'It Is What It Is' - DeChambeau Says Tiger Woods Has Cut Him Off After LIV Golf Move
DeChambeau said Woods has "been a great friend" but appears to have cut him off after he joined LIV Golf last year
Bryson DeChambeau has seemed to confirm that his former friend and Ryder Cup teammate Tiger Woods has cut him off following the Golfing Scientist's move to LIV Golf.
DeChambeau joined the Saudi-backed start-up circuit last year for a fee reported to be north of $125m and as well as being suspended from the PGA Tour, it appears that he has lost strong PGA Tour supporter Tiger Woods as a friend and mentor.
The pair regularly played practice rounds together and paired at the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris where they went down 5&4 to Molinari and Fleetwood, dubbed 'Moliwood', in the Saturday afternoon foursomes.
DeChambeau was asked by Golfweek's Adam Schupack if anyone from the PGA Tour has cut him off post-LIV, with the 2020 US Open champion responding: “Yeah, definitely, I’m sure you can guess who.
“Yeah, I’m not going to throw anyone under the bus. He’s been a great friend. I texted him on his birthday. It is what it is.
"He has his viewpoints on it and thinks we’re potentially hurting his record. If anything, nobody is ever going to touch his record. That’s just it, that’s the bottom line. There’s a chance to grow the game even more and I hope one day he’ll see the vision that we all have out here.”
It seems like evidence of another friendship going by the wayside since the emergence of LIV, with Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy's public fallout attracting headlines over the past 12 months. McIlroy was a groomsman at Garcia's wedding but stated there was "no way" the pair would rekindle. Garcia said the Northern Irishman was "lacking maturity."
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Not all friendships are in tatters, though. Bubba Watson this week said that he is playing in the Masters Par 3 contest next week with PGA Tour friends and that it was the media stirring things up.
“I'm going to be honest, man. It's only awkward in the media,” the two-time Masters winner said.
“I've talked to people that are going to be there. I'm going to sign up with Jason Day and Cam Young in the Par 3. Some guys have already asked me to play some practice rounds. Media is the only one that is pushing it. I have nothing against anybody."
DeChambeau also told Golfweek that he's spoken with Dallas-based players like Jordan Spieth and Will Zalatoris multiple times, so it seems that the only player to cut him out so far at least is Tiger Woods.
The pair will both be at Augusta National next week for the 2023 Masters. Before that, though, Bryson tees it up at Orlando's Orange County National in the third event of the LIV Golf League.
His Crushers GC side won the first event of the season in Mexico but his own form has been lacking. Since joining LIV last June, the former World No.4's two best finishes were 10th-places in the 48-man fields. He finished the first year in 21st place overall and is currently 34th in the standings after two events.
Elliott Heath is our News Editor and has been with Golf Monthly since early 2016 after graduating with a degree in Sports Journalism. He manages the Golf Monthly news team as well as our large Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. He covered the 2022 Masters from Augusta National as well as five Open Championships on-site including the 150th at St Andrews. His first Open was in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, when he walked inside the ropes with Jordan Spieth during the Texan's memorable Claret Jug triumph. He has played 35 of our Top 100 golf courses, with his favourites being both Sunningdales, Woodhall Spa, Western Gailes, Old Head and Turnberry. He has been obsessed with the sport since the age of 8 and currently plays off of a six handicap. His golfing highlights are making albatross on the 9th hole on the Hotchkin Course at Woodhall Spa, shooting an under-par round, playing in the Aramco Team Series on the Ladies European Tour and making his one and only hole-in-one at the age of 15 - a long time ago now!
Elliott is currently playing:
Driver: Titleist TSR4
3 wood: Titleist TSi2
Hybrids: Titleist 816 H1
Irons: Mizuno MP5 5-PW
Wedges: Cleveland RTX ZipCore 50, 54, 58
Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG #5
Ball: Srixon Z Star XV
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