LIV Golf reportedly is expected to announce that two more former major winners and top-ranked players are expected to join its ranks, perhaps as soon as its next event.
Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, has agreed to play in the next LIV Golf Series event in North Plains, Oregon, at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club scheduled for July 1-3, his agent confirmed.
“Bryson has always been an innovator,” agent Brett Falkoff wrote in a text to Golfweek. “Having the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something unique has always been intriguing to him. Professional golf as we know it is changing and it’s happening quickly.”
The John Deere Classic, where DeChambeau won his first PGA Tour title in 2017, is the PGA Tour event being held the same weekend as the LIV event in Oregon.
DeChambeau, No. 28 in the world, made his return to the Tour last week at The Memorial Tournament. He missed the cut, shooting 9 over through the first two rounds. He’s been dealing with multiple injuries, but wrist surgery had kept him sidelined since the Masters (where he also missed the cut).
On February 20, DeChambeau shot down the notion he was going to leave the PGA Tour for the Saudi-backed rival league spearheaded by Greg Norman.
“While there has been a lot of speculation surrounding my support for another tour, I want to make it very clear that as long as the best players in the world are playing the PGA Tour, so will I,” he said in a statement.
Expecting an announcement later this week that Bryson will be playing the Portland LIV event.
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) June 7, 2022
On Wednesday morning, Patrick Reed, who withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open on Tuesday, became the latest name reportedly in talks to join LIV. The 2018 Masters champion is expected to be added to the roster of LIV Golf Series players, according to the Telegraph.
Reed, in contrast to DeChambeau, has never come out in support of LIV Golf or dismissed the idea of ever making the move. It appears he’s made up his mind.
Reed is a nine-time winner on Tour and ranked No. 36 in the world. However, the last year has been tough for the 31-year-old. Since his solo 5th at last year’s Memorial Tournament, he’s finished inside the top 10 just twice in 26 official PGA Tour events.
This week, LIV’s opener is being played in London at the Centurion Club. Phil Mickelson made his return to the spotlight and Dustin Johnson had his first press conference since joining the league where he announced he has resigned his PGA Tour membership.
The Pumpkin Ridge event is the next on LIV Golf’s schedule, then a few weeks later, they’ll be in Bedminster, New Jersey, at Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01es6rjnsp3c84zkm6 player_id=01evcfxp4q8949fs1e image=https://golfweek.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]