‘Covid Was Like the Best Time’: LIV Golf Pro Explains How Wife Breaking Down In Tears Resulted In Switch From PGA Tour

Dean Burmester revealed that he switched from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf afterhis wife broke down. Burmester switched to LIV Golf months after he received his PGA Tour card and this came as a shock after he joined Stinger GC and played with fellow countryman Louis Oosthuizen. 

Now, a year after that, he says that the stacked-up schedule of the PGA Tour didn’t allow him to have enough time with his family. In a podcast episode, he further explained the reason for his switch and how his schedule changed from “34-week schedule to 14 or 18.”

Dean Burmester Reveals The Reason Behind His Switch To LIV Golf

According to Burmester, the majors, DP World Tour events, PGA Tour events, and everything else didn’t allow time for his family. But LIV had a more flexible environment. 

“I was brand new to the PGA Tour and LIV was new and exciting. And I’d obviously watched it and I watched Stinger GC’s success… It was the Friday or the Saturday evening of the AMEX (American Express 2023). I was sitting with my wife and we were just chatting. And she’s like basically broke down in tears and she was like COVID was like the best time because I was home for so long and I was able to spend lots of time with our son Jordan and now we had Alex, our youngest”

Added to that, he continued,

“And when that moment happened, it was instant. Because I went from a 34-week schedule to a 14-to-18-week schedule. So, I mean it was pretty much an easy decision from there to see what it does to the rest of my family. It’s great for me chasing my dreams but to make them travel all over the world and jump from hotel to hotel as well is not exactly great. So, to give them that stability was super cool.” 

After the switch, the golfer had enough time to concentrate on his game. Especially last year, he had two back-to-back wins in the DP World Tour and even made a place in the 2024 Open Championship. 

Many LIV golfers can argue that the main reason behind their switch, after money, was their family. Even Jon Rahm expressed the same after he made his shocking switch to the Saudi-backed league.

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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