“Ego,” Bryson DeChambeau thinks, “got in the way” of making a sensible judgment. The former PGA Tour Pro was talking about the early days of LIV Golf, when phobia and threats gripped the golf world. Two years later, as we get reports that Jay Monahan and Yasir Al-Rumayyan are now actually having a discourse, the Scientist, too, looks forward to a favorable outcome of the $3 billion framework agreement. Nevertheless, he still can’t hide his only regret.

DeChambeau, now in Miami for a LIV Golf shoot, caught up with Sports Illustrated. In the lengthy conversation, touching upon many things, from the shared future of the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to the previous discord between both, the eight-time PGA Tour winner opened up about all things golf.

Bryson DeChambeau has an unfulfilled wish

DeChambeau has been an ardent advocate of amicable solutions since the beginning. The 2020 U.S. Open winner emphatically adds, “I’ve said from Day 1 I want the game to come back together. We need the game to come back together.” The reason is seemingly altruistic, though.

Not just for the betterment of the players, the sponsors, or even broadcasters, the Crushers GC skipper feels it would attract a lot more fans to the game. Currently, only Majors pit the best against the best. The 30-year-old reflects, “Not just for ourselves to play against the best players. But for the fans to see us play against each other again. And for the game of golf to grow the way we know it can.”

The eight-time PGA Tour winner has only one regret: no one talked to them at the beginning. Although the LIV Golf pro earlier said, he called Jay Monahan before making the $125 million jump to the Saudi side, Bryson DeChambeau was also swiftly banned from the Tour nonetheless. The 1x Major Champion confessed to Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated, “I just wish people would have taken meetings in the beginning.”

“It was always simple,” Bryson DeChambeau lamented. “Egos got in the way.” However, the meetings that he wished had taken place earlier, are happening now. In fact, reports indicate that both sides are eager to reach an agreement sooner rather than later. 

Where the $3B merger is headed

The Telegraph reported that both PIF and the PGA Tour have stepped on the gas. Now that the Tour has secured a third-party investor, Strategic Sports Group, Jay Monahan is all the more willing to get the deal done by March. Keith Pelley, the outgoing DP World Tour CEO, has said that all the parties have requested him to stay back for three more months, which hints that they are in the final lap of their negotiations.

Read More: ‘It’s an Opportunity’: Bryson DeChambeau Dubs ‘Tiger Woods’ as a Prototype for LIV, Direly Calls Attention for Golf’s Future

But the cherry on top is definitely Pelly’s revelation that Monahan and Al-Rumayyan had a “long conversation“ recently. The outgoing CEO told the British Daily that that conversation has pushed the merger talks significantly ahead. Monahan, let’s not forget, was slated to meet the PIF chairman in December, but that was not possible. Nevertheless, the ongoing talks point toward a positive outcome. An outcome Bryson DeChambeau would very much prefer.

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