Bryson DeChambeau’s golf future is getting messier by the week, and Scott Van Pelt isn’t buying the idea that YouTube golf can keep him sharp enough to dominate majors.

DeChambeau missed the cut at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club after finishing 10-over through two rounds, another ugly result after also failing to reach the weekend at the Masters. For a two-time major champion whose LIV Golf future looks uncertain, the timing couldn’t be much worse.

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With LIV facing major instability and DeChambeau’s contract reportedly nearing its end later this year, the question around him is simple: Does he return to the PGA Tour grind, or try to build a new-age golf empire around majors and YouTube?

Van Pelt made his answer clear on The Dan Patrick Show.

“The suggestion that he could go be a YouTube player and then just show up and play in the majors, that’s just not a realistic thought,” Van Pelt said. “You have to be competitively sharp to come out here and play the hardest courses in the world against the best players in the world.”

That’s the brutal truth staring at DeChambeau right now. His popularity exploded when he won the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, but that buzz fades quickly when he’s not part of major championship weekends.

Van Pelt didn’t dismiss the value of DeChambeau’s online brand. With 2.7 million YouTube subscribers, DeChambeau has built something real. But Van Pelt said golf legacy still gets written on major Sundays, not in casual content rounds.

“We saw the height of his popularity when he won at Pinehurst … that to me was sort of his peak moment of power,” Van Pelt said. “And you can do that, you can be an influencer, be a YouTube player, and I’m sure you could monetize that and make a pile. But ultimately, you make your bones in this game and your legend in this game being a major-championship player.”

DeChambeau has previously called a limited schedule built around YouTube and majors “incredibly viable.” The PGA Tour has even loosened parts of its social media policy, though YouTube ad revenue from tournament sites would still go to the tour.

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Van Pelt’s closing point cut deepest.

“For your popularity to continue to ascend or at least maintain its place, you need to be part of the weekend’s story in the biggest tournaments of the year,” he said.

For DeChambeau, the choice may soon be unavoidable: chase content, or chase legacy.