Rory McIlroy knows Bryson DeChambeau, with limited options after LIV Golf, would bring ‘eyeballs’ to the DP World Tour

While he may not be the biggest fan, Rory McIlroy knows that Bryson DeChambeau would be a significant boost to the DP World Tour next season.

And, after the collapse of LIV Golf, that might be DeChambeau’s only option.

“I think a name like Bryson DeChambeau and everything he brings with him, good and bad, he brings eyeballs, which is a good thing for tournaments,” McIlroy said Tuesday ahead of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“And honestly, look, I’m certainly not in his shoes, and I never want to be, but it doesn’t seem like he has a lot of options. If he wants to play competitive golf, it doesn’t seem like he has a lot of options.”

DeChambeau had gone all-in on “LIV 2.0” in recent weeks, and even said on a podcast last month that he thought the new version of the league made “total financial sense” and could exist “forever.”

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But last week, LIV Golf officially decided to close its doors after losing a financing plan from BC Partners. The league, which once caused so much chaos in the golf worldwas struggling to find a way forward after the Saudi Public Investment Fund announced earlier this year that it would stop funding it.

DeChambeau has several paths to take, depending on what he wants to do. He announced on Sunday that he would take part in the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa in December, but did not reveal his plans beyond that.

The DP World Tour has offered DeChambeau full status with its league in 2027, if he wants it. But DeChambeau must commit by next week. If he chooses this route, DeChambeau could spend the year in Europe while still getting his PGA Tour card back, something Patrick Reed has been doing all season. Other former members of LIV Golf, like Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, plan to do so in 2027.

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Or, DeChambeau could try to strike a deal with the PGA Tour to return sooner. Brooks Koepka got a deal in January under the “Returning Member Program,” but he cost him around $85 million in revenue. It’s unclear if this will be offered again or what it would look like.

DeChambeau also said he might just keep doing his own thing and playing major championships while growing his YouTube channel. This path would not be viable in the long term unless he continues to win major tournaments and earn byes into those tournaments.

Either way, DeChambeau will have to make a decision soon.

“I don’t get any satisfaction out of making a decision and seeing the other guys have to sit out for a year and suffer the consequences,” Reed said Tuesday in Dubai. “The more satisfying it is to go out there and play solid golf. You never want to see guys struggle or have to sit out, things like that. I mean, we’re all competitors. We’re all athletes and really, at the end of the day, a lot of these guys that are going through that are good friends of mine.

“You sit there, and you just hope they’re able to go out and do what I did: go out and play solid golf and compete on the PGA Tour.”