LIV Golf is currently going through a tumultuous phase. Trying to adapt to a more traditional format, the tournament is looking to bring in some drastic changes from this year. Unfortunately, at a time when they need their star players the most, the Saudi-backed league suffered a big blow. One of the mainstays of the league, Brooks Koepka, recently announced his exit. While his decision initially came as a shock, a former LIV Golf star recently shed light on why Koepka might have decided to make the big move. 

Eugenio Chacarra joined the breakaway league back in 2022. After winning during the inaugural season, Chacarra had quite a controversial exit as the 2024 season concluded. And as he spoke about his frustrations, Brook Koepka’s decision began to make more sense. “They told me a lot of things that never really happened, and I don’t know if it bothered me or not, but I lost motivation because of it,” Chacarra said. “I wanted to play in majors and be in contention for the Ryder Cup. I love competing, but not just for 13 weeks a year. I want to play 30 or 25-plus [events], so that’s one of the things I want to move forward towards,” he further added. 

The Spaniard also pointed out that despite winning on the circuit, the life of a golfer doesn’t change drastically. That’s because, while a handsome amount of monetary compensation is provided, the likes of Koepka and others missed out on majors and Ryder Cup stints. “That affected me as a player and I lost motivation. So me and my team thought the best way to move forward was to try to get on the DP World Tour, win on there, and then work my way up to the PGA Tour,” concluded Chacarra. 

Such a statement does shed some light on why exactly Koepka might have decided to part ways despite having a whole $100 million contract left for a year. At the moment, the PGA Tour is quite doubtful about whether to waive off the 1-year-ban or to impose the same on the LIV Golf star. Meanwhile, amidst all the complications, Bryson DeChambeau, too, might follow the footsteps of Brooks Koepka. 

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Will Bryson DeChambeau follow Brooks Koepka’s footsteps?

While Koepka’s decision, which was officially announced at the end of December 2025, caught some people off guard, it wasn’t really unexpected. More so because, for months, there were signs that this was coming as Koepka never fully embraced LIV Golf’s team format. Now, after Koepka’s exit, Bryson DeChambeau, too, is seemingly hinting towards a similar future.

While talking to Tom Hobbs of Flushing it Golf, DeChambeau clearly shared how Koepka’s decision is making him rethink his career plans. “I mean, look, it’s confidential. I’m not going to share too much, but the conversations are in process. We have to get to a place where both parties have a good understanding of one another. It is getting to a place that makes sense for both sides. And, I think that can happen, but you never know. Life throws curve balls and, obviously, we saw what happened (Brooks Koepka leaving LIV Golf) and that was quite a shock to a lot of people and something that, you know, it is what it is”, said the golfer cum social media influencer.

Reflecting further on the matter, he said, “I think that as a league now we have more opportunity to make some movements, and I think that team has an opportunity to do some things differently than the past few seasons. So, we’ll see where it all goes and where it all leads. Ultimately, it’s quite interesting.”

Hinting at how the talks are ongoing, DeChambeau’s words made it clear that he holds all the leverage. Notably, LIV is already dealing with back-to-back setbacks, as following the footsteps of Brooks Koepka, Pat Perez, too, left the Saudi-backed league. Only time will tell whether the Saudi backed league can manage to retain DeChambeau and fans will be following developments with a lot of interest.