A few weeks ago, MMA and boxing were part of my daily routine. But a shift in priorities led to one thing after another, and suddenly, I found myself covering the Travelers Championship. Still, the noise of The Open kept creeping in until it finally arrived. Surprisingly, though, the transition between these two worlds of coverage didn’t feel as jarring as you might expect, despite the vast differences between them.

Suddenly, Conor McGregor’s role had been taken over by Bryson DeChambeau. Although they do vastly different things as athletes, the similarities in their importance to their respective sports are striking. So, it got me thinking: Bryson might just be the Conor McGregor of golf. And, much like the case with the former two-time UFC champion, I believe golf needs Bryson more than Bryson needs golf.

Content Creator First, Golfer Second: Bryson’s Independent Empire

Most golfers have a traditionally stoic image. But the 32-year-old is as loud as they come, thanks to his unfiltered personality and social media dominance. He has amassed more than 11.69 million followers across platforms, more than any pro golfer besides Tiger Woods. And his YouTube channel alone has 2.78 million subscribers and hundreds of millions of views.

🤔 golf trivia

This Should Be an Easy One, Right?

01/10

How Many Kiwi Golfers Have Won a Major?

3451

Oops, bogey!

But don’t worry, there’s still the back 9 to prove your high golf IQ

PLAY GOLF TRIVIA

His “Break 50” series, featuring personalities like Donald Trump, Steph Curry, and Phil Mickelson, alone has turned golf into accessible entertainment, attracting at least 26.91 million views and billions of watch minutes on YouTube. This point is especially significant at a time when the PGA Tour struggles to grow its TV audience.

According to Front Office Sports, the PGA Tour’s $20 million Signature Events are no longer seeing the same rapid TV-ratings growth they enjoyed in 2025. 

In the meantime, Bryson DeChambeau also connects with fans like few others, from tossing golf balls to kids to signing autographs mid-round and letting spectators hold his major trophies. If he walked away from golf tomorrow, he’d already have a lucrative career waiting for him. Sponsors, endorsements, and countless opportunities would come knocking. He’d never need to tee it up again.

Bryson DeChambeau shines through despite the hate

Like McGregor, the Californian has done things that haven’t sat well with fans, although not to the extent the Irish fighter would. In June 2022, the 32-year-old jumped ship and joined LIV Golf for $125 million, among other big names. The sentiment around such transfers has been that it’s for money, and DeChambeau’s image did take a hit because of it.

In addition, he has a very analytical approach to the sport. Bryson DeChambeau relies on physics, mathematics, and biomechanics to eliminate variables, optimize power, and standardize his mechanics. Although he’s not wrong to do so, it polarized fans by making the game too complicated. 

DeChambeau also wears his emotions on his sleeve, resulting in several public outbursts at course officials, media, and fans. While this shifted the limelight onto him, repeated instances have divided fans and experts. World No. 2 Rory McIlroy has gone as far as to call his outburst at the US Open last week “performative” and “for attention.”

Despite that, he continues to dominate public attention. Whether fans and experts view him positively or negatively, the Californian remains firmly in the spotlight, constantly driving conversation and keeping himself at the center of the discussion. During the US Open, for instance, his two-stroke penalty for improving the area of his intended swing.

He spent eight minutes on the course after his round ended, arguing with officials about the penalty. Besides demonstrating his shot, the 32-year-old was threatening to withdraw from the major, despite having failed to make the cut in the season’s first three majors. And all that to later announce on social media that he would play anyway.

Reports also surfaced that DeChambeau allegedly threatened to call Donald Trump during a heated dispute with R&A officials over the two-stroke penalty. Trump, of course, called FIFA during the World Cup to get US striker Folarin Balogun’s red-card ban suspended. So, it’s not like the President of the United States couldn’t have gotten his penalty lifted as well, leaving Bryson DeChambeau in a much more favorable position.

Although there’s no evidence that he did so, nor has the R&A confirmed it, this is the sort of thing that makes him so polarizing. Yet, you may have noticed that almost the entire Open week was more about him than the major itself. This further reflects how he might have gotten bigger than the sport itself. He’s got the money, the followers, and the attention to rule over the sport and its various tours.