"Deal needs to happen fast" - Bryson DeChambeau believes urgent action is needed regarding the PGA x LIV deal for golf's future
Bryson DeChambeau believes there's some waning interest in the sport of golf and that the pending deal between the PIF of Saudi Arabia and the PGA Tour needs to happen to fix that.
According to DeChambeau, not only does the deal need to happen but it needs to happen sooner rather than later. The framework was agreed to almost a year ago but the deal is still incomplete as the two sides continue working things out.
DeChambeau believes there are multiple solutions to the problems currently facing the sport. From a player's perspective, he said that the two sides need to come together once again and remove the rift once and for all.
He said via NUCLR GOLF on X (formerly Twitter):
"The fans are what drive this sport. If we don't have fans, we don't have golf. We are not up here entertaining. That's the most important thing as of right now, the low-hanging fruit. There's got to be a way to come together. How that comes together, that's above all of us out here."
DeChambeau believes the players can give inputs and suggestions on what would work but the onus falls on the powers that be to find a path forward because the LIV Golf star believes the sport cannot sustain its current direction.
He says the current model is not sustainable and that everyone involved on both sides wants the best for the sport:
"We all love this game and we want to keep playing it and we want to keep competing.”
DeChambeau noted that it's great for LIV and PGA Tour members to be able to compete at the Major tournaments but he and most others want to be competing week in and week out on that same level against the world's best. He finished by saying:
"And it needs to happen fast. It's not a two-year thing. Like it needs to happen quicker rather than later just for the good of the sport. Too many people are losing interest."
Whether or not those in power agree and see the need for urgency remains to be seen.
Phil Mickelson trusts Yasir Al-Rumayyan for PIF x PGA merger
It's not just Bryson DeChambeau that wants to see this merger be done quickly as a lot of golfers and golf fans are unsure what the future holds. There's no telling what the sport will look like this time next year or even further into the future.
There's been some distrust in management, especially on the PGA Tour side. That said, LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson doesn't distrust his leadership. Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been leading the PIF and has been instrumental in the merger.
Mickelson said via the Palm Beach Post:
"We are in a transitional state where we now have competition and that's leading to a lot of disruption and change. I don't know how it's going to end up, exactly, or what it's going to look like. I'm putting my trust in Yasir and where the game is headed more globally."
Some people might be concerned, but Mickelson has full faith in his side's leadership.