BOLINGBROOK, Ill. — Bryson DeChambeau offered little background, simply saying that the proposed exhibition match between PGA Tour and LIV Golf members is a way to bring attention to the current divide in the game and a way to move forward.
Speaking in advance of the LIV Golf Chicago event at Bolingbrook Golf Club, DeChambeau said Thursday he is looking forward to teaming with Brooks Koepka against Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in December.
“Look, I think all of us know we want to get this game back in good standing,” DeChambeau said. “We want to bring this game back to a place where I would say everyone has the opportunity to see the greatest play a lot more than four times a year.
“I think it's a great opportunity to showcase how we evolve that over the course of time. The details are not very fully flushed out yet.”
DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in June by a shot over McIlroy, also tied for sixth at the Masters and finished second to Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship.
He and Koepka, in theory, will not compete in an event with McIlroy and Scheffler until next year’s Masters aside from the exhibition.
DeChambeau said similar ideas have been floated previously.
“We always wanted to have a PGA Tour and LIV sort of battle a couple years ago,” he said. “We always thought that would be pretty cool and whatnot. But I think it's going to develop over the course of time and hopefully give the people what they want.”
McIlroy expressed frustration at the Tour Championship two weeks ago about the state of negotiations between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia.
Last week, the idea of a match was reported by Golfweek, but neither the PGA Tour—which needs to grant McIlroy and Scheffler permission—nor a broadcast network has commented. A date and location have not been set.
“I wouldn't say it's meant to send a message. It's more we wanted to do something that, I guess, all golf fans could get excited about,” McIlroy said at the Irish Open, where he is playing this week. “You've got the best player in the world. You've got two guys in Bryson and Brooks that have won majors in the last two years. You've got me in there who—I haven't done what those guys have done the last couple years but I've definitely been I feel one of the best players in the world.
“It's a way to show golf fans in the world that this is what could happen or these are the possibilities going forward. I've been saying this for a long time. I think golf and golf fans get to see us together more than four times a year.
“I think that's what we've tried to do. It's in the middle of December. There's not a lot going on in the game of golf. So trying to get people excited about something before the season starts again. I think we all thought it was a good idea and something that hopefully is a sign of things to come in the future.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Bryson DeChambeau Calls December Match a ‘Great Opportunity’ to Move Ahead.
