US OPEN NOTEBOOK: Golf schism the talk of The Country Club

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer

BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau says it’s a business decision to play for the LIV Golf series. The 2020 U.S. Open champion says defecting to the new tour also frees up some time. DeChambeau didn’t want to get into the politics of playing for a tour that is funded by Saudi Arabia. Critics say the kingdom is using golf to distract attention from its human rights record. DeChambeau is playing this week at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts. The course is hosting the U.S. Open for the fourth time, and the first since Curtis Strange won the first of back-to-back tournaments in 1988.