DeChambeau praised the public course but may have gone a little too far

For better or worse, Bryson DeChambeau has never been afraid to share his opinion and speak what’s on his mind. Sunday was the latter.

In a press conference after his Crushers GC claimed the LIV Golf Chicago team title at Bolingbrook Golf Club in Illinois, DeChambeau praised the public course but may have gone a little too far.

“Shoot, Bolingbook, this golf course played close to a major championship test. There were some shots out there where I was like, ‘Wow, this is playing exactly like a jumper in the U.S. Open would right now.’ The greens that firm with the rough all around, it was pretty difficult. I’d love to see us come back here and have some more of this type of golf because I truly do love it.”

The USGA has hosted plenty of U.S. Opens at public-access courses, but to compare Bolingbrook – which doesn’t appear on any course ranking list not just nationally, but in the state of Illinois – to the likes of Pinehurst No. 2, Bethpage Black, Chambers Bay or Torrey Pines is laughable. It’s almost as bad as Talor Gooch comparing a LIV Golf atmosphere to the Ryder Cup when he’s never played in or even sniffed a Ryder Cup appearance. In fact, it might be worse seeing as DeChambeau, a two-time U.S. Open champion, won the 2024 U.S. Open earlier this summer at Pinehurst. Jon Rahm, who won the event on Sunday, made one bogey over the 54 holes of play. That’s not a U.S. Open, or any major championship for that matter, type of test.

Maybe DeChambeau was on a high after another team win. I’m as prone to hyperbole as anyone, but the comparison falls on deaf ears and continues a three-year ongoing trend of LIV players overhyping aspects of the upstart circuit to increase its relevance in the game.

Over the last few years, LIV has done well in recruiting some of the game’s best players and biggest names like DeChambeau, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka. The league has been smart to go to areas of the country and world ignored by the PGA Tour to garner fan support. Disingenuous comments like the above from DeChambeau, however, are where LIV continues to fall short.