Bryson DeChambeau made a huge error by not learning from what Phil Mickelson once did at the Scottish Open

This week’s Scottish Open features a star-studded field as PGA Tour and LIV players flock to The Renaissance Club.

This is a co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, so LIV players with DP World Tour membership are eligible to play. That’s why Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton will be teeing off against Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler in Scotland this week.

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But one LIV player who isn’t in the field is Bryson DeChambeau. He hasn’t worked towards earning DP World Tour membership, so the American has been unable to play competitively in between the US Open and The Open Championship after LIV Louisiana’s postponement.

With LIV’s future in serious doubt, ignoring the DP World Tour may prove a fatal error for DeChambeau as he decides where to play golf next year. Especially when he could have learned from what Phil Mickelson did at the Scottish Open in 2013.

How Bryson DeChambeau could have learned from Phil Mickelson

Mickelson once had something in common with DeChambeau: They were both completely unsuited to The Open Championship. It was the one major Mickelson couldn’t adapt his game to, until he changed his game to suit the UK’s major.

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Working with Butch Harmon, Mickelson adapted his game to suit links golf courses, hoping to challenge for the Claret Jug. In 2013, he finally won the elusive major. He did so by building on the much-needed confidence he gained at the Scottish Open the week before.

Mickelson won the Scottish Open for the first time in 2013, using the week to adapt to the conditions that had given him so much trouble in the past. He mastered the links that week and took his experience into Muirfield.

DeChambeau has experienced similar struggles at The Open. His game has never suited links golf, and judging by his performance at Shinnecock Hills, where he missed the cut at the US Open, this year is expected to be no different.

And this week, DeChambeau is missing out on a priceless practice week in these conditions, a week that he, more than any player in the Open Championship field, needs desperately. But by not trying to secure a DP World Tour membership, or at least getting a sponsor exemption for the event, DeChambeau has failed to learn the lessons from Phil Mickelson 13 years ago.

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Bryson DeChambeau is too focused on content creation

Instead of looking to secure DP World Tour membership in the eventuality that LIV Golf does fold, DeChambeau is considering doing content creation full-time. He said he is considering focusing on his YouTube channel and playing only the majors.

This has been a brilliant test run for DeChambeau. He’s not playing competitively between the US Open and The Open Championship, so we’ll see just how well he can perform at Royal Birkdale without any competitive practice.

But if he performs poorly, then it’s a bad sign for DeChambeau. A sign that if he truly wants to compete at the biggest events of the year, he needs to take his competitive reps more seriously.

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A DP World Tour membership, which would allow him to play in events against his fellow LIV pros, would be a huge benefit for DeChambeau if LIV folds. Instead, he’ll be on the outside looking in.