You might see Bryson DeChambeau‘s US Open victory as impressive, particularly in the context of the LIV Golf vs. PGA Tour rivalry that has been the center of the world since the former’s inception. DeChambeau’s popularity increased a lot in the meantime, but that’s not the only achievement he has had this year. Recent revelations suggest there’s something else cooking!

The Scientist played a total of four PGA Tour-sanctioned events, all majors. In all the tournaments, the golfer had impressive finishes. He had a T6 finish at the Masters, was second at the PGA Championship, and claimed the silver trophy at Pinehurst No. 2. He did miss the cut at the Royal Troon, but thanks to his first three major finishes, De Chambeau is now sitting 9th on the PGA Tour’s unofficial money list. Yes, not on LIV Golf’s money list, but on the PGA Tour’s.

Industry insider and journalist Dylan Dethier shared the same on , writing, “Bryson DeChambeau played in four PGA Tour-sanctioned events in 2024 (the four majors). He earned $6.99 million in those events. That puts him at No. 9 on the tour’s unofficial money list—even though he can’t play the tour.” The 30-year-old earned $695,000 from the Masters, $1,998,000 from the PGA Championship, and $4,300,000 from the US Open and made it to the top 10 in the unofficial money list. It’s certainly surprising, especially given his association with the Saudi-backed league, which doesn’t boast the best of relation with the Jay Monahan-led tour. 

Although Bryson DeChambeau is ranked 9th among PGA Tour pros, players like Shane Lowry and Patrick Cantlay are below him. Cantlay is currently 12th with around $5.3 million, while Lowry is hovering around $5.7 million. But wait, there’s more!

Another interesting stat also came forth that blatantly pointed out the disparity between the PGA Tour and its arch-nemesis, LIV Golf. DeChambeau reportedly earned over $1.5 million more in PGA Tour (with just four participations) as compared to $5.2 million from LIV Golf’s all-year-round participation. His position on that list? A measly 15th.

Now, this again poses a very interesting question:

Is LIV Golf getting better than the PGA Tour?

If you ask any avid golf fan, LIV Golf might be described as an outsider, an unimportant member in the wider golfing community. But for players like Bryson DeChambeau and Richard Bland, it is no less than a life-saver.

DeChambeau, who lost his father to diabetic complications in 2022, stated how the tour helped him deal with the heartbreak. “It would have been impossible for me to have come this far again without LIV. It gave me the time to get healthy and develop,” he said.

Bland, on the other hand, was asked about his thoughts on LIV Golf after claiming the U.S. Senior Open Championship. And he had somewhat of a same response: “Yeah, I’m a way better golfer than I was back then, but I think that’s the caliber of players that I’m playing against on LIV.” Highlighting that LIV Golf was the reason behind his improvement. While doing so, he also credited pros like Jon Rahm, DeChambeau, and more, and continued, “They’re the best players in the world. I don’t care what the world ranking says.” 

Richard Bland is the LIV golfer who won the 2024 Senior PGA Championship and the U.S. Senior Open Championship back-to-back. Thanks to his victory, the Saudi-backed league has now won four major championships in just two years. However, after Bland won his first major, the golfer didn’t receive a one-year PGA Tour Champions exemption. Citing the reason, the PGA Tour said, “In spite of the win, because of competing in an unauthorized event by the PGA TOUR, he will be ineligible for TOUR-affiliated events.”

John Catlin is currently part of Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC and will play at LIV Golf Greenbrier as a replacement for Graeme McDowell. He also appreciated LIV Golf,saying the events are “really cool”. Aside from that, Catlin is also eyeing becoming a regular player on the circuit and has already made it his number one priority.

However, with the PGA-LIV merger in the works, things are bound to change. It’ll be interesting how these players get impacted. However, as per Tiger Woods, special emphasis is being put on players’ benefits. “I can tell you we’re making progress. Obviously we have the DOJ (Department of Justice) with oversight looking into that as well and making sure that we don’t do anything improperly there, as well, but also making sure that all the players benefit from this as well as everyone who’s involved. They want to make money as well. They want to make that return. We’re now into not just charitable endeavors, we’re into a for-profit model. So we have to make returns,” he said.

Hopefully promises will be kept. What do you think?