Bryson DeChambeau mentor adds fuel to Saudi fire

Rumours are intensifying about Bryson DeChambeau defecting to the Saudi Arabia-funded Super Golf League.

Bryson DeChambeau hits a shot on the 18th of the PIF Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club on February 03, 2022 in Al Murooj, Saudi Arabia earlier this month. Picture: Getty Images.

Bryson DeChambeau may have denied claims that he has already defected to the Saudi Arabia-funded Super Golf League but the rumours are intensifying, with his long-term mentor admitting that there is “bad blood” between the player and the PGA Tour.

Mike Schy’s remarks came as Kramer Hickok, the world No 126, said that 17 players had already signed up to the Saudi plan to stage about 12 tournaments, mainly in the United States, with a June start date. Collin Morikawa, the Open champion and world No 2, delivered a blow to the Saudis, however, by ruling himself out. “You look at the best players and they’re all staying with the PGA Tour,” he said.

But the sole Australia to win the Masters Adam Scott has also revealed he’s “very interested” after discussions about joining the proposed billion-dollar breakaway tour.

DeChambeau, 28, a major winner and the world No 12, is emerging as the key figure in the power struggle. While older players see the signing-on fees as the perfect pension, getting young stars to gamble their futures will determine the success of the Saudi breakaway. DeChambeau is absent from this week’s Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles, but says that’s due to injury and has dismissed a report that he’s already played his last PGA Tour event after being offered dollars $US240 million ($333m) to be the Super League’s figurehead.

However, Schy, who has known DeChambeau since the player was 12 and coached him to the US Open title in 2020, made clear that DeChambeau feels little loyalty to American golf chiefs. “Bryson has always had a tenuous relationship with the PGA Tour,” he said. “It started from day one, his first pro tournament in 2016. This PGA official comes over and says, ‘Your putter is not conforming.’ At that time a lot of the (equipment) vans had gone. Then this guy looks at me and says, ‘I don’t know if his irons are conforming either.’ That was day one.

“There’s probably bad blood on both sides.”

At the weekend Charley Hoffman took to Instagram after a rules row at the Phoenix Open. “You wonder why guys are wanting to jump ship to play on another tour,” he raged. For good measure he addressed Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour commissioner, directly, and said everyone needed to do better. “If we don’t, we won’t have a Tour any longer.” Phil Mickelson replied: “I feel ya.” DeChambeau added: “Agree wholeheartedly.”

Schy, whose role with DeChambeau has diminished since he criticised the player’s behaviour at last year’s Open Championship, admits that the Saudi money could make players risk possible exclusion from the established tours and majors. “As much as Bryson loves Augusta and the US Open, all of a sudden money makes a different scenario,” Schy said.

There has been no official word about the Super Golf League from the Greg Norman-fronted LIV Golf Investments, which has access to Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund — the PIF.

Scott is close to Norman and says it could be the ”disrupter” golf needed to force more change despite the prospect of a life ban should he change his loyalties.

Scott, 41 and entering the back nine of his career, confirmed he had held discussions with the tour organisers but was “sworn to secrecy” as one of many players having signed nondisclosure agreements.

No players are yet to officially commit to the new tour, but Scott said the prospect of a 14-event tour, rather than the nearly 12-month, calendar-filling US PGA Tour, was “very appealing”.

Scott even compared it to the advent of World Series Cricket in the 1970s and said it could be a case of players following others once it gets established.

“If one goes, some others go over and it gets started. That’s probably the case,” he said.

“Golf is a fairly slow sport as far as progression goes let’s just say generally over the history and this is a major disrupter if it were to go ahead.

“You look at the success of the IPL or you can even go back to World Series Cricket and one-day internationals and see how that sport has progressed since then. This has the potential, I guess, to do the same for golf.

“Depending what your goals are in golf, I think the schedule is very appealing. From that side of things, I would consider doing that, for sure. From a lifestyle side of things, yes.”

To date LIV has pumped dollars $417m into the Asian Tour’s new International Series which, significantly, will come to England in June.

The Times, AFP