It’s not new for Bryson DeChambeau to be at odds with the Tour, whether it is filing a lawsuit against it or being left out of the Ryder Cup team dinner. Now, DeChambeau has signed a deal that might center him in a growing debate. On Wednesday, the two-time major champ announced an endorsement deal with Kalshi, the prediction-market company.

This partnership marks the first time Kalshi has signed an individual athlete. Now DeChambeau is definitely free to partner with any such company, as he is a LIV player, unlike the PGA Tour players. “Currently, this is not an approved category,” a Tour spokesperson told Front Office Sports.

“As the world’s largest prediction market and one of the fastest-growing companies in the world,” DeChambeau says while announcing the partnership, “Kalshi is creating a fun and more engaging experience for people to predict and forecast the future.”

On the contrary, the PGA Tour has tightened its enforcement on betting this week. The Integrity Compliance 360 (IC360) announced an expanded partnership with the Tour. As per this deal, the company’s ProhiBet technology will be officially integrated into the Tour’s Integrity Program. The platform will monitor all the illicit betting activity involving golfers, caddies, and staff.

These are very explicit policies. The Integrity Program bans those who bet on “any platform that the TOUR determines to mimic sports betting (e.g., prediction markets, futures contracts).” At the same time, providing inside info, manipulating performances, or facilitating betting activities are also prohibited. The penalties for this can range from $500k fines to suspensions to even lifetime bans.

So against this backdrop, when DeChambeau signs a deal with a prominent betting company, it is bound to raise eyebrows. Under his agreement, the Mad Scientist will appear in TV commercials, social media campaigns, and promotional content. Kalshi has also planned to roll out prediction markets for every event in which DeChambeau plays in the future.

This is interesting because DeChambeau does compete in other events that are not a part of LIV. He does participate in major championships as well as the Ryder Cups. Although the PGA Tour doesn’t conduct these, it does sit closer to these events than you might think.

Nevertheless, DeChambeau’s deal does not violate the PGA Tour rules. He doesn’t play there. Under the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program, any player who left the Tour to play in other rival tournaments has a deadline till February 2 to make a comeback. They would be faced with a few heavy penalties, which might go up to $85 M.

While it’s true that after Brooks Koepka’s “homecoming,” many were seeing if DeChambeau might return to the PGA Tour as well. That expectation has now faded after this deal.

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Bryson DeChambeau walks on a tightrope between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf

While the speculations were high on Bryson DeChambeau being the next “homecomer” to the PGA Tour, he has seemingly shut the door on that possibility for now. Speaking to Ben Parsons at LIV Golf’s preview event, DeChambeau said that he was “surprised” with Koepka’s exit from LIV. But at the same time, he didn’t seem too resolute on staying with the Saudi-backed league himself.

“I’ve got a contract this year, and that’s just going to be an ever-evolving conversation,” DeChambeau told Parsons.  “Hopefully, I’m back next year.”

This might have something to do with the PGA Tour’s Returning Member Program.  For DeChambeau, the money is huge.

“I didn’t know he’d [Koepka] be willing to give that much back,” DeChambeau said.

But you’d never know if he is considering it or not. His LIV contract renewal negotiations are still in progress. But now that he has signed a partnership with Kalshi, it seems like he’ll stay in LIV colors for a while.