It’s been a rollercoaster of results for DeChambeau as he eyes 2026 title defense in Korea

BUSAN, South Korea – Ebbs and flows. For as great as Bryson DeChambeau can be at the peak of his powers, the Crushers GC captain is not immune to the most perplexing thing about golf: The rollercoaster of results.

Consider his last six worldwide starts.

• Winning LIV Golf Singapore
• Winning LIV Golf South Africa
• Missed cut at the Masters
• Withdraw at LIV Golf Mexico City with an injury
• Solo third at Maaden LIV Golf Virginia
• Missed cut at PGA Championship

The majors are golf’s biggest prizes – and DeChambeau has won two of them in his career. So of course, that makes his missed cuts in the first two of 2026 even more pronounced.

“That’s kind of the game of golf,” DeChambeau said. “The weeks before that I played really well going into them. I won two events going into the Masters and then finished third in Virginia. So, it's not like I'm playing bad golf.

“I think I'm putting some pressure on myself to play well in those tournaments, and that's the reality. Nobody is perfect, and I'm still working hard to play as good as I possibly can, and the year before I played really well in the majors, missed one cut there, and it just happens.

“That's golf, and ultimately excited for the opportunities I have moving forward. There isn't any quit in me, as you can see. Even at Aronimink I birdied my first last three holes trying to make the cut there, and it is what it is.”

DeChambeau returns to action this week at LIV Golf Korea. It’s the same country that produced his lone LIV Golf individual title in 2025 (his Crushers also won the team competition), but he’s at a different course this year, with Asiad Country Club in Busan as the host site instead of Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea last year in Incheon outside Korea.

No matter the location, DeChambeau is now accustomed to winning all over the globe. His last three wins have come in three different countries – South Korea last year; Singapore and South Africa this year. That’s a big part of the appeal of playing LIV Golf’s international schedule.

Until that stretch, his lone non-U.S. win had come in 2019 at the Dubai Desert Classic.

“Golf in the States is massive and it's one of the most impressive markets in the world for sure, but realizing that there's others out there, as well, and that there's an underserved market was something that we saw and thought that it would be an amazing opportunity for us to grow the game globally, and that's what LIV has done,” he said.

“I think as I look at it now, what's really impacted me the most is the cultural barriers that get broken down, in a good way, with the game of golf. Everybody comes together. I think that's what's really special about LIV. I think that's what's really special about the game of golf. We'd be doing ourselves a disservice if we didn't continue to do that.

“I think there's value in the States. There's value outside of the States. There's a way to match both.”

There’s certainly value in winning in a golf-mad country such as Korea.

A year ago in Incheon, just two players finished within eight strokes of his winning total of 19 under – his Crushers teammate Charles Howell III (17 under) and current OKGC Captain Talor Gooch (-14).

DeChambeau acknowledged that it’s “weird” to want to beat his own teammate while also hoping his teammate will contribute to the team’s success.

“He gave it all he had, but it wasn’t enough at times, and I got lucky,” DeChambeau recalled. “I made a couple of putts coming down the stretch, and it could have easily gone the other way. We were going head-to-head. It was a fun battle.”

After missing the cut at the PGA Championship, DeChambeau is hoping to have more fun in Korea.

“Korea is a great place for golf,” he said. “It's a fantastic venue. Last year played great. Was playing great going into it. Struggled on Sundays but got the job done that week, and our team got the job done, as well, which was sweet to have. I love those sweeps; they're a lot of fun.

“The crowd is always excited for our top-level golf, and excited to see what this new venue provides. It's a different test of golf than last week, but I think an interesting one, one that'll hold its own ground and its own right.

“The grass is a lot different, so around the greens you're going to see some interesting shots and some incredible shots, as well. Just the grass type around it is a little different than what we're used to. We get some fliers out of the rough, so quite a fun, interesting test of golf this week.”