The PGA Tour versus LIV Golf debate is not a new one. Comparisons between the rival leagues have received mixed reactions from fans worldwide. But when Bryson DeChambeau switched sides in June 2022, it dealt a major blow to the PGA Tour. He was a major champion while also having a reputable NCAA and amateur career. His decision to move to other sides was backed up by many reasons, but the most important was freedom!

More recently, the 1x Major Champion accused them of restricting his freedom. This recent revelation from him led to an uproar online, hurting the image of Jay Monahan. However, it looks like Akshay Bhatia might have busted his claims. If true, it will prove DeChambeau just picked LIV Golf because of money and not because of his content-oriented, freedom-seeking heart.

The PGA Tour supports Akshay Bhatia’s digital career

Recently, the PGA Tour released an article showcasing Akshay Bhatia’s YouTube channel. The Tour had nothing but praise for the 2023 Barracuda Championship winner, calling him “one of the Tour’s top young prospects and something of a Pied Piper to a younger generation of golf fans.”

Furthermore, the wording promptly suggested they were promoting Bhatia’s YouTube channel. The PGA Tour told the readers about the 21-year-old collaborating with YouTube’s successful golf content creators. On his YouTube channel, Bhatia has shown behind-the-scenes footage of PGA Tour events and interactions with fellow pros. And for doing this, the PGA Tour portrayed him as a social-media sensation.

Even Akshay Bhatia loves being a YouTube star and a pro golfer. “It’s our generation now, right?” Bhatia said. “I love social media; I love doing Instagram stuff and showing people my life, my lifestyle, and all the cool places we get to go to. It’s just so fun because, as a 21-year-old, when kids look up to you, it’s a weird feeling, right?”

However, if all the claims are true, this has just debunked the claims Bryson DeChambeau made a while ago. While sitting on the Good Good Podcast, the 30-year-old revealed the reasons he opted for LIV Golf. He claimed being with Jay Monahan’s organization meant being owned by them for the whole year once a contract was signed.

He went on to state that on the PGA Tour, the league owns every part of a player. This restricted his dream of content creation. When he turned to YouTube and TikTok to connect with his fans while he was on the PGA Tour, it was well received by his fans. However, it also started to clash with the PGA Tour’s policies.

Are the claims made by the LIV golfer true?

According to Golf Digest, DeChambeau once attempted to bring a film crew onto the course during a practice round. They were ultimately denied access by the organization. But the 30-year-old claimed that at the Saudi-funded league, it is not the case. At LIV Golf, the golfers have a chance to build their audience on digital platforms, as he is doing so himself.

While Bryson DeChambeau’s claims may seem outrageous, they do carry some weight with them. The PGA Tour has a set of guidelines for media regulations for all its players and others. According to those regulations, the PGAT exclusively holds the rights to all forms of audio, video, and photography done at their events.

Along with that, the Tour also contains the rights to what is being posted online from their events. The PGA Tour can revoke the rights given at any moment they want. These rules have been the same since 2020, giving some weight to DeChambeau’s claims. However, recent facts coming to light also prove another thing.

Read More: As Greg Norman Recaps His 2023, Exploring the Top 5 Revelations Made by the LIV Golf Boss

The promotion of Bhatia’s channel by the PGA Tour shows the law has not been changed but he is working around it. It also means if DeChambeau wanted, he could have stayed with the PGA Tour and continued his content creation desires. Instead, he opted to switch over to LIV Golf, proving the bigger motivating factor was money, not his content-oriented heart got hurt by the Tour’s media regulations.

Another reason DeChambeau might have defecated to LIV Golf

One more factor that could have led Bryson DeChambeau to join LIV Golf was the backing he received from fellow golfers. The 30-year-old described that he initially “tried to get on the pack for six years; clearly, nobody wanted me on.” This strangely resonates with what a high-profile golfer said when DeChambeau first defected.

Although the golfer maintained their anonymity to Golf Digest, they revealed, “He’s going to LIV because he wants to be loved, and he doesn’t feel like he’s getting that on the PGA Tour.” Whatever may be the reason for DeChambeau’s switch, Akshay Bhatia’s YouTube channel has refuted one of his claims.

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