Scott Van Pelt questioned whether Bryson DeChambeau can chase major titles while building his golf brand around YouTube content.
Bryson DeChambeau’s golf future is getting louder, messier and a lot more complicated.
With LIV Golf facing major uncertainty and DeChambeau’s contract reportedly nearing its end later this year, the two-time major champion is again at the center of one of golf’s biggest questions: can he remain a true major championship threat while playing most of his golf outside the PGA Tour grind?
ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt doesn’t sound convinced.
After DeChambeau followed a missed cut at the Masters with another early exit at the PGA Championship, finishing 10-over at Aronimink Golf Club, Van Pelt pushed back on the idea that DeChambeau can spend most of his time making YouTube content and still show up sharp for golf’s toughest tests.
“The suggestion that he could go be a YouTube player and then just show up and play in the majors, that’s just not a realistic thought,” Van Pelt said on The Dan Patrick Show. “You have to be competitively sharp to come out here and play the hardest courses in the world against the best players in the world.”
That hits directly at DeChambeau’s current crossroads. He has built a massive online audience, with 2.7 million YouTube subscribers, and has suggested it would be “incredibly viable” to skip smaller PGA Tour events while focusing on content between majors.
There’s money in that. There’s freedom in that. But Van Pelt’s point is brutal and probably fair: golf legacies aren’t built on casual rounds and viral clips.
“We saw the height of his popularity when he won at Pinehurst … that to me was sort of his peak moment of power,” Van Pelt said. “And you can do that, you can be an influencer, be a YouTube player, and I’m sure you could monetize that and make a pile. But ultimately, you make your bones in this game and your legend in this game being a major-championship player.”
The PGA Tour has already softened its social media rules, allowing more filming at tournament sites, though YouTube ad revenue from those videos would still go to the tour.
For DeChambeau, the choice may be coming fast: chase maximum freedom, or chase major relevance.
As Van Pelt put it, “For your popularity to continue to ascend or at least maintain its place, you need to be part of the weekend’s story in the biggest tournaments of the year.”
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