Dan Rapaport believes that Bryson DeChambeau may be closer to making a decision on his future after missing another cut at the US Open this past week.
Those expecting DeChambeau to relish the chance to prove a point at Shinnecock Hills were left disappointed, with the LIV Golf star failing to make it through to the weekend in Southampton.
Who are you most disappointed in?
Of course, DeChambeau missed the cut at both The Masters and the PGA Championship. It is also the second year in a row that he has only played two rounds at the US Open, having struggled at Oakmont 12 months ago.
It seems that the 32-year-old is being backed to ask some important questions of himself over the coming weeks.
Bryson DeChambeau facing a crucial decision on the future of his career
There remains a large question mark hanging over where DeChambeau will be playing his golf in 2027, with LIV Golf‘s future still up in the air.
DeChambeau has flirted with the idea of only playing YouTube golf outside of the majors. Meanwhile, the PGA Tour would surely not snub the chance to have him back.
Speaking on Dan on Golf, Dan Rapaport suggested that DeChambeau is approaching a pivotal moment in his career following his failure at the US Open.
“He’s now missed the cut in the first three majors of the year, and four of the last five. It’s a curious development because before this barren streak, he was extremely consistent, a constant presence on the first page of leaderboards on major Sundays. He finished tied for sixth or better in five of six majors before this current streak started last year at Oakmont, including a win at Pinehurst and two second place finishes,” he said.
“Bryson’s definitely got a lot on his mind. He doesn’t know where he’s going to be playing golf in a few months, let alone in a few years. And he’s on the 2022 Rory McIlroy diet where he’s serving as the spokesman of his league and he’s in all these meetings trying to raise money. He’s doing a lot more than just playing golf.
“Whatever the cause of this stretch, it’s an unmitigated disaster. And this is not just picking on Bryson. Any time a player of that calibre has a stretch like this in the majors, it’s time to sound the alarm bells whatever tour they play on or how many YouTube subscribers they have.
“So I did a little research. He’s the only player in the top 25 of Data Golf with four missed cuts in the last five major championships. And the only others with three of the last five missed are J.J. Spaun, Adam Scott and Si-woo Kim. He’s on a different level to those guys. It’s been a really, really brutal stretch, and it definitely makes his leverage go down. I’ve always said the magic of Bryson is he does both. He’s on YouTube, he does all these challenges, he’s doing that dance, and he’s contending in the final round of major championships. When you lose part of it, you lose part of the magic.
“I think this can go one of two ways. He says he’s been waffling on whether he wants to continue to play professional golf or if he wants to go full-time into the YouTube game. So I feel like these struggles could go one of two ways. They could make him think, ‘man, I’m struggling here and maybe I really do like YouTube’, or it might light a fire under him like, ‘f—, I’m Bryson DeChambeau, I’ve got two major championships, I’m in my prime, I’ve got an opportunity to be one of the all-time greats, let’s f—— go’. I’m hoping it’s the second one.”
The harsh truth about Bryson DeChambeau’s career
DeChambeau is undoubtedly a world-class player. He is a two-time major champion and LIV’s biggest star.
However, there have to be questions asked about whether his run between 2023 and 2025 was more of an anomaly than many realised at the time.
It seemed that he had figured out how to play in the majors, with a number of top 10s in quick succession. But all of that momentum has completely stalled.
What is worrying is that he has won twice on LIV this year. That has not done him any good when it comes to the four biggest events of the season.
So there should be serious questions asked about whether playing on LIV is the best move for DeChambeau.
If he is motivated by winning more majors, he would perhaps be wise to get away at the earliest opportunity.
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