Golf ball manufacturer Bridgestone announced on Tuesday that they are ending their sponsorship relationship with American golf star Bryson DeChambeau.
The decision comes after DeChambeau decided to join the LIV Golf Individual Series tour in June.
“The PGA Tour is an extremely important part of professional golf, and Bridgestone has a sports marketing relationship with this highly visible series of tournaments,” Bridgestone said in a statement to GOLF.com. “In considering that Bryson DeChambeau will no longer be participating in these events, Bridgestone and Bryson have agreed to end their brand ambassador partnership.”
DeChambeau originally signed with Bridgestone in 2016 and started using the company's golf balls in 2020.
“I’ve seen a lot of other guys sign up just to be spokesmen for a brand and collect a check,” DeChambeau said. “I have a much deeper role in mind with Bridgestone. I want 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.”
On June 9th, DeChambeau also lost a sponsorship with Rocket Mortgage due to his decision to join the Saudi-backed league.
Other players have also lost their sponsorships because of the same decision including Phil Mickelson (Callaway Golf), Lee Westwood (UPS) and Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell (Mastercard).
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Bridgestone still has strong representation from golfers Tiger Woods, Fred Couples, Jason Day, Lexi Thompson and Matt Kuchar.
DeChambeau will still be playing with Bridgestone golf balls as he competes in the 2022 Open Championship beginning Thursday.
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