COVINGTON, Ga. — Covington-based Bridgestone Golf has ended a sponsorship and development deal with one of its brightest PGA stars over his decision to join the Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series tour.
The company confirmed it severed ties with Bryson DeChambeau for signing with LIV, a professional golf tour financed by the government of Saudi Arabia, numerous sources reported.
DeChambeau had signed a long-term contract extension with Bridgestone Golf in 2020 that included a deal to help develop Bridgestone's Tour B golf balls.
However, the company said in a statement to The Covington News that “Bridgestone and Bryson will have no formal relationship moving forward.”
“When requested, Bridgestone will provide Bryson with golf balls similar to how it does with several non-contract players on various professional tours around the world,” the company said.
Bridgestone Golf will continue to have a well-known lineup of golf stars using and endorsing it products, including Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Jason Day, Lexi Thompson and Matt Kuchar, ESPN reported.
DeChambeau has been one of the faces of Bridgestone Golf since he turned pro in 2016 after becoming the fifth player in history to win both the NCAA Division I championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year, ESPN reported.
He is an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the 2020 U.S. Open.
DeChambeau said in 2020 he wanted “to be a bigger part of their R&D process and help develop golf ball technology for the future of the game while pushing the limits of golf ball designs to benefit the full spectrum of players.”
He used Bridgestone’s Tour B X golf balls made in Covington to win at such PGA Tour tournaments as the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club outside Columbus, Ohio, in 2018.
The golf equipment manufacturer said in an earlier media statement that it has a sports marketing relationship with “this highly visible series” of tournaments and the PGA Tour “is an extremely important part of professional golf.”
Because DeChambeau is “no longer be participating in these events, Bridgestone and Bryson have agreed to end their brand ambassador partnership."
LIV refers to the Roman numeral for 54, the score if every hole on a par-72 course were birdied and the number of holes to be played at LIV events. Its first event was in June at the Centurion Club near London, England.
PGA Tour officials have ruled that anyone playing the LIV Tour would be ineligible to play in PGA tournaments.
LIV, which is led by PGA golf legend Greg Norman, also has been roundly criticized by human rights advocates for its direct connection to the Saudi Arabia government.
American intelligence officials have reported the Saudi leader, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, allegedly ordered the murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi in 2019 in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
