Bryson DeChambeau makes LIV Golf plea as PGA Tour comparison is made

LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau has urged fans to give the breakaway tour a chance, insisting they'll be "fans for life" once they come down to watch. The American, 30, was speaking ahead of a LIV event in Houston, Texas this weekend and encouraged locals to pop down for the day.

Backed by the financial muscle of the Saudi Arabian state, LIV Golf has been a walking, talking controversy ever since its inception in 2021.

Many of the world's top players have since been lured away from the PGA Tour by gargantuan contract offers amid a transformation that has threatened to change the face of golf altogether.

At a press conference on Thursday, DeChambeau called on locals to attend the Houston LIV event while "keeping an open mind" about it.

"I think the first thing that I would say is try to keep an open mind just for one day," he said. "Come out here one day with an open mind I think you'll be a fan for life."

Fellow LIV star Martin Kaymer agreed, saying: "You can only have an opinion about something you have experienced. And going back to the PGA Championship, I talked to a lot of people about LIV. I asked them, 'Have you ever watched or been to an event?' And some of them said, 'No, but I don't like it'."

He added: "And I said, 'Listen. I've never watched a cricket game, but I would never say I like it or I dislike it, because I don't know. So as Bryson said, I would encourage people to come out and for the day to experience it for themselves.

"If they like it, great. If they don't like it, that's OK too."

Last year, reports of a potential merger between LIV Golf and the PGA were rife, and although there's been collaboration between the two tours - with LIV golfers allowed to compete in this year's Masters and PGA Championship, for example - both are expected to remain separate entities for the time being.