Bryson DeChambeau Wins a Unique War Against Xander Schauffele as LIV Golf’s ‘Batman’ Shines Over PGA Tour Pros

The PGA Championship finally saw a victor in the form of Xander Schauffele. The golfer took home the crown and raked in his first-ever major win in his career at the event in Valhalla. But just as there is a twist to every story, there’s one in this as well. Someone else, interestingly enough, managed to beat him in popularity. Enter Bryson Dechambeau, the LIV Golf Pro.

A tweet was shared by Dan Rapaport on his X handle (formerly Twitter) mentioning how the spectators are more interested in watching the LIV golfer play as opposed to the other professionals. While doing so, he also pointed out how much his popularity has changed over the years, especially since joining the Saudi-backed league in 2022; “Crowd seems to be most behind Bryson DeChambeau. The turnaround of his public image over the last 4 years is amazing.”

The 30-year-old athlete from the PIF-funded circuit had been tailing the PGA Tour pro throughout the tournament and was finally able to tie with him on the final stretch owing to his Sunday score of a flawless 7-under 64. This, in turn, helped him with an overall figure of 20-under 264 with 19 birdies, 3 bogeys, and 2 eagles, the last of which he scored on Thursday as well as Sunday.

Schauffele, on the other hand, had been dominating the leaderboard since day one. The athlete overtook the ‘Scientist’ on his final hole by carding a birdie, his 25th one in the tournament and 7th one of the day, thereby registering a score of 21-under 263. He finally emerged victorious in the 2024 season after experiencing nothing short of an unlucky streak with eight top-10 finishes without a win from his 11 previous starts.

Even though the American PGA Tour Pro beat the LIV player along with the field, the same couldn’t be said for popularity. Over the years, DeChambeau had been engaging himself in various activities such as making content for his fans on YouTube, making videos for the ‘Break 50’ challenge, and collaborations with personalities, among others. The LIV Golf Pro doing so keeping the fans and followers in mind appears to have finally paid off after witnessing the amount of support he received as opposed to Schauffele on and off the course.

Entertainer Bryson DeChambeau one-ups against Xander Schauffele despite loss

“I’ve worked really hard to have people help hopefully understand who I am a little bit better,” confessed the LIV Golf Pro after the third round when asked about him prioritizing fans over winning, “YouTube has been a great platform to help that out.” 

He also mentioned how having fun helps him focus on enjoying golf which, in turn, helps in dishing out good entertainment for his followers; “Being able to entertain the fans is what we’re all here to do and I think that’s what’s the most important thing.” 

His efforts did not go unnoticed as a user on X commented; “Nice to have some entertainers in golf. It’s why I am currently rooting against Xander [Schauffele] lol. If you’re going to be boring you have to be as elite as Scottie to make up for it.”

There was also another follower who couldn’t help but mention, “Other guys are boring. He’s not. simple.”

The LIV golfer is known to have a penchant for gaining an edge over his competitors by using science to help his gameplay. Moreover, being a Physics major, his analytical approach to golf has helped him fine-tune his skills as well as his clubs to help him perform at his capacity. But now, focusing on entertaining the fans more elicited a response from the community pointing out the same; “Amazing what happens when you stop trying to be the smartest guy in the room.” 

The player has been at the end of constant criticism and dislikes after he jumped to LIV Golf back in June 2022. The PGA Tour loyalists also took many jabs at him for signing a four-and-a-half-year deal with the PIF-funded circuit for a reported $125 million. As a result, his image plummeted in the media all the while raking in much hate for his choices. Fast forward to the 2024 PGA Championship, people seem to have gotten over it as they commented, “They’ll never make me hate you Bryson.” and “When the American media pushes a biased narrative even Batman would look like a bad guy.”

He truly managed to one-up Xander Schauffele who beat the golfer on the greens at Valhalla Golf Course. Regardless of the result, did you also feel DeChambeau deserved the win more than the champ or it was a just result depending on the performances?