Bryson DeChambeau once suggested that YouTube could become more than a side project. Earlier this year, the golfer floated the idea of becoming a full-time YouTube golfer, saying that if negotiations failed and the PGA Tour refused to accept him, he could turn to the platform to make a living. With nearly three million subscribers and more than 694 million views already on his channel, the path he envisioned is hardly out of reach.
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Now, DeChambeau is putting that idea into motion. He is taking another step toward his YouTube future with a $100,000 challenge, bringing popular internet golf personalities into the spotlight and turning his online ambitions into something much more tangible.
“Welcome to Backyard Games, where over the next 10 days, these 10 golfers will be competing in my backyard for the chance to play me for this $100,000,” Bryson DeChambeau said in an Instagram video, announcing the challenge. “These players will play one-hole matches on a ton of crazy holes all over my backyard until only one player is left.
“The last player standing will play me in a three-hole match for the $100,000. And if I win, I’ll be giving it all away to one of my followers.”
The challenge will unfold on a very familiar piece of ground for DeChambeau: his own backyard. The property features a series of green complexes, giving the competition plenty of flexibility when it comes to creating different routings.
All ten YouTubers participating in the challenge have massive followings. The most popular among them would likely be Grant Horvat. He admitted that if he makes it far in the challenge, Bryson DeChambeau is the guy he worries about most.
Besides Horvat, the field includes professional-turned-YouTube golfers Wesley and George Bryan. While everyone else is focused on the $100,000 prize money, these two have their own competition. During their introduction, Wesley Bryan said that he was better than his brother, while George Bryan said that if he could eliminate his brother, it would make his year.
The other internet personalities in the mix are Brad Dalke, Chance Taylor, Rhett, Arlynn Spence, Sara Winter, Martin Borgmeier, and Chaz Bowker.
Bryson DeChambeau announced that the first round starts tomorrow. Any two random golfers of the ten will face each other tomorrow in a one-hole match. The one who loses will head back home, while the winner goes on to continue forward.
This move comes amid uncertainty over DeChambeau’s own professional career.
The American professional ditched the PGA Tour to join LIV Golf in 2022. But the league has been in financial turmoil ever since PIF announced that it will stop funding the league starting next year. While LIV Golf did find a lead investor to continue in 2027, it had to enter a Chapter 11 bankruptcy to nullify all previous contracts.
In its filing, the rebel league listed Bryson DeChambeau as a creditor. The league owes him around $5.77 million. Thus, the 33-year-old retained a sizable seven-member legal team to represent him and his company, BAD Enterprises, Inc. This includes attorneys from Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Wollmuth Maher & Deutsch LLP.
Whether LIV Golf continues next year or not, the nullified contract would mean that Bryson DeChambeau becomes a free agent. However, even if he plans to head back to the PGA Tour, the path won’t be that simple.
Is the PGA Tour still an option for Bryson DeChambeau?
Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has announced that the Tour is not contemplating another “returning member program” as it did for Brooks Koepka.
This stance directly links Bryson DeChambeau’s near‑term options to LIV’s fate. If LIV 2.0 falters, he cannot simply walk back into PGA Tour events next season.
In fact, the DP World Tour route is also uncertain at the moment. The PGA Tour has not announced whether it will continue to give 10 cards for the Championship Series to the top Race to Dubai performers from 2028. Rory McIlroy believes that the number of cards may decrease.
All of this puts Bryson DeChambeau’s professional future at a huge risk. While he has repeatedly said that he is okay with leaning on YouTube golf alone, the reality might strike him harder than he expects.
What’s left to see is whether LIV Golf will continue in 2028. If so, will DeChambeau stick with it or look for other options? Only time will tell.