Bryson DeChambeau's first tournament of the year will make international history
12/20/2024 12:00 PM
Bryson DeChambeau's 2025 schedule involves a place that no other reigning major champion has visited before.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau will begin his season where no other reigning major winner has done before:
India.
DeChambeau has officially committed to the International Series India presented by DLF. The first round begins on January 30, one week before LIV Golf's 2025 season starts in Saudi Arabia.
No reigning major champion has ever played in India in the year after their triumph, which makes DeChambeau's appearance a monumental occasion. His win at Pinehurst No. 2, coupled with his exponential rise in YouTube fandom, has made him one of—if not the—most popular golfer in the world. DeChambeau visiting India and playing there speaks volumes about his desire to grow the game in other places around the world. It also shows how much the game in India continues to grow.
The DP World Tour has included the Hero Indian Open within its schedule since 2015. Since then, Anirban Lahiri, Matt Wallace, and Marcel Siem have all won this event.
But the International Series India will receive much more attention in 2025 thanks to DeChambeau's presence. Lahiri, who now plays on DeChambeau's Crushers GC team, will join him at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram. This course has actually hosted the five previous editions of the Hero India Open—the 2025 edition does not have a course scheduled yet.
As for the International Series, this set of 10 events has become prominent in recent years thanks to tremendous financial support from the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF), which also backs LIV Golf. These elevated events are scattered across the Middle East and Asia, with stops in Macau, Hong Kong, and Morocco scheduled for 2025. Whichever Asian Tour player finishes atop the International Series by year's end earns a direct path onto the LIV Golf circuit for the following year.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation's Playing Through. Follow him on X @jack_milko.
