here. That's why I do what I do on YouTube."
