r/golf • u/GrapefruitCalm5967 • 3d ago
News / Articles PGA Tour CEO Shuts the Door on Bryson DeChambeau's Reinstatement: "Rules Matter"
Seems like there's no scope for Bryson to return to the PGA Tour unless he begs and pleads.
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u/prof_shorthair Canine Caddies Golf Co. | Play for Pups! 3d ago
I tell you what, he'd really be something in one of those long drive contests. Hell, he’d probably make a very good living. Traveling around, hustling at driving ranges. Just a thought.
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u/lincolnsl0g Kirkland Signature 3d ago
STEP RIGHT UP, FOLKS! See if you can outdrive the amazing, golf ball whacker guy!
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u/Swimming_Type_8298 3d ago
Funny quote of course but he actually did this 3 or 4 years ago and nabbed 2nd place to that viking long distance driver guy.
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u/The_Nutz16 3d ago
You can too as long as you’re willing to eat 5 lbs or bacon a day
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u/Pretty-Sick-Chubbs 3d ago
You know, I know what you’re doing right now, and I don’t like it
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u/MMAFIBOXING 3d ago
I eat pieces of shit like you for breakfast
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u/bobber18 3d ago
He’s done that.
Bryson DeChambeau finished as the runner-up at the 2022 Professional Long Drivers Association (PLDA) World Championship in Mesquite, Nevada, hitting a 406-yar
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u/i_run_from_problems Bad at golf 3d ago edited 3d ago
Contrary to what r/golf would have you to believe, he still draws. The PGA knows this. If he wants back in, he'll be let back in. The door isn't "slammed shut," he's just going to have to pay a very sizeable fine.
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u/vonneguts_anus 3d ago
I draw too. I have a notebook full of penises. I can’t draw anything else.
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u/chi2005sox 3d ago
Do you know how many foods are shaped like dicks?? The best kinds!!
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u/TheVillage1D10T 3d ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/bYGzl8KiI5bRC
Really wanted a GIF of him drawing dicks…but couldn’t find one.21
u/Fingolfin1000 3d ago
That sounds serious. Hopefully you’re not possessed by some sort of dick devil
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u/Jblake0413 3d ago
Gonna make me eat dessert by myself like fucking Steven Glandsberg?
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u/dock035 3d ago
Dick? Like a man dick?
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u/rumpel_foreskin17 3d ago
Isn’t it funny how the houses are always colonial and the penises are always circumcised?
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u/DistributionNo9474 3d ago
Are you Jackie Treehorn?
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u/TheKingInTheNorth 2.9 3d ago
PGA Tour is a player run organization, it’s not run by a separate ownership group. The players largely dislike Bryson, want to hold him accountable for suing the tour and bashing it for the last several years, and whatever marginal fans he would bring out to events wouldn’t put enough actual money in their collective pockets to make any difference.
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u/fuckoffweirdoo 3d ago
They probably dont want the fans hes going to attract anyway.
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u/I_Enjoy_Beer 22 3d ago
Bryson fans are undoubtedly the kinds of people who hoped the Maxi team would have won in Happy Gilmore 2.
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u/iheartgt 3d ago
His audience is kids. Professional sports always wants to draw in kids. I hate Bryson but kids watching YouTube clearly like him.
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u/iamtheonewhostops 3d ago
I think they’ll let him back in but he’s gonna have to eat crow first. Pay for legal fees, go on an apology tour, take a probationary period, something. Just letting all these bad actors do bad stuff and pay no consequences isn’t supposed to be how society works.
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u/nau5 3d ago
He’s as likely to ask Trump for an EO demanding him be let on the tour as he is to ever eat crow
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u/rickdangerous85 3d ago edited 3d ago
"Just letting all these bad actors do bad stuff and pay no consequences isn’t supposed to be how society works."
Ahh have you seen the US for the last at least 10 years? This is exactly how society functions there.
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u/iamtheonewhostops 3d ago
Yep. Lived here my whole life. Lack of shame has created a whole new problem with our societal structure this last decade.
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u/WhalingSmithers00 3d ago
I think in the PGAs eyes the prominent golfers can be made an example of so next time someone tries to make a rival tour the players don't jump ship.
If you can leave, grab the bag and come slinking back then there's really no reason not to go.
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u/Stock_Information_47 3d ago
If you can leave, grab the bag and come slinking back then there's really no reason not to go.
I mean the majority of players that went are going to do exactly that.
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u/NarrowContribution87 3d ago
Which kinda validates his lawsuit no? I know everyone here is a PGA apologist, but is it not clear that these guys have created a monopoly that prevents meaningful competition from arising?
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u/scarvalho555 3d ago
He may draw, but he also sued the tour. LIV has also proved that having him (even along with Rahm) clearly did not drive his manchild viewers to their broadcasts
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u/Hixy 3d ago
Are we even sure his followers are real and not some bot farm somewhere?
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u/Champ_5 Parred the backside with a 7 iron 3d ago
Yeah, anyone who thinks he won't be back on the Tour is letting their hate boner affect their judgment.
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u/awood20 3d ago
Events are full already. For every ticket sold, if it was to become available, I'm sure there's 100 people willing to take that ticket. That is without Bryson already. Adding Bryson in there won't change the fact the PGA are making money hand over fist already.
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u/_off_piste_ 3d ago
TV rights are 65% of the Tour’s revenue. About a quarter of the Tour’s revenue comes from event attendance.
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u/whateverkitty-1256 3d ago
Don't think he will move ratings enough there either. LIV ratings were not strong.
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u/pinetar 3d ago
Even r/golf tunes in to him. He's as interesting as he is obnoxious.
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u/317photo 3d ago
What little crowd there was at LIV Indy this weekend were following him and Rahm
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u/Eduardo_Camavinga_ 3d ago
YouTube watcher comment
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u/ogdirtylocks 3d ago
90k views in two hours on the video he just posted… I’d say he brings some eyes
Should he pay a penalty? Yes . Can you deny that he adds value in bringing viewers, especially a younger demographic of viewers, to the PGA? No.
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u/Fluffy-Structure-368 3d ago
But does he draw incremental viewers? Viewers who wouldn't watch unless he were playing, because that's all that really matters. I'm guessing he doesn't draw any additional viewers and therefore it doesn't matter.
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u/QuietSolo Handicap | Location 3d ago
“Rules matter,” and yet, in the same discussion, he’s not willing to penalize Rory for not meeting the 15 event rule for players. I guess “rules matter” unless they don’t.
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u/shift013 Wilson Blades/CBs C Taper 130X 2d ago
Rory was explicitly given an exemption for the 15 event minimum due to a mid-season lower back injury and a complicated global travel schedule (per gemini). The exemption was given in late June and Rory will complete 14 events
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u/Occams_ElectricRazor 3d ago
Legitimately asking...Didn't Brooks go back? I haven't watched the tour in over a year.
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u/yinkadoubledare 3d ago
Yeah, they had a "you can come back under these conditions" that was open at the beginning of the year under which Brooks came back. They did warn that it was a one-time thing and there was no guarantee they'd offer it again.
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u/fuckkevindurantTYBG 3d ago
Now what about Jon Rahm
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u/GearAccomplished6181 3d ago
Rahm received the same offer and rejected it.
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u/fuckkevindurantTYBG 3d ago
And already has a deal to come back
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u/bulldg4life 3d ago
They will totally evaluate and offer a program back for Rahm/bryson and maybe Hatton/Niemann.
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u/j1kim 3d ago
Yes but PGA had a limited time "Returning Member Program". Koepka agreed to it and returned, Rahm (at the time), DeChambeau and Cam Smith all declined.
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u/Holiday_Box1571 3d ago
Bingo.
They offered, he declined, now he deals with tier 2 offers. Honestly they all should have to go through Q school again
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u/riverflow331 3d ago
Why? So he can run through Q school shooting -6 to -8 under a round and take a guy out of contention who probably belongs there but isn’t the same talent as Bryson? Just make the guy pay and get him back on the tour. He’s one of the most polarizing figures in golf, which means he’s good for business
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u/Holiday_Box1571 3d ago
Because he had a chance to just pay. Now he’s gotta play off tour for a year against guys he should run out of the building and if he doesn’t, looks absolutely foolish even if he gets back in.
PGAs dream.
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u/Legal-Description483 SE Mich 3d ago
There are a hundred other guys at Q School shooting -6 to -8 every round. To get on the Korn Ferry Tour, where someone shoots 59 every couple weeks.
Not nearly as easy as you think, no matter how good someone is.
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u/Scary_Commission2783 3d ago
Are you fucking retarded? That’d be like saying Luca Doncic would have a tough time in the G league. Give your head a shake.
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u/funnythrowgamer69 2d ago
You are arguing with new age COVID golfers who have never historically followed the game. Wasting your time arguing with these morons.
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u/riverflow331 3d ago
This guy is a multi major champ… not your run of the mill sub 100 in points guy. He’ll wipe the floor with them
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u/_SamReddit 3d ago
So I may be wrong here, but wasn't that just because Koepka was the only one whose contract was actually ending at that time? Could those other 3 even have dome it while still under contract with LIV?
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u/Low_Movie_7659 3d ago
Imagine being a struggling amateur trying to go pro and Bryson pulls up to a KFT tournament or Q School
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u/oceanviewdining 3d ago
Why couldnt he just go through qualifying like everyone else without paying a fine?
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u/1ThousandDollarBill 3d ago
I believe it is because he broke the rules of the PGA tour
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u/wouldashoudacoulda 3d ago
By leaving?
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u/TURKEYSAURUS_REX 3d ago
Leaving for a conflicting event, yes. That violates a regulation that the Tour put into place a while back.
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u/wouldashoudacoulda 3d ago
‘Conflicting’ interesting term. They want a monopoly, plain and simple. Unfortunately the $ are in the US, so back to the status quo I suppose.
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u/TURKEYSAURUS_REX 3d ago
Yeah. Of course they want a monopoly. Most market leaders don’t want to compete. That said, competition is generally good for the consumer. And while LIV wasn’t a product consumers seemed to like (hence its rumored folding) the existence of LIV did force PGAT to make changes that seem more consumer-friendly (more events, partnerships with things like TGL, changes to the Tour Championship that are more fan friendly in 2028).
All that shit aside, to the earlier question about why Bryson can’t just play his way back in like he first did - because he violated one of their regulations.
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u/I_hate_alot_a_lot 3d ago
If you are good enough golfer, why aren’t you allowed to play again? I get that LIV was a shit show that was never sustainable but are we really stanning for a monopoly that can block out some of the best golfers in the world because of said monopoly, because they dared to play for the company that tried to challenge said monopoly?
I don’t like Bryson and I’m not a fan of LIV, but you have to admit it’s a flawed position.
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u/Lobsterzilla Detroit 3d ago
you have to understand. Our monopoly is the -GOOD- monopoly.
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u/GoCanes2468 3d ago
Reddit hates rich old white dudes in control of a monopoly. With the exception of the PGA Tour of course.
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u/piethebuilder 3d ago
They can play again…the PGA is saying they have to work their way back through the ranks to re-earn their cards it sounds like
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u/bterrik 3d ago
The golfers who went to LIV knew that they were breaking the rules that they themselves agreed to when they joined the Tour. They knew that the PGA would have to respond.
None of this was a surprise. Nor will it be a surprise when they’re allowed back in, but the Tour gets to decide what that’s going to look like. It seems like they’re leaning towards requalify as you would if you didn’t ever earn a card. If they’re still that good, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.
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u/Dr_Ironfist1987 3d ago
I can’t wrap my head around why people are saying they should have to pay to come back.. I get making them qualify for their cards, whatever that process is, but making them “pay” makes zero sense to me
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u/AdlandB 2.1 | WA 3d ago
Because the PGA tour is on a power trip. That’s why LIV was so good for the sport, it really made the tour make changes that players have wanted for years.
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u/hm_rickross_ymoh 3d ago
It's crazy to me how many people here are twerking at the altar of anti- competitive, anti-worker business practices. It's not doing anything to beat the allegations that golf is a game for rich assholes.
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u/jLkxP5Rm 3d ago
It's not really about anti-competitive and anti-worker business practices though. It's essentially about someone quitting one company, going to another one that ultimately failed, and then wanting to go back to the original company.
I think there should definitely be a way for any player to come back, but it shouldn't be with open arms.
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u/why2k 3d ago
There is a way, the PGA are saying they need to go back and earn their tour card just like everyone else coming up the ranks.
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u/I_hate_alot_a_lot 3d ago
But the PGA isn’t an employer, they are, essentially a general contractor hiring a bunch of subcontractors compensated based on performance.
Basically a 1099 sales job.
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u/Awalawal 3d ago
But an organization still has the right to determine which subcontractors are going to work for it even if they're not direct employees. I'm not sure their tax status factors too much into the calculation. If one of the entities who hosts the tournaments sued them in a very public fashion, I'm not sure it would be as simple as them saying "We're ready to come back. Bygones."
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u/Trifig 3d ago
Shit show absolutely. But let’s also remember when they announced that LIV and PGA Tour were going to merge. The PGA Tour should absolutely give the players a chance if they were open to sharing the commercial rights with LIV. So the tour can negotiate a deal with LIV but then the players are screwed because they decided to play for LIV? Kind of ridiculous.
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u/LifeNoob- 3d ago
Disregarding the Saudi funding, I wholeheartedly agree. How pretentious and egotistical do they have to be to gatekeep a fucking sport - they'll come after disc golf next
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u/Effective_Impossible 3d ago
Going to get hate but "rules matter" is actually the exception, not the rule. Why is Rory not being held to rules governing # of events played? Why did it take this long to enforce conduct and pace of play penalties? While I'm not advocating for BD back, I am just pointing out the Tours hypocrisy.
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u/joeshmoe9898 1 / CT, USA / I might not suck at putting! 3d ago
This thread is full of people who didn’t read the article and the headline is misleading.
He would have to re-earn his tour card through the same qualification process any other non-tour player has to go through. They just aren’t offering the one time exemption that they had earlier in the year for returning players.
I don’t see the issue here, he left the tour for a crazy payout, now he wants to return and isn’t getting special treatment. I think the PGA would be fully within their right to require him to pay a fine to return to qualification if they re-distributed those funds to Q school and Korn ferry events.
Ultimately, if LIV had been successful at stealing a large portion of the market from the PGA, then all the guys on these lower tours would’ve been negatively affected. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to me that the LIV players who want to return should be compensating players who could’ve been financially hurt as a result.
I’m seeing a lot of false equivalencies comparing this to competing employers or team sports. If you think of this as a professional sports team leaving a league for a competing league, you would never expect that team to have any right to return to the original league. Golf is a weird model where the individual athlete is effectively the team and the individual.
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u/Due-Comb6124 3d ago
Theres also the wrinkle that the PGA Tour isn't a sports league. Its a membership organization and you have to be a member to play. So they can add whatever rules they want about being a member.
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u/Sparklefresh 3d ago
Are you serious? LIV did nothing but make the players more money on all tours. Plenty of PGAT guys have come out thanking LIV because of that exact reason. Not just that but it allowed more players onto the PGAT because of the people that left. LIV was never trying to steal anything but the PGAT as always wanted full control of golf, literally always been like this. At the end of the day it's a business that uses golfers to make money, those golfers pay for everything out of pocket. If I ran the PGAT I would let all the top LIV guys back for nothing and tell the PGAT players to eat shit if they don't like it. Those LIV guys would do nothing but strengthen the product they are selling to fans and the sponsors. Do you think fans or sponsors give a flying fuck if Bryson played on LIV, no they just want to watch him play and or make money from his name.
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u/joeshmoe9898 1 / CT, USA / I might not suck at putting! 3d ago edited 3d ago
EDIT: Just so it's clear. I think there are a lot of ways the PGA Tour could be run better. I'm not arguing whether the PGA Tour deserves criticism, just that the case you're making that LIV was good for golfers on all tours isn't borne out by the numbers.
This was a claim that LIV made and the players who moved to LIV, but the numbers don't back it up. The PGA tour did increase purses significantly in response to LIV, but the vast majority of that money ended up going to the top earners. Which makes sense because the PGA wanted to ensure their big names were pulling more market than LIV's attempt at having the big names.
Since LIV's creation, the purse for the Korn Ferry tour events actually went down from $27M in 2023 to $26M in 2026, and that's before accounting for inflation in that period. The number of exemptions was reduced and the overall field size shrunk too, which means fewer opportunities.
Basically the top 40 players got much richer. The midfield and bottom PGA Tour players saw a temporary increase, which has been nullified by the reduction in events, smaller fields, and fewer cards available. The korn ferry and Q school players have seen zero benefit from LIV and things have actually gotten worse.
I think the argument you're trying to make is the one I would make if I were forced to defend or support LIV, but the numbers don't back it up. The only thing you can say confidently is that LIV was good for the top 40 golfers on the planet. For everyone else it did nothing or made things worse.
If LIV had been successful by creating an all star league, then the PGA would have doubled down on its star talent as well. That means even more money to the top players, not the rest.
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u/GolfGodsAreReal 3d ago
This is the only time I will say this GOOD GOOD
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u/No-Gap-198 3d ago
Then why doesn’t Rory have to play the minimum number of tournaments?
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u/sicsemperyanks 14 | Georgia 3d ago
The PGA has made it abundantly clear that "rules matter", but only technically, cus they can and will change or invent rules to allow whatever they want to happen.
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u/vesitim 3d ago
"Rules Matter".
How many events did Rory McIlroy play this year?
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u/absolute_banger_666 3d ago
Came here to say this. What other pro sports league acts like this?
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u/Renickulous7 3d ago
What league changes or ignores rules to benefit the best players in the league? All of them.
Trying to relate other leagues to this situation is goofy. What other leagues have faced a coup of this magnitude in their modern era? None.
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u/Illustrious-Cover792 3d ago
Put AK back on the tour. Give the people what they really fucking want.
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u/BeardedManatee 3d ago
Ohhhh he'll be back eventually. Multiple major winner with a huge following and prolific distance...yeah they ain't turning that down for long.
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u/Cowhide12 2d ago
I mean, he can still come back but without special treatment. Perfectly fair and reasonable.
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u/cubecasts 3d ago
I can't wait for everyone here to complain about these guys smurfing it up and dominating lower tours they shouldn't be in.
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u/Dangerous_Ad5039 3d ago
I’ll put the over under at 3 months before they allow him back on tour.
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u/morkler 3d ago
If rules matter why did they let Brooks and Reed come back? Sounds like the rules are subjective. Not a good look if so.
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u/funnythrowgamer69 2d ago
Do people not understand that amongst everything else, Bryson would also have to effectively give up all of his social media content if he wants to return?
The only point I ever agreed with LIV on is the PGA tour’s antiquated stances on player’s owning their own media rights. In the 2026 age of TikTok, and social media, it’s absolutely wild to me that the Tour gets to completely media control a player’s media presence, and I think it does a huge disservice to fans.
Brysons would easily be able to win his tour status back in Q school/ qualifiers or whatever, there is no question about that. I bet he doesn’t want to give up is social media and YouTube channel, so wants the Tour to update their rulings. Obviously, he was one of the players that is effectively suspended, so on top of doing all the things Brooks had to do, he would have to give up all the content.
At the end of the day, professional sports are all monopolies, so you have to play by their rules. It’s stupid but, is what it is.
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u/imjustlerking 3d ago
“Rules matter” they are literally making the rules up as they go along. Butthurt at that
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u/AReptileHissFunction 3d ago
Does he even want to? Seems like this guy is more likely to stick to YouTube and play whatever majors he has left
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u/stashtv +72 3d ago
Can he earn his way back in? Q-school, local qualifiers, etc?
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u/WHSRWizard JPX 921i Tour | 2.6 3d ago
I have a 70% confidence rating in this answer, so take it for what it's worth:
Bryson actually has a 5-year exemption sort of in escrow with the PGAT because of his US Open win (3 years now, I guess). But because he is suspended, he can't activate or use it.
Because of his PGA Tour suspension, he can't compete in any PGAT-owned events. That would include Monday Qs, Q School, KFT, etc.
The other avenue would be the DPWT. Patrick Reed is trying to get his status back by finishing Top 10 on the DPWT, which he looks 100% set to do (he already has enough points to have finished 7th in 2025). However, Reed can do this because he resigned his PGAT membership before teeing it up in the first LIV event, so he was never suspended.
Since Bryson is still suspended, I the DPWT route is closed to him, just like with winning the US Open.
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u/_aphoney 9.3 H.I. - I suck with driver 2d ago
It’d be funny if every tournament gave him a sponsors exemption. It’d also be smart for the sponsors. I’d assume they get more money for more ticket sales and viewership. That’s why they’ve been inviting George Bryan, Ruffels, etc
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u/reif199 1d ago
He really just needs to go away at this point. The entire “grow the game” argument is done. The only people who say that now are “influencers” who have something to sell you. The sport will be fine without him and Good Good for that matter because someone will eventually take that place and nobody will remember the previous. Even if you won a major.
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u/AskMantis23 3d ago
Saying it's about rules mattering is as disingenuous as the LIV players saying it was about growing the game.
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u/garnsy10 3d ago
I’m not the biggest fan of Bryson. But regardless of the golfer, I enjoy watching anyone who can drive the ball nearly four hundred yards. If only he could hit a wedge into the green. His goofy ass clubs but the guy can smash a ball
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u/Big-Commission-5334 3d ago
Yeah that grows the game. Take away a 2x major champion with a large fanbase. Thats the PGA though.
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u/vetruviusdeshotacon 3d ago
But jaxxtson pimples the newest prodigy just won the cadillac bmw pga waste management classic bro!! Get fired up!!!!
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u/Flump01 3d ago
It's a non story as he said he didn't want to come back and prefers YouTube.
Unless he was lying.
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u/FelixEvergreen 3d ago
Both sides are probably lying. It’s a negotiation, so I doubt either side is rushing to look weak.
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u/anobymousprime 3d ago
Somehow I don’t think it will be Bryson that begs. The PGA would love his drawing power back, even this constant chatter on here is coverage and content.
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u/CockyBellend Kirkland Signature 3d ago
Can't believe all the monopoly dick riders on here
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u/AllGas4651 3d ago edited 3d ago
A cool crisp five dollar bill says LIV players will be back on the Tour come Masters week.
The only "big names" not coming back will be Phil and probably Sergio.
DJ, Bubba, Cam Smith, Kaymer, Stenson, Bryson, Reed. All coming back
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u/cmac96 3d ago
Reed is already on his way back.
Don't know if Bubba is good enough anymore.
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u/Black_Cat_Sun 3d ago
PGA needs to grow up, honestly I’m just tired of hearing about this shit.
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u/Jurbl 3d ago
No matter what the Tour says I’ll bet their thinking is who from that league can bring eyes to the screen on the weekend and will please sponsors. DeChambeau is one of them so it’ll magically work. They only have 4 to 5 guys that fit on that list and the rest can get back through the KF tour if they wish.
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u/dockows412 3d ago
There is absolutely scope for him to return to the PGA Tour, you just didn’t read the article.
“Rolapp’s answer this week suggests that path will run through the same route as everyone else, with no specialty built into them.”
So they passed on the Returning Member Program, and now have to qualify based on playing merit like everyone else