Rory McIlroy Talks Bryson DeChambeau's Future in Video, 'Doesn't Seem Like He's Got Many Options'

Rory McIlroy doesn't think Bryson DeChambeau has many choices outside of accepting what is reportedly a chance to play on the DP World Tour.

"I think a name like Bryson DeChambeau, and everything he brings with him, good and bad, he brings eyeballs, which is a good thing for tournaments," McIlroy said Tuesday ahead of Thursday's start of the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

"And honestly, look— I'm certainly not in his shoes, nor would I ever want to be, but it doesn't seem like he's got many options if he wants to play competitive golf."

DeChambeau left the PGA Tour in 2022 to join LIV Golf, which confirmed last week it is ending operations among ongoing bankruptcy court proceedings.

"Arnold Palmer said no player is bigger than the game, and I want to acknowledge that, along the way, I've said some things that didn't help," DeChambeau wrote in a statement shared last week. "Whatever comes next, I'II approach it with humility and respect for the people who carried this game long before."

The Telegraph 's James Corrigan reported last week DeChambeau had been offered "full playing privileges on the European circuit next year."

"The 23-year-old is the only Tour non-member on LIV who has this exemption and if he decides to enlist for 2027 he could earn back his PGA Tour card for 2028 via the Race to Dubai money list," Corrigan reported.

Eligibility criteria for the PGA Tour as of September dictates a one-year suspension for players participating in LIV Golf dating back to their last tournament. That would keep players including DeChambeau away from the PGA Tour until at least August 2027.

The PGA Tour previously opened a direct path for LIV Golf players including DeChambeau under the Returning Member Program, through which Brooks Koepka agreed to significant financial penalties to immediately rejoin the organization. Koepka forfeited an estimated $50 to $85 million in career earnings by agreeing to the program, per PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp .

Rolapp said in August the PGA Tour is not planning to reinstate a similar program.

Jon Rahm said last week he would accept similar conditions to get his own path back to the PGA Tour but would "seriously doubt I get offered the same deal that Brooks did," per the Golf Channel .

"It's a pretty good safety net that I have that I can play the DP World Tour next year, and if it comes to that, I'm really excited to play for a full year," Rahm said last week.

DeChambeau said in 2022 he was paid more than $125 million to join LIV Golf. He earned an estimated $68.7 million in winnings on the tour, per Spotrac .

Bankruptcy filings described by USA Today's Mark Giannotto and Kristie Ackert show LIV Golf acknowledging $5.77 million still owed to DeChambeau.

DeChambeau confirmed in his statement he would be playing at the DP World Tour's Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa this December and then "go about whatever is next the right way."

The Athletic's Gabby Herzig recently reported the PGA Tour "is not expected to make a public decision about a pathway back for LIV Golf players until at least January, when LIV's bankruptcy proceedings are set to conclude."

Whether PGA Tour ultimately considers reinstating another return pathway could shape whether DeChambeau ends up playing a full upcoming season with the DP World Tour.