Bryson DeChambeau, following Thursday’s first round of LIV Golf’s U.K. event, spoke to assembled media for the first time since his controversial Open Championship penalty — and touched briefly on the hoopla surrounding his much-scrutinized tie for 14th at Royal Birkdale.
DeChambeau opened with a round of eight-under par at JCB Country Club, the second-best score of the day. Afterward, he spoke to reporters for the first time since before the Open, where he’d declined to provide media availability.
In this session, DeChambeau reflected on his round — he birdied his first three holes, persevered through two bogeys and “played great today,” he said — before reflecting on the previous week’s events.
Specifically, DeChambeau was asked about his fight back from “adversity,” a reference to being assessed a two-stroke penalty for improving conditions around his ball on the fifth hole Friday. DeChambeau vehemently disagreed with the ruling in a televised back-and-forth with rules officials that captivated viewers, delayed the tournament’s schedulers, dropped DeChambeau from second place and yielded a flurry of takes from across the sports world.
So what did he take from the week?
“Yeah, I made the cut,” DeChambeau said with a smile, a reference to his three surprising MCs in the year’s previous majors, which made this trip to contention his year’s crowning achievement. “No, it was a good fight. I wish I would have given it more on Saturday and Sunday. Felt like I could have. Besides the 5th hole and being three-over on that hole and then the 11th hole, that’s six shots. That’s tied for the lead right there. That’s two holes and I’m right there with the Claret Jug.”
Following the two-stroke penalty assessement, DeChambeau wound up with a triple-bogey 7 on No. 5 on Friday. He lost a ball on No. 11 during Sunday’s final round en route to another triple bogey and shot two-over 72; that ultimately left him six shots off the pace of winner Ryan Fox.
The only man ahead of DeChambeau through one round at this LIV event is Lucas Herbert, who was also in the final groups on the weekend at the Open and wound up T6. Asked if this showdown is coming “a week late,” DeChambeau got philosophical.
“Look, golf is golf, right?” he said. “I wish [Lucas and I] could have gone to battle last week. It wasn’t that way. But life goes on. There’s moments of adversity in everybody’s life, and I was passionate about what I believed and thought was right. For me, it’s now in a place that it is what it is, and you keep moving through it. You keep moving past it.”
OK, so DeChambeau didn’t get particularly specific on the subject. There’s plenty more we’d love to hear from him at some point, like what he thinks of the ruling now, how close he was to pulling out of the event, whether he considered enlisting the help of the President, what he made of the fierce and varied reactions to the penalty, from Sam Burns to Max Homa to Brandel Chamblee to Scottie Scheffler to Rory McIlroy and more.
DeChambeau also didn’t address the subtext surrounding this week’s LIV event, which occurs as funding questions swirl around this season’s remaining events as well as the league’s fundraising efforts to continue next season. Earlier this week, the Asian Tour announced it was exiting its deal with LIV in favor of a deal with the DP World and PGA Tours, which was a blow to LIV’s broader ecosystem. There are also questions about its upcoming schedule following the withdrawal of Saudi funding; Cleeks captain Martin Kaymer was among the players who said they expect the $40-million 2026 team finale planned for Michigan in August to be canceled.
CEO Scott O’Neil has told captains to stay optimistic about potential investors for “LIV 2.0” next season; they’re expected to hear more in the coming weeks as LIV returns to the United States. The league’s next event is at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey.
In the meantime, DeChambeau is focused on the golf in his immediate future.
“For me, I’m excited with Lucas tomorrow. That’ll be great,” he said. “But there’s three more days. We’re here to win this tournament this week. The Crushers are, and I am, as well. Individually and for the team.”