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Bryson DeChambeau is staying positive about LIV Golf’s uncertain future, as the league searches for new financial backing with the Saudi PIF ending its funding after this season.
“We were surprised that they pulled out as quickly as they did. We didn’t really see that coming,” DeChambeau said Tuesday at his pre-tournament press conference ahead of this week’s LIV Golf Korea event at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea.
“But that’s okay,” said DeChambeau, whose LIV contract is set to expire later this year. “One door closes, another opens. I think that’s the way a lot of us are looking at it. I think we all have optimism that there is a business plan that makes sense for team golf.”
LIV created a new independent board led by two longtime corporate restructuring executives and hired U.S.-based Ducera Partners as its investment banking adviser—all of which have previously worked on various bankruptcy efforts for companies in financial crisis.
The golf league is considering centralizing its headquarters in the U.S. to benefit from the country’s more favorable bankruptcy restructuring laws, Bloomberg reported last week. LIV is currently based across several jurisdictions, including the U.K., U.S., and the island of Jersey.
LIV’s new independent directors, Eugene Davis and Jon Zinman, assumed key director positions at four U.K. holding companies associated with the league earlier this month. In its fight for survival, LIV will seek to raise up to $250 million from new investors, according to Axios.
DeChambeau said he is “very optimistic with the business plan of team golf,” echoing LIV CEO Scott O’Neil’s vision for the league. “If you’re looking for direction, we believe that teams will have extraordinary value,” O’Neil said earlier this month.
“There’s a couple ideas that we have—quite a few ideas that we have that could be interesting,” DeChambeau said. “We’ll see if investors like it or not. I’m giving all I can to make it happen, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t happen.”
DeChambeau, who has missed the cut at the first two major championships of the year, is assisting LIV when he can.
“In the background, yeah, we’re trying to help where we can, but ultimately it’s up to executives and everybody banding together,” he said. “If we all band together, there’s an opportunity here. If not, it’s going to be a different day for all of us. But for me, how I support, go out and hit a great drive on the first tee, play a great round of golf, sign autographs after and have a good time.”
If LIV folds or DeChambeau decides not to re-sign with the league, the star golfer has openly discussed the possibility of not competing on any tour full-time and instead focusing on social media content creation outside of playing the four majors. The PGA Tour recently updated its player social media policy in an effort to let its members post more content.
