Golf players have seen a fair share of clashes with the media, cool off, and then find a way back. For instance, Tiger Woods went years freezing out reporters who crossed him but softened his stance with age. Patrick Reed built an entire reputation on hostility towards press coverage, rarely walking it back. Now LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau finds himself somewhere in between, and this week gave the clearest look yet at which direction he leans.

Golf reporter Ryan French of Monday Q Info was removed from the practice range at Chatham Hills. Bryson DeChambeau was at the range practicing his swing when the incident happened. Whether the order came directly from DeChambeau or the team acted alone is never covered. Yet when French posted about the incident, the backlash towards Bryson was sharp.

However, a day later, French posted an update on X once again. “Bryson gave me a call this afternoon. We spoke for about 20 minutes. While the conversation will remain off the record, I really appreciate him calling. A lot of players wouldn’t have done that.”

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As Ryan French posts the update of Bryson DeChambeau reconciling with him, DeChambeau has chosen not to say anything about it publicly. Although he took heavy criticism online for the range incident, he let it sit rather than respond or explain himself.

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The incident and the backlash come at a sensitive time for Bryson DeChambeau, given LIV Golf is in a chaotic finish to the season. After canceling its Michigan team championship, the league turned Indianapolis into an unexpected finale, combining the events into a $40.1 million weekend purse. However, $30 million went to the team competition, while the individual purse was cut from $20 million to $10.1 million. Overall, the league is already fighting questions about survival and its funding going forward.

Earlier this week, Bryson DeChambeau found himself caught in a similar situation. Golf.com’s Sean Zak described DeChambeau spotting a group of press near the range and calling them out, “Ooh, the mafia has arrived. The mafia. You guys love talking sh*t,” he had said.

Despite that, Zak was quick to characterize it as a tease but noted that DeChambeau’s genuine frustration with his words getting repeated and reframed by the media is a continuous tension.

Moreover, Bryson’s apprehension towards the media isn’t new. He’s known to skip media and press conferences entirely. For instance, at the Open Championship this year, he chose to speak to R&A’s in-house team only once. Even when his penalty debate kept unfurling, he chose to stay away from the media. He has leaned on his YouTube audience instead. He chooses to interact with fans directly.

That said, for now, Bryson DeChambeau’s private call with French highlights that his relationship with the media remains more complicated than his public image suggests. In the future, he may still avoid the press and have incidents like these, but the call shows he’s not unwilling to address tensions when they arise.