David Puig leaves LIV as Bryson DeChambeau reportedly eyes Europe starts

LONDON - The DP World Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, may hold the key for many players departing LIV Golf.

Spanish youngster David Puig announced on Oct 8 that he would not stay with LIV as it restructures for the future, switching his membership to the DP World Tour. And two-time Major champion Bryson DeChambeau is reportedly weighing more starts in Europe, as well.

“I don’t see myself playing in the LIV 2.0,” Puig told reporters at the Spanish Open, a DP World Tour event. “It’s a decision I’ve made. I hope to play the European Tour next year, which I really enjoy, with a fuller schedule.

“For me (LIV) has been wonderful. It has made me a better player. Without a doubt I am super grateful, but next year I won’t be there.”

The 24-year-old was a strong amateur golfer and starred collegiately at Arizona State. He played in two LIV events while still an amateur in 2022, when the league was still in its infancy, and signed with LIV once he turned pro. He was named 2025 LIV Golf Breakout Star of the Year.

While Puig never won an individual tournament title in over four years with LIV, he maintained eligibility for some DP World Tour and Asian Tour events and earned the biggest win of his career last November at the Australian PGA Championship.

In pursuing full-time DP World Tour membership, Puig follows Spanish stars Jon Rahm, 31, and Sergio Garcia, 46, from LIV back to Europe. Puig played for Garcia’s Fireballs GC while with the team-based league. Garcia, the 2017 Masters champion, was granted release from his LIV contract earlier this week.

DeChambeau and Rahm, meanwhile, are among the small number of elite players whose decisions will make or break the so-called LIV 2.0 plan. Two-time Major champion Rahm made his decision known earlier this week that he would leave LIV, and golf insider Alan Shipnuck reported late last month that DeChambeau was still going back and forth on his final decision.

The Telegraph reported that DeChambeau’s team has contacted DP World Tour brass about which tournaments he could appear at in 2027. The report made clear that DeChambeau is not pursuing membership on the European tour, the way Patrick Reed did when he left LIV at the start of 2026, a path Rahm will now emulate.

Last month, a DP World Tour spokesman revealed that the tour is getting a “high volume of inbound interest and enquiries”.

LIV members have until Oct 25 to commit to playing for the league next year. LIV still needs commitments from a sufficient number of players with outstanding financial claims against the league to satisfy the terms set by its restructuring partner, BC Partners Credit.

The only player that has committed his future to the league thus far is England’s Richard Bland, 53.

“Well, apart from the Legends Tour, I have nowhere else to play,” said Bland, who has about US$20 million (S$25.6 million) in LIV earnings since his debut in 2022.

“I’m banned until next August on the PGA Tour Champions, and I don’t have the desire to go back to the DP World Tour and start from the bottom again. I’m too old for that.

“The last few years on LIV have been absolutely brilliant and if LIV doesn’t come off, I’ll play the senior Majors.” REUTERS