Bryson DeChambeau is making headlines off the course as much as on it. From a surprise trip to the White House to filming alongside Rory McIlroy in the record-breaking Happy Gilmore 2, the two-time major champion is once again at the center of golf’s most talked-about storylines.
Back in D.C. and Back in the Gym?
DeChambeau visited the White House this week, not for a golf honor — but to help lead a national fitness revival. Former President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Presidential Fitness Test, and DeChambeau was named chairman of the newly reestablished council.
Joining a celebrity panel that includes Triple H, Annika Sorenstam, Harrison Butker, and Saquon Barkley, DeChambeau told Fox News he’s passionate about helping America’s youth get moving again.
“It’s one of the most important things that I could see in my lifetime outside of golf,” he said. “Our obesity rate is through the roof. We want to set a new tone, higher modernized standards that allow us to implement a healthier future for America.”
The fitness test, a mainstay of U.S. school gym classes for decades, was canceled during the Obama administration. Now, under new leadership, it’s back — with DeChambeau taking on a central role.
LIV vs. PGA Tour — Still No Resolution in Sight
Asked about the state of men’s pro golf, DeChambeau didn’t hold back. As one of the earliest and highest-profile defectors to LIV Golf back in 2022, he’s been at the heart of the civil war that’s divided the sport.
With the June 2023 framework agreement between the PGA Tour and LIV’s Saudi financiers seemingly frozen, the fractured game remains just that — fractured. Adam Scott even revealed this week that negotiations are effectively over, and insiders say the PGA Tour has little appetite for LIV’s team format.
DeChambeau, though, still believes there’s a path forward.
“There is an opportunity to come back together in some capacity,” he said. “Whether it’s a merger or something else, a joint venture… we just need to find a way to do it amicably.”
DeChambeau: Rory and I ‘Definitely’ Saw Eye to Eye
But perhaps the most surprising twist in DeChambeau’s whirlwind week? A public show of unity — with Rory McIlroy.
Yes, the same Rory McIlroy who was once LIV’s fiercest critic, and who once reportedly gave DeChambeau the cold shoulder during the final round of the 2025 Masters, found common ground with him on the set of Happy Gilmore 2.
The Netflix sequel — featuring Adam Sandler, over a dozen of today’s top stars, and legends like Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino — shattered streaming records with 46.7 million views in just three days.
DeChambeau, McIlroy, Scheffler, Spieth, Koepka, Morikawa, and others played fictionalized versions of themselves.
“I didn’t realize how hard actors work,” DeChambeau said of the nine-day shoot. “But Adam [Sandler] is a great guy and an awesome director.”
More notably, he said, the behind-the-scenes moments helped break the ice with McIlroy.
“Rory’s nice words make a lot of sense,” DeChambeau said. “And I’m a part of growing the game. So that’s what I care about most. I think there is an opportunity, like Rory said, to bring this fractured game back together.”
From suing the PGA Tour to sharing laughs on a movie set with McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau’s 2025 has been anything but boring — and judging by his comments, the show is far from over.
