The collapse of LIV Golf’s financial backing was sudden and unexpected. After years of support from the Saudi Arabia-backed Public Investment Fund (PIF), in a matter of weeks, rumors spread, followed by confirmation that the PIF would be ending its support of the tour at the end of the 2026 season. 

Plenty of questions were raised immediately afterward: what happens to the remaining events on the calendar? Will the players continue to get paid for the rest of the season? Will there be new investors who step up to keep funding the LIV business model in 2027 and beyond? 

And of course, what happens to the players? 

Some have already said they aren’t interested in returning to the PGA Tour. Others have said they’re not sure what happens next. On Tuesday, Jon Rahm and the DP World Tour resolved their differences, setting him up to return to European events this year.

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But there’s no question that the biggest star on LIV is Bryson DeChambeau. DeChambeau is a two-time major champion, won the U.S. Open for a second time in 2024 at Pinehurst, and has raised his profile substantially through his wildly popular and successful YouTube golf channel. He spoke about his future on Tuesday, with an honest assessment of where he sees himself going. 

Bryson DeChambeau says he wants to grow his YouTube channel

DeChambeau told the media ahead of this weekend’s LIV Golf event at Trump National Golf Club in Virginia that he’d love to focus on YouTube more if LIV does shut down after the year. 

“I think, from my perspective, I’d love to grow my YouTube channel three times, maybe even more,” DeChambeau said. “I would love to. I’d love to do a bunch of dubbing in different languages, giving the world more reason to watch YouTube. And then I’d love to play tournaments that want me.”

He also implied that in conversations with the PGA Tour, potential penalties they’ve raised have been “quite unfortunate in my opinion, considering what I could do for them.”

“The egos need to get dropped,” he added. “Everybody needs to come in with a level-headed playing field, with an opportunistic mindset to grow the game of golf. That’s why I came over here. That’s why I do what I do on YouTube.”

DeChambeau was up front about his reaction to the news that the PIF was pulling out of the tour moving forward, saying he was “shocked” about the timeline.

LIV GOLF CEO SENDS RALLYING MEMO TO STAFF AFTER REPORTS SAUDI FUNDING COULD END AFTER THIS SEASON 

“I was completely shocked,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to happen. A couple months before that, it’s like, ‘We’re here until 2032. We’ve got financing until 2032,’ and so I told everybody, and that’s what I was told.

“And then, you know, I haven’t had any communication. And unfortunately, things are moving on in a different direction. Obviously, they wanted to move on.”

He was also adamant that the team model LIV uses has been successful, with some of them reaching high levels of valuation. That could be beneficial if both tours pursue a potential merger.

“If we have a great business model and they’re very interested in combining forces, that’s the Kumbaya moment, right?” DeChambeau said. “So, it’s our job to come up with a better business plan on the [top company] side. The team franchises, there’s enough making profit now to where we could sell them for close to $200 million, and that’s not talking about my team either.

“I think it requires a little bit of everybody kind of just lowering their guards and all coming together and going, ‘OK, what’s best for the game of golf?'”

He also said that the PGA has plenty to learn from the LIV format, saying that despite people “on the side” who help support them, there are financial issues brewing there too.

“There’s a few different models,” he explained. “Look, the [PGA Tour] isn’t doing great either. Let’s be honest about the situation. They’ve got the media. They’ve got everybody on the side that helps pump it up. But they’re reducing field sizes, cutting employees and restructuring their business too.”

There’s plenty to take from this, first and foremost that getting DeChambeau back should be the PGA Tour’s top priority. He’s arguably the most popular player in golf right now, thanks in large part to his YouTube following, and having him compete against Rory McIlroy or Scottie Scheffler consistently would be must-see TV. Like the 2024 U.S. Open was. There would need to be some form of penalty, sure, but making it too punitive and keeping him out of the PGA would be a tremendous missed opportunity. That said, there’s an argument to be made that “the game” would have been better served by all the top players staying together and pushing for reforms from the PGA Tour internally. Though the counter to that would be that changes may never have been made if not for external competition.

DeChambeau’s also unique among star players in that he does have an external outlet with YouTube. There’s little chance of him ever making as much money from his channel as he would from competitive golf, but it does give him more options. Of course, LIV CEO Scott O’Neil might find new investors and keep the tour together. Retaining Bryson would be key for him too. 

If this all ends with DeChambeau focusing exclusively on YouTube, it would be a fascinating statement on where the game is headed. That seemed impossible a few weeks ago. But in a sign of how fast the modern world of golf moves, it sure doesn’t now.

A South Carolina inmate convicted of killing a state trooper more than 25 years ago cannot be executed due to a mental illness that has him believing he is immortal, a judge ruled.

John Richard Wood, 59, lacks the ability to rationally communicate with his lawyers and does not have a rational and factual understanding of his crimes, why he is being punished or the nature of his punishment, Judge Grace Knie found, based on the opinions of three mental health experts, according to WSPA and the South Carolina Daily Gazette.

A psychiatrist with the prosecution as well as a psychiatrist and a psychologist with Wood’s legal team all agreed that he failed this two-pronged legal standard for competence to be executed.

With this ruling, the judge upheld his attorneys’ claim that the debilitating effects of his schizophrenia prevent him from facing the death penalty at this time.

SOUTH CAROLINA COURT MOVES FORWARD EXECUTION OF COP KILLER WHO SAYS MOST LAWS ARE UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Knie’s ruling must be reviewed by the state Supreme Court, which could determine whether to uphold or overturn her decision.

The judge said Wood believes that he is immortal, has already died three times on death row and will be resurrected again if the state executes him, citing the mental health experts’ testimony during a hearing in March, the South Carolina Daily Gazette reported.

Wood also believes he has already received a pardon from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.

SOUTH CAROLINA DEATH ROW INMATE SAYS JUDGES ARE LED BY SATAN AS COURT WEIGHS IF HE IS COMPETENT FOR EXECUTION

The experts have said that while Wood understands why he received the death sentence, he mistakenly believes law enforcement officers were “trying to frame him for a brutal rape.”

Additionally, Wood believes the judge at his 2002 trial and courtroom personnel were working against him because they were agents of “Beloved Kevin Rudolph,” a deity that he thinks is part of a battle to rule the planet, according to the South Carolina Daily Gazette. Wood also believes he was given wings and immortality to win this fight.

He is the first inmate on death row in South Carolina found to be not competent to be put to death since the state restarted executions in September 2024 after a 13-year pause because the state was struggling to obtain lethal injection drugs. The state added the firing squad as an execution method during that hiatus. Seven executions have been carried out in the state since capital punishment was resumed, including three men who chose to die by firing squad.

Wood was convicted of killing South Carolina State Trooper Eric Nicholson in December 2000 during a traffic stop in Greenville County. Wood shot Nicholson five times during the traffic stop, according to authorities.

During a subsequent pursuit, he shot at police and hit one officer in the face with a bullet fragment. Wood was eventually taken into custody after he hijacked a truck.

He was sentenced to death in February 2002. He was among death row inmates in line to receive a death warrant after exhausting regular appeals.

While his death warrant is paused, Wood’s original conviction and sentence still stand.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the South Carolina Department of Corrections and Knie’s office for comment.

President Donald Trump hinted that a “Final Agreement” regarding an end to the conflict between Iran and the United States may be around the corner, and paused what is called “Project Freedom,” an effort to help ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

The post Trump Hints Agreement with Iran May Be Close to Final, Pauses Project Freedom appeared first on Breitbart.