'Bryson Was In The Right Place At The Right Time' - Greg Norman Says LIV Golf To Thank For DeChambeau's Success

Bryson DeChambeau's transformation into golf's biggest YouTube crossover star could not have happened without LIV Golf - says former CEO Greg Norman.

DeChambeau went from misunderstood mad scientist to crowd favorite by the time he won the 2024 US Open, thanks to a new fan-first attitude and a successful move into YouTube golf.

The American is now one of the biggest names in YouTube golf with his quirky content and while he's not challenged in Majors recently he's continued to win LIV Golf events.

And Norman, the architect behind LIV's launch, believes that DeChambeau could not have achieved all this success without the team-based tour behind him.

"I would say Bryson was in the right place at the right time, with the right personality and the right vision," Norman told Golf Digest's new Real Deal podcast.

"But he can only have that because of LIV, because we gave him his IP rights. When you're not playing a LIV tournament you can go do whatever you want. You can monetize your IP.

"So he saw this incredible moment in time for himself. And I'm so happy and so pleased for him that he has maximized on that."

One of Phil Mickelson's main gripes with the PGA Tour was this exact reason, wanting more freedom for players to create content and monetize it for themselves.

As LIV Golf was new and needed big-name players it gave them more freedom to do just that, and DeChambeau has been the biggest success story.

"But it was only because if he stayed on the PGA Tour he would have no chance, right, because the PGA Tour would own his IP," said Norman. "Unless that's changed in the last couple of years, I'm not too sure."

And Norman insisted there'll be a few jealous players back on the main tour looking at DeChambeau's succes.

"I bet you there's a lot of players on the PGA Tour saying, why am I not doing that? So kudos to him," added the Australian.

"I think he's [DeChambeau] done a phenomenal job with how he's balancing himself with this.

"And again LIV allowed him to do that because he only had 14 events so he had the time to focus on other things that could move on in perpetuity for him beyond LIV and the PGA Tour. That's the secret."

It now means that DeChambeau is even contemplating focusing more on the YouTube side of things and just playing professionally in the Majors - saying that's an option if LIV 2.0 does not take off.

His online fanbase has been a big help to LIV driving content previously, and that's sure to be a talking point between the two sides as they discuss the future - and exactly what sort of deal DeChambeau would have if LIV 2.0 goes ahead.