Bryson DeChambeau won’t be in Quail Hollow for next week’s Presidents Cup, and he’s not happy about it.
DeChambeau, speaking ahead of the fifth event of the LIV Golf Invitational Series this weekend outside of Chicago, is upset that he and other LIV golfers will no longer be able to compete on the Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup teams after they lose the PGA left Tour for the controversial golf project.
“Personally, I think the team events are just hurting themselves by not allowing us to play, not allowing us to qualify by some capacity in some way,” DeChambeau said Thursday.
“But I would say from a team perspective it’s sad that those governing bodies didn’t allow us to qualify,” he added. “That’s all I can say about that.”
DeChambeau is one of several former Team USA members who have left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf. The Tour suspended these players and banned them from participating in their events. The Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup won’t let them compete either.
The Presidents Cup takes place in North Carolina next week, where the international team will look to claim their second victory ever – and their first in the United States. Team USA last won 16-14 at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 2019, marking their eighth straight win.
DeChambeau played in his first Presidents Cup in Australia, despite going 0-1-1. He has played in two Ryder Cups for the United States.
Though he can’t attend, DeChambeau said he will “definitely” watch the Presidents Cup from home.
“It’s golf entertainment,” he said. “See, I’m a golf fan first and foremost. I’ll watch golf wherever it’s played with some of the best players in the world, whoever that is.
“I think that will change later. I think this is going to be something special, even more special than what it is now, and in the future I’ll still look at other tournaments that I’ve won and done well in before.”
DeChambeau, 28, has won eight times on the PGA Tour, most recently at the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational. He also has a major championship win at the 2020 US Open.
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Although LIV Golf’s battle with the PGA Tour is far from over, DeChambeau said he would love to play in Tour events again.
“I want to play a lot of events on the PGA Tour. It would be great,” DeChambeau said. “LIV Golf tried that, they allowed us to play on the PGA Tour. It’s the PGA Tour that’s stopping us from doing that.”
Bryson DeChambeau said he will still watch the Presidents Cup next week, despite not being able to attend himself. (Joe Scarnici/LIV Golf via Getty Images)