McIlroy: DeChambeau 'brings eyeballs' to DP World Tour — but 'not many options' either

Rory McIlroy has never gone out of his way to praise Bryson DeChambeau — he said as much in July — but speaking in Dubai on Tuesday, his latest assessment of the two-time major champion landed somewhere between a compliment and a verdict: DeChambeau would be good for the DP World Tour, McIlroy said, and right now the DP World Tour may be all DeChambeau has.

Yeah, look, 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. And honestly, look, I'm certainly not in his shoes — and nor would I ever want to be — but it doesn't seem like he's got many options. You know, if he wants to play competitive golf, it doesn't seem like he's got many options.— Rory McIlroy

McIlroy made the remarks ahead of this week's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where he is chasing a record-tying Race to Dubai title. They came less than a week after LIV Golf folded, leaving its roster of players — DeChambeau among the most prominent — scrambling for a competitive home.

DeChambeau's situation is more complicated than most. He was among 11 LIV Golf members who sued the PGA Tour in 2022, accusing it of using monopoly power to suppress competition. He later withdrew from the suit, but the history lingers. In early 2026, the PGA Tour launched a Returning Member Program targeting DeChambeau alongside Jon Rahm, Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka — only Koepka accepted, having exited his LIV contract. DeChambeau turned the offer down, according to CBS Sports, and the Tour is not expected to address the status of former LIV players until after LIV Golf's Chapter 11 bankruptcy is finalised in early January.

That leaves the DP World Tour as the most plausible runway. Thanks to his 2024 U.S. Open victory, DeChambeau already holds status on the circuit for the upcoming season — but whether he intends to use it is unclear. The deadline for players to commit to the DP World Tour for 2027 is November 16. DeChambeau's last competitive round was at LIV Golf Indianapolis in August, according to CBS Sports. Since then he has posted seven videos to his YouTube channel, which has surpassed three million subscribers, and in May he floated the idea of a schedule built around the four majors and content creation.

On Sunday, DeChambeau addressed LIV's end in a social media statement that was notably short on specifics about what comes next.

I'm not going to rewrite the last four years. I made a decision I believed in, and I'm grateful for what came with it: playing in front of fans new and old around the world who rarely got to see the best players at home.— Bryson DeChambeau

I'll approach it with humility and respect for the people who carried this game long before me.— Bryson DeChambeau

DeChambeau is scheduled to play the Nedbank Golf Challenge in Sun City, South Africa, from December 3 to December 6 — his only confirmed competitive appearance. He has not said what follows.

Other former LIV players have already moved. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have committed to the DP World Tour for 2027 while they wait to learn whether a PGA Tour pathway opens. Patrick Reed, who left LIV in January, returned to PGA Tour competition in August — a year after his final LIV start — and is currently third in the DP World Tour's seasonlong points race, with the top ten finishers earning PGA Tour cards for 2027.

To be honest with you, I mean, I don't really get any satisfaction from making a decision and watching the other guys have to sit out a year and have the repercussions of that. The more satisfaction is going out there and playing solid golf. You never want to see guys struggle or have to sit out, things like that.— Patrick Reed

McIlroy and DeChambeau have form. DeChambeau beat McIlroy at the 2024 U.S. Open; McIlroy won the 2025 Masters. McIlroy said during The Open in July that he was not particularly fond of DeChambeau — words he did not walk back on Tuesday, even as he acknowledged the American's commercial draw. The November 16 commitment deadline will be the first concrete signal of which way DeChambeau is leaning.

Why it matters — DeChambeau's decision — due by November 16 — will be one of the first concrete tests of whether LIV Golf's biggest remaining stars can find a credible competitive home, and of how welcoming the established tours are willing to be.

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