The US Open winner put in an incredible performance at Pinehurst in North Carolina to win his second golfing major, beating Rory McIlroy to the trophy, but has seen fallout with a close friend since
Bryson DeChambeau has accused his former golf coach of attempting to extort him for over $2 million after winning the U.S .Open last month.
Veteran golf coach Mike Schy had claimed that DeChambeau would help fund the ‘Central Valley Jon DeChambeau Memorial Junior Tour’ – a tournament named after his father, who sadly passed away two years ago. DeChambeau has stated that he never agreed to pay $2 million towards anything, suggesting that his former coach is angered with the way developments have panned out in recent weeks.
DeCheambeau told Golfweek: “It’s a complete and utter lie, all of it. It’s a disgruntled former employee, unfortunately, and it is what it is. We’ve had numerous conversations and it hasn’t worked out from a business standpoint.
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“It’s quite disappointing how he’s turned this and spun this. It’s a non-recourse loan that was going out. I gave him my dad’s name, image and likeness for free on the assumption we’d have a good business plan and it just hasn’t worked out. I’m going to be doing a lot for my community, just in a different fashion with a proper business plan and done correctly.
“I’m at a high point right now and I’m a big character right now and I’m trying to do what’s right for the game of golf and you’re trying to bring my image down to hurt the game of golf essentially. This just ain’t a story, it’s a disgruntled employee.”
DeChambeau’s agent, Brett Falkoff, stated that Schy had been disappointed after the golfing superstar had not shouted him out after his victory at Pinehurst in June.
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Falkoff told Golfweek: “I always tell Bryson don’t single out anyone individually, always mention the team. Then you don’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings; Mike’s feelings got hurt, that’s ultimately what led to all of this.”
He added: “Mike says, ‘It’s time that Bryson opens up his checkbook and I get paid. I want $2 million. I took that back to Bryson. He said, ‘I’m not paying him almost 50 percent of my U.S. Open winnings, that’s not going to happen. I’m willing to compensate him for help with (golf club manufacturers) Krank and Avoda but he’s not going to extort me for $2 million.”
DeChambeau had grown up learning the sport under Schy’s tutelage at his performance institute in California and had been on his bags for all his amateur career and into the pros before they split in 2018.