Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau don’t always see eye-to-eye, rarely if the truth be known, in careers that have crossed paths at times and gone in opposite directions on other occasions.
Yet, at a time of crossroads in the world of professional men’s golf, with LIV’s demise on the back of last week’s bankruptcy court proceedings, McIlroy acknowledged that DeChambeau taking up the option of playing on the European Tour could provide a route back for the American.
“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. And honestly, look, I’m certainly not in his shoes, and nor would I ever want to be, 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,” admitted McIlroy, who is in Dubai this week for the DP World Tour Championship in his quest to claim an eighth career Harry Vardon Trophy.
DeChambeau is eligible to apply for DP World Tour membership for the 2027 season based on being a recent Major champion, although he has a November 15th deadline to confirm his position.
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A pathway back to the PGA Tour currently isn’t an option.
DeChambeau, who left the PGA Tour for LIV, with his YouTube channel also inviting a different audience as he expanded his brand, has to negotiate a pathway back to tournament golf – outside of the Majors – with the DP World Tour providing what would seem to be the most natural route.
Still, McIlroy’s diversion into DeChambeau’s world was a brief one, as – ahead of the Tour Championship at The Earth Course in Dubai where he has won three times in his career – his primary focus was on himself and that bid to join Scot Colin Montgomerie as an eight-time winner of the order of merit.
McIlroy lies in second place behind Eugenio Chacarra going into the final tournament of the DP World Tour season. With 2,000 points to the winner available in Dubai, McIlroy trails Chacarra by 533.93 on a long course where driving, such an integral part of his game, can provide an advantage in his pursuit of the Spaniard.
“The course has changed and evolved a little bit over the years. It’s certainly a lot more penal off the tee this year. The rough is very, very thick. You get a lot of bad lies in the rough. But I think when you come back to a golf course that you played a lot on, and you’ve done well on, that always gives you a little bit of an advantage starting the week,” said McIlroy, looking for his first win since going back-to-back at the Masters last April.
McIlroy has been playing catch-up, with his third-place finish in Abu Dhabi last week enabling him to jump ahead of Patrick Reed with Chacarra the only player ahead of him.
And that desire for the order of merit title and to maintain consistency has not abated. “It’s something that I’ve become increasingly proud of as my career has progressed is the consistency and the longevity of what I’ve been able to do over a 15-year period.
“I think this will be the 15th or 16th year in a row that I will have finished the year in the top 10 in the world rankings. There may be a couple others that have done that before. I’m very proud of that. I think that’s maybe an underrated part of careers is that longevity piece.
“I was very lucky to start so young and get my tour card at 18, and I’ve stayed pretty much injury-free throughout my career. And I’ve kept working and trying to get better at certain aspects of the game and always tried to see weaknesses or be critical of myself and try to get better at them.
“I think that’s just a reoccurring process that I try to do each and every year. That approach has worked really well for me and hopefully will continue to work well for me for a few more years yet.”
