An undeniably large part of LIV Golf’s brand is that it’s supposed to be the cooler, edgier and hipper offering of professional golf, especially compared to its supposedly stuffier rival the PGA Tour. Apparently no one told Bryson DeChambeau.
While DeChambeau fancies himself a forward-thinking showman who is trying to change the way the sport is viewed globally through his content, the two-time U.S. Open champion still sometimes acts in a way that leaves you scratching your head.
Which brings us to LIV Golf UK. The renegade golf league returned to England for the annual stop at JCB Golf and Country Club and was met with a rowdy British crowd. Fans were more than ready to welcome back LIV, and a fired-up crowd made its presence known.
And if you asked DeChambeau, that rowdy group of spectators crossed the line at some point during the weekend. There’s now video proof that the Texas native was irked by what he heard from the gallery.
Bryson DeChambeau Gets Upset About LIV Golf Hecklers
So, just what exactly did they say to get under the skin of the supposedly fan-friendly DeChambeau to the point where he had to complain to a tour official?
That would be “Miss it,” it seems.
DeChambeau was captured on a video that has gone somewhat viral in the golf world stopping on his walk between holes to lodge a complaint with someone, presumably an official.
“I love the banter up there, but they can’t be saying ‘miss it,” he said, as seen on the video. “They can’t be saying ‘Miss it, miss it, miss it.”
“I love the banter up there but they can’t be saying miss it, miss it….” 😤
So much for “Golf but louder,” huh?
When it comes to ranking or just assessing the sort of mean, vile and potentially hurtful things one could hear on the golf course, “Miss it” is kind of Day 1 stuff when it comes to dealing with hecklers.
And it’s not like there isn’t stuff you could needle DeChambeau about. Can you imagine how he’d react if someone accused him of buying YouTube views?
Does LIV Have a Marketing Problem?
This entire ordeal, as small as it might be, does kind of shine a light on the idea that LIV might not be all it likes to portray itself as. That’s not to say it isn’t good golf. Joaquin Niemann won his fifth tournament of the season in England, and Jon Rahm’s Legion XIII won the team portion of the weekend.
(Rahm, by the way, is no stranger to getting huffy at the course, either.)
But when you’ve got a DJ playing music on property, and there’s a post-round concert and guys are drinking beer out of shoes, it’s kind of hard to get bent out of shape about “Miss it” and not look like a bit of a dink.
Maybe Bryson actually thinks any publicity is good publicity. Making headlines, even if they’re “bad” so to speak, gets people talking and searching for him. That could lead them to his YouTube page, and that’s all he really cares about at the end of the day, isn’t it?
He’s doing great work there, where a recent episode of his “Breaking 50” series went viral, fast. DeChambeau played a round with “Happy Gilmore 2” costar Adam Sandler, and the video had nearly 5 million views just two days after being published.
Perhaps Bryson and “Happy” commiserated over their shared experiences.
Bryson DeChambeau Has Puzzling Complaint About LIV Hecklers