Bryson DeChambeau caught throwing tee-box tantrum after nightmare LIV Golf start

Bryson DeChambeau was caught throwing a tantrum on the 5th tee box after a nightmare opening to the first round of LIV Golf New York at Trump National Bedminster.

The Crushers GC captain endured one of his worst starts of the season, slipping to 4-over par through his opening four holes after a disastrous run that included a double bogey at the 1st, another bogey at the 2nd and a further dropped shot on the 4th.

Clearly unhappy with his rough start, DeChambeau took a swig from a plastic bottle before walking towards the bin on the 5th tee. In a visible display of frustration, the 32-year-old American aggressively threw his bottle at the bin, only to miss completely as it bounced off the rim and onto the grass.

Watch DeChambeau's strop here: 

The outburst came as DeChambeau tumbled down the leaderboard in the first round. 

He briefly stopped the bleeding with a birdie at the par-4 11th, but gave the shot straight back with a disappointing bogey on the par-5 15th, before adding another bogey at the par-3 16th.

The two-time U.S. Open champion signed for a sluggish 5-over 76 to leave him tied 49th on the leaderboard and well off the pace in his pursuit for a third LIV Golf title this season. 

DeChambeau is also looking to chase down Jon Rahm in the season-long Individual Championship, where the race ends at Indianapolis in two weeks time. 

The opening round of 76 marked DeChambeau's worst round on LIV Golf this season, and his joint-worst round of 2026 having shot the same score in the first round of The Masters at Augusta National and the first round of the PGA Championship at Aronimink.

Rahm, who has won LIV Golf's season-long race for the last two years, also started slowly with a round of 1-over 72.

At the top of the leaderboard, Torque GC captain Joaquin Niemann set the early standard with a 7-under 64, while Majesticks GC co-captain Ian Poulter and Ripper GC's in-form Lucas Herbert also enjoyed encouraging starts with rounds of 5-under 66.

DeChambeau's lethargic start in New York comes at a significant time for LIV Golf and his own future golf career. 

Just 48 hours earlier, LIV Golf CEO Scott O'Neil confirmed the breakaway league has received a fresh investment proposal that he hopes will secure its long-term future well beyond the 2026 season through to at least 2030. 

DeChambeau also held a 30-minute players meeting on Tuesday afternoon. 

Bloomberg has since reported that private equity firm BC Partners has emerged as the leading candidate to inject fresh funding into the circuit after Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) informed LIV Golf earlier this year it would not continue funding the league beyond this season.

The Financial Times has also reported that negotiations depend partly on LIV Golf retaining many of its biggest stars, including DeChambeau and Rahm, to preserve the league's commercial value.

Before the opening round, DeChambeau's management company, GSE Worldwide, moved to distance itself from reports linking it to BC Partners' proposed investment.

The agency, which represents LIV Golf stars DeChambeau, Niemann and Abraham Ancer, issued a statement insisting it has played no role in LIV Golf's ongoing funding discussions despite BC Partners' existing financial relationship with GSE Worldwide. 

For now though, DeChambeau's focus will be on recovering from a first round to forget after his frustrations boiled over in full view of the cameras at Bedminster.

Check out the full list of round one scores from LIV Golf New York here