‘Nor would I ever want to be’: Rory McIlroy jabs Bryson DeChambeau over pro return

The biggest remaining question following LIV Golf’s demise is this: What is Bryson DeChambeau going to do?

After years of big talk, LIV Golf’s strongest proponent is suddenly in need of a place to play pro golf next year.

And Rory McIlroy, one of the PGA Tour’s biggest backers, has some thoughts.

In his press conference at this week’s DP World Tour Championship, McIlroy jabbed his longtime nemesis DeChambeau over the difficult situation he finds himself in with his career.

Bryson DeChambeau breaks silence, announces next pro start

Over the weekend, DeChambeau broke his silence for the first time since LIV Golf met its end in court last week.

His reappearance came via a lengthy message posted to his social media accounts. In the posts, DeChambeau offered up some answers but left the biggest question, where he will play golf in 2027, up in the air.

First, DeChambeau provided something of an apology, admitting that he “said things that didn’t help” amid the yearslong pro golf civil war between LIV Golf and the DP World and PGA Tours.

Then he revealed where he would make his post-LIV return to pro golf: at the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Challenge in South Africa.

“In December, I’ll compete at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, Gary Player’s event, in front of fans who made my first visit to South Africa unforgettable,” DeChambeau wrote.

He did not, however, reveal any decisions about where he would play once the calendar flips to January.

“Beyond that, I’ll go about whatever is next the right way,” DeChambeau said.

McIlroy, however, sees things very differently. The six-time major champion thinks his rival has a very narrow set of options available to him for 2027.

McIlroy swipes DeChambeau: ‘Doesn’t seem like he’s got many options’

The most natural place for DeChambeau to play now that LIV Golf is dead is the PGA Tour. He’s won nine times on Tour, and his fan base is anchored in the U.S.

The problem is DeChambeau is not allowed to play on the PGA Tour. The two-time U.S. Open champion is barred from competing in any Tour events for one year after his last LIV Golf start (the LIV Golf Indianapolis event in late August).

But DeChambeau faces no such ban on the DP World Tour. Though he’s an American who has played very little in Europe, DeChambeau was reportedly offered full playing privileges on the DP World Tour in 2027.

That’s the exact point McIlroy made on Tuesday at the DP World Tour Championship, but he added a personal swipe to his comments.

“Honestly, look, I’m certainly not in his shoes, and nor would I ever want to be,” McIlroy said of DeChambeau. “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.”

He did, however, allow for the fact that DeChambeau playing a full schedule in Europe would be a boon for the DP World Tour.

“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,” McIlroy said.

DeChambeau has floated the idea of not joining any tours in 2027, and instead focusing on his YouTube channel and the major championships, for which he is already qualified.

But there is one other possibility McIlroy did not acknowledge. By not committing to play the DP World Tour next year, DeChambeau leaves open the possibility for the PGA Tour to offer him an accelerated path back, as it did for Brooks Koepka last year.

Whatever happens, it’s at least clear that the rivalry between McIlroy and DeChambeau is alive and well.