Bryson DeChambeau was celebrating his $4 million victory in South Africa when things took an unexpected turn. While the LIV Golf star was reveling in his post-win safari, his off-course moments picked up traction online, but not for the reasons he’d want. After all, South African PGA Tour pro Dylan Frittelli broke it to him that he was not enjoying the real version. 

“Highly recommend going on a safari,” Bryson DeChambeau wrote, sharing his safari experience on Instagram. The carousel post features him enjoying the safari with animals like elephants, lions, giraffes, zebras, and more. However, Frittelli took a playful dig at the 2x major champion’s celebrations.

“The Temu version of a safari though 😂 you need to go on the real version bro,” Frittelli wrote.

While it is not exactly clear what the South African PGA Tour pro was trying to convey, it probably meant that the animals in the post looked trained. In one of the videos in the carousel post, a trainer was feeding lions. The meat was placed right next to the window of the van in which Bryson DeChambeau was riding.

It’s not just Frittelli, though, who had a problem with DeChambeau’s version.

As the 2x US Open winner shared a video with a lion on Snapchat, fans began accusing him of using artificial intelligence (AI) to create it. However, it’s just speculation right now, as there’s no response from DeChambeau and no proof that he has used AI.

That said, DeChambeau certainly enjoyed himself. The safari came right after his victory at LIV Golf South Africa 2026. It was his second win of the season after he won the previous event, LIV Golf Singapore 2026.

He carded rounds of 63-65-64-66 to finish 26-under par. But victory didn’t come that easily for him. After the four regulation rounds, he was tied at the top with Jon Rahm. Heading into the playoff on the 18th, Rahm scored an even-par score. Bryson DeChambeau, on the other hand, scored a birdie to pull off the win.

However, many people also thought that the American professional himself was taunting someone else.

Fans think Bryson DeChambeau was taking a dig at Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy made a comment about Jon Rahm and South Africa during a press conference at the Arnold Palmer Invitational 2026. The discussion was about the DP World Tour’s offer to LIV golfers, which the Spaniard did not accept.

Speaking at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, McIlroy said that “I’m sure Jon doesn’t want to go to South Africa next week for a LIV event, but he’s going there.”

However, McIlroy’s comments caused quite an uproar. Some South African professionals, including Dean Burmester, were not happy with the Northern Irishman’s comments. So, DeChambeau’s glowing review of the event in South Africa made many speculate that it was a jab at Rory McIlroy’s comment.

DeChambeau’s post also came out shortly after McIlroy released an infamous teaser from his new Amazon Prime documentary. The teaser shows a confrontation between both players while on the ninth green at the 2025 Masters, where they were squabbling over whose putt needed to be played first. After arguing for a few minutes, McIlroy made the putt and went on to complete the career grand slam in a playoff against Justin Rose.

No doubt that the tension between these two players is growing, and we are here to experience it all.