While Xander Schauffele may have won last week's PGA Championship, you could argue that Bryson DeChambeau was the star of the show at Valhalla. Unlike most LIV Golf defectors, his stock only seems to have risen since joining the breakaway Saudi tour.
DeChambeau was previously considered one of the most unpopular players on tour, with his petulant attitude something that rubbed both fans and other golfers up the wrong way.
Perhaps it is a case of absence making the heart grow fonder, but the American now seems to have a newfound popularity among the galleries. He was the most well supported player at the top of the leaderboard last week, endearing himself even further to the crowd with his reaction towards a golf ball being stolen from a young fan.
It was a reminder of what professional golf is missing on a weekly basis by having the biggest names in sport separated by two distinct tours.
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Golf: Padraig Harrington throws cheeky dig at Patrick Reed
The PGA Tour and LIV Golf have been working towards a solution that we see some sort of compromise between the two organisations, something that would likely involve more unified fields each season outside of the four majors.
An agreement seems to be a long way off, although last week's tournament was a reminder of why it should be a priority moving forward.
Padraig Harrington has long advocated for some sort of deal between the tours, a stance he remains firm on.
In fact, he would even throw a cheeky dig at Patrick Reed to sum up how much the PGA Tour has missed some of the LIV Golf players.
“What I realized last week? We miss Bryson… Bryson was box office last week.” - Padraig Harrington reflects on the state of golf, including PGA TOUR and LIV. @eamonlynch @damonhackGC pic.twitter.com/e9BuNmIxwX
— Golf Today (@GCGolfToday) May 22, 2024
I realised last week, god we miss Bryson.
Bryson was box office last week and really helped that tournament, helped push Xander's win on. It was fantastic, interesting, exciting watching. We do miss those guys.
As I said before, it's hard to believe we miss Patrick Reed! That's just the way it is.
Ultimately if you were looking from me for the perfect solution, I would have at least the two tours and have some crossover, like we did back in the day.
Everyone has got a bit of a chip on their shoulder, but a certain amount of players can come back and forth with a few invites or something like that.
Rivalries are a good thing in sport, it's always been helpful. But we do need a solution, I will say that. Every day for the last two years, I've had an opinion. All I've found is that it keeps moving and changing because the scene changes.
I think everybody in golf wants a solution.
Patrick Reed is another player who was hugely unpopular during his time on the PGA Tour, but there is no doubt that he brought some personality to a game that is so often lacking in it.
For the good of professional golf, they need to sort something out as soon as possible.
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