Reigning US Open champ Bryson DeChambeau has accused his former coach of attempted extortion amid counter claims that the LIV Golf star reneged on an agreement to fund a junior tour named for his late father.
‘He’s not going to extort me for $2 million,’ DeChambeau, 30, told Golfweek about his former coach, Mike Schy.
Also at issue is DeChambeau’s omission of Schy’s name when thanking his team and family for last month’s US Open win.
‘Mike’s feelings got hurt,’ DeChambeau’s agent Brett Falkoff told Golfweek. ‘That’s ultimately what led to all of this.’
The feud is a major departure for the pair, who worked together until 2018. DeChambeau claims to have paid Schy $1 million for his services, and has even referred to Schy as ‘a second father.’ Now, though, DeChambeau says Schy is a ‘disgruntled former employee.’
News of the disagreement first surfaced earlier this week when Schy announced that the Central Valley Jon DeChambeau Memorial Junior Tour would cease operations ‘due to lack of funding.’
Schy then specifically named his former pupil as the culprit.
‘Bryson has decided this was not a priority to him offering only to loan money to his Father’s name sake,’ Schy’s statement read. ‘We tried our best to get alternative funding for 2024 and 2025 but were unable to aquire (sic) what was needed to operate and staff the tour. We believed that we had the support needed to operate but it has fallen through.’
Click here to resize this module
In response, DeChambeau told Golfweek that Schy’s claim is a ‘complete and utter lie.’
‘We’ve had numerous conversations and it hasn’t worked out from a business standpoint,’ said DeChambeau, who had $22 million in PGA earnings before defecting to the LIV tour in 2022 for a reported $125 million.
‘It’s quite disappointing how he’s turned this and spun this,’ DeChambeau continued. ‘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.’
DeChambeau is riding a wave of popularity heading into this month’s Open Championship at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. Not only is he coming off a US Open win, but criticism of the Modesto, California native’s controversial move to LIV Golf has begun to taper down, leading to his renewed acceptance in golf circles and beyond.
And to DeChambeau, Schy’s complaints are simply an attempt to end his newfound popularity.
‘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,’ DeChambeau said. ‘This just ain’t a story, it’s a disgruntled employee, my friend.’
According to Schy, the two concocted the tour while bemoaning the lack of affordable junior tournaments in California.
When DeChambeau was coming up, Schy told Golfweek, there were about 14 affordable events he could enter. Now, though, things are considerably different.
‘They are all gone,’ Schy lamented. ‘The one or two we have charge entry fees in the neighborhood of $200.’
In 2023, Schy organized a test run – a few tournaments costing $60 per entrant. The events were well received, leading to a few more tournaments at local clubs.
DeChambeau ultimately asked Schy how much another year of the tour would cost, and told Golfweek that his ex-coach requested for $125,000 for two years. However, Golfweek was provided a draft of a line of credit that showed the amount was actually $130,000.
The $5,000 discrepancy aside, Schy stressed to Golfweek that DeChambeau was hesitant to part with any six-figure sum.
‘I know Bryson and I knew he didn’t really want to give the money and I certainly knew he didn’t want to give it for a long period of time,’ Schy said.
Later, Schy claimed, DeChambeau told him he disliked non-profits, such as the junior tour, and needed to earn money off his investment.
In response to this claim, Falkoff told Golfweek that the real issue was that the paperwork for the 501-C3 non-profit was filed incorrectly, and as a result, DeChambeau has not signed any official documents related to the matter.
‘It is our understanding that initially, they had only filed the certificate of incorporation (not attached) with the California Secretary of State and had not prepared bylaws or any other organizational documents,’ Falkoff told Golfweek in an email.
‘It would have been irresponsible for Bryson to advance money to the Tour entity prior to getting the proper documentation completed and signed.’
Falkoff goes on to accuse Schy of demanding $2 million following DeChambeau’s US Open win last month.
‘Mike says, ”It’s time that Bryson opens up his checkbook and I get paid,”’ Falkoff recalled to Golfweek. ”’I want $2 million.”’
‘I took that back to Bryson,’ Falkoff continued. ‘He said, ”I’m not paying him almost 50 percent of my US Open winnings, that’s not going to happen.”’
Schy did not dispute the $2 million request and told Golfweek that he has a list of demands that includes the reinstatement of a $60,000-a-year contract for the remainder of his life.
He also wants an apology from DeChambeau.
‘If you’re not going to recognize anything that I’ve done for you then Mike Schy has to look out for Mike Schy,’ he said.
Schy says he was offered a compensation package on July 2, which he claimed was worth ‘a few bucks.’ But he was also asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which angered him.
‘I was offended,’ Schy said.
Informed of Schy’s response, DeChambeau told Golfweek: ‘Oh, $300,000 is offensive? Really, for not working with him since 2018?’
‘I’m trying to take care of it like a good man,’ DeChambeau added. ‘It’s unfortunate that he’s had to go to this position to try to take me down. You know what? It is what it is. It’s not true though, not one bit of it.’
The long-time golf coach says DeChambeau retaliated by firing Schy’s son, David, who was ‘building a putting green in (DeChambeau’s) backyard.’
DeChambeau explained the decision by saying ‘we needed a clean split.’
‘Having any ties to him after trying to extort me was necessary,’ DeChambeau said.
Schy also accused DeChambeau of mistreating his late father, who passed in 2022.
‘He said I’m his second dad, right?’ Schy said
‘He treats me just like his real dad. He treated his dad like s***.’