Facing evaporated funding and legal hurdles, the two-time major champion urges an open-minded approach as he fights to secure a private investment lifeline for the embattled league.
Bryson DeChambeau has spent plenty of time trying to prove LIV Golf belongs.
Now the former SMU star is asking for one more chance to do it.
DeChambeau urged the golf world to remain "open-minded" and give LIV "one more shot" as the league fights to secure the funding and player support necessary to continue beyond this season, ESPN reported.
And he didn't exactly sugarcoat the situation.
"It's tough, it's not easy," DeChambeau said after shooting an opening-round 65 at LIV's final event of the season. "We definitely have a lot against us."
That's probably putting it lightly when you consider everything that's happened over the past few months.
Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced in April that it would stop funding LIV following this season, leaving the league searching for another path forward.
LIV has since canceled two events, including its planned season finale in Michigan, while also facing multiple lawsuits from vendors over missed payments.
But there is still a potential lifeline.
CEO Scott O'Neil has spent the past few months pitching a different version of LIV, featuring a 10-event schedule split between five international and five U.S. events, smaller purses and player equity in the league.
LIV has also signed a term sheet with an outside investor, reported by multiple outlets to be Ted Goldthorpe of BC Partners. ESPN reported that the agreement has yet to be finalized, with player commitments appearing to be an important piece of getting it across the finish line.
And DeChambeau has been doing his part.
The two-time major champion has been at the forefront of the push to keep LIV going, including leading a player meeting at Trump Bedminster. O'Neil has also said DeChambeau has been heavily involved in advocating for the league to continue.
It's another pretty significant role for a golfer whose path to becoming one of the biggest names in the sport ran directly through SMU.
DeChambeau became the first NCAA individual champion in SMU men's golf history in 2015, winning by one stroke at The Concession Golf Club. He followed it by winning the U.S. Amateur later that summer, joining Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus and Ryan Moore as the only golfers at the time to win both in the same year.
More than a decade later, he's now one of the biggest names attached to LIV's uncertain future.
So when Rory McIlroy recently questioned what value LIV players have brought to the breakaway league, DeChambeau had an answer.
"I hope people can see that we actually bring value to the game of golf," DeChambeau said.
But his most interesting comments weren't about convincing McIlroy. They were about what happens if LIV can't convince everyone else.
"If it works, it works, and that's awesome," DeChambeau said. "If it doesn't, we'll figure things out and time will move on."
DeChambeau has come a pretty long way since winning a national championship at SMU.
Now he's doing what he can to make sure LIV gets another chapter in his career.
But even one of the league's biggest stars is acknowledging there might not be one.
