The PGA Tour is reportedly preparing to ease its social media restrictions for players, just days after Bryson DeChambeau discussed expanding his side-hustle as a YouTube golfer. DeChambeau's future remains uncertain after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund announced it would stop funding LIV Golf at the end of this season.
DeChambeau's YouTube Success
The 32-year-old American has been linked with a potential return to the PGA Tour but has also become a hugely popular YouTube star. DeChambeau has amassed nearly 2.7 million subscribers, with his most popular videos including challenges with President Donald Trump (17 million views) and John Daly (10 million views).
Earlier this week, the LIV Golf star suggested he would focus on building his social media audience should LIV collapse, rather than rejoin golf's old order. DeChambeau said he believed his YouTube content would break current PGA Tour rules. 'If I was to film a video during the week of one of their events with a content creator or a celebrity, that would be in violation, to my knowledge,' he told Skratch. 'It’s their policy, they didn’t let me do it when I was on there.'
New Social Media Policy
According to Front Office Sports, the PGA Tour is preparing to introduce an updated social media policy that will allow players to post more content around events. PGA Tour stars will now be able to upload more of their own footage and more broadcast clips from their rounds.
'The PGA Tour strives to provide the most athlete-friendly social media guidelines in professional sports,' a spokesperson told FOS. The aim, they added, is 'to equip our players as they engage and grow their individual brands - and the PGA Tour’s fanbase - while protecting the tour’s commercial business for the benefit of the entire membership.'
Previous rules, FOS reports, required players to 'transfer ownership' of their YouTube channel to the PGA Tour in exchange for posting archive footage.
Other Golfers on Social Media
DeChambeau is not the only big-name golfer to build an audience on social media. Tommy Fleetwood has 134,000 YouTube subscribers, while stars such as Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods have appeared alongside popular creators like Grant Horvat. The PGA Tour has also held several tournaments featuring popular YouTube stars and content creators.
