DeShowman: Bryson shines in spotlight
Golf fans have warmed up to DeChambeau; Stray Shots on all the X-factors
Bryson DeChambeau reacts to finishing eagle Saturday (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Golf is a lot more fun when Bryson DeChambeau does the kind of things he did at the PGA Championship. Bombing 350-yard drives. Grunting after 200-yard irons. Fist-pumping after holed chips and putts. Contending in a major championship.
This is not about “growing the game.’’ That tired talking point, incessantly driven into the ground, wasn’t part of the discussion over the weekend at Valhalla Golf Club. Let’s be honest, it’s a old trope from all corners of the global game.
Xander Schauffele won a riveting PGA Championship, but DeChambeau was a massive part of the show. And his performance had nothing to do with LIV Golf or his Crushers team.
With apologies to those who appreciate the team aspect and enjoy LIV Golf, this is not about either of those subjects. It’s simply a reminder that DeChambeau — regardless of where he plays — is a world-class player. A U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open champion. When healthy, he can be mesmerizing to watch.
Perhaps it has something to with the fact that we’ve come to know all of his quirkiness. His single-length irons. His “mad scientist’’ persona. His 2021 “feud’’ with Brooks Koepka which now seems so quaint.
Remember when DeChambeau was trying to drive the sixth green at Bay Hill? That’s the 600-yard par-5 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that goes around a big lake between tee and green. DeChambeau cut the corner and carried the full lake twice over the weekend on his way to a victory there in 2021. People LOVED it.
The win in March 2021 also happens to be DeChambeau’s last of eight career victories in four years on the PGA Tour. It seems so long ago. Later in 2021 starting at the PGA at Kiawah came the controversy with Koepka. And a dramatic BMW Championship loss to Patrick Cantlay at Caves Valley in the FedEx Cup playoffs, where DeChambeau was the subject of increasing fan harassment that prompted the PGA Tour to intervene a week later at the Tour Championship.
Then came the injuries … and the move to LIV Golf … and the cries for Official World Golf Ranking points.
Somewhere in that timeline, however, it was forgotten or ignored that DeChambeau can really play. He won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot by six shots after gaining all kinds of weight and muscle that earned the nickname “The Incredible Bulk.” He’s since toned his physique way down, got healthier but still managed to maintain all the swing speed and power. It is fun to watch.
Last year — when Bryson was booed at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill in Rochester, N.Y. — he tied for fourth. He contended and finished sixth at the Masters in April and pushed Schauffele to the last hole at Valhalla to shoot a Sunday 64 and 20-under total as runner-up. Despite earning no OWGR points on LIV except what he’s earned in majors — twice falling outside the top 200 including earlier this year — he has climbed back up to No. 35 in the world on the strength of those two major showings.