Bryson DeChambeau admits he wondered if there would ever be days like this again. Oh yeah, he also believes he can live until he is 120 years old. So there’s that…Listen to him proclaim it in the video below 👇👇👇
This guy has been a total roller coaster during the past 2-3 years. The incredible weight gain that was done with a purpose also exacted a health toll. There were injuries to his hip and hand. The controversial move to LIV Golf, a lawsuit involving the PGA Tour (that he has since abandoned), and oh yeah, another diet.
I hate to say it but we keep it real here… let’s not forget a LOT of bad golf as well.
But there was a much different-looking DeChambeau on Thursday, one that sits atop the PGA Championship leaderboard in solo 2nd place at chilly Oak Hill Country Club, relishing a spot in the limelight again after a period when it seemed like every time we heard his name it was for all the wrong reasons.
“It’s been a while,” DeChambeau said after a 4-under-par 66 put him in solo 2nd on a stacked leaderboard. “So nice to come back and start to finally figure out what’s going on with my golf swing”. Well, it’s clearly a work in progress. Let’s admit it…Bryson DeChambeau is a content machine. And some of that content, well, it’s self-inflicted, like battling fire ants, tangentially comparing himself to George Washington and Albert Einstein before earning a tour card, and stating he thinks he can be the oldest human ever to live. But other times, DeChambeau is the unfortunate victim as the sport has a good-natured laugh at his expense, and one of those times happened Thursday when he wore a hat with the sponsor’s name misspelled. (see below)
“As I’ve told you guys before, I’ve struggled with my driving. You see me out there on the range. That’s something I don’t want to do. I don’t want to be out there all night, but I’ve had to figure out what I did so well in 2018 and what made me so successful then. I feel like I’m catching on and trending in that direction. Figured out a couple of things this week, and it certainly paid off today.” Except for when he drilled a fellow PGA golfer on the tee box with a wildly errant shot.
DeChambeau, 29, was lauded for his unique approach well before he began to add muscle and bulk in an effort to hit the ball farther.
Nicknamed the “Mad Scientist,” he plays with single-length irons and a quest for knowledge.
After winning four times on the PGA Tour in 2018, DeChambeau seemed on the perfect path, but he later got interested in trying to maximize his ability to hit the ball far.
He went on an intense weight-gaining and weight-training program that saw him become the longest driver on the PGA Tour. He won the 2020 U.S. Open, added a popular victory the next year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and had several other close calls, including a back-nine lead at the 2021 U.S. Open and a playoff loss to Patrick Cantlay at the BMW Championship.
Oh, and remember the feud with Brooks Koepka? Come on, no matter what side you were on for that ride, it was a fun one. Petty and hilarious at the same time. A priceless combo. This interview makes me laugh every time I see this leaked video footage … Just in case you forgot here it is again. We got you covered (Look at Brooksy’s Face) ‘Nuff Said LOL!
All of that seems quaint now. DeChambeau suffered through injuries early last year, including a broken hamate bone in his left hand and a hip problem. He jumped to LIV, never finished better than 10th in 48-player fields, and saw his world ranking plummet as LIV does not get Official World Golf Ranking points.
“A lot of diet changes and eating a lot, going from to 5,000 calories down to 2,900, whatever it is now,” he said. “But eating properly instead of eating stuff that inflames my body. I took a Zoomer peptide test, which essentially tells you what inflames your blood when you eat it. I was allergic to corn, wheat, gluten, and dairy. Pretty much everything I liked, I couldn’t eat. I took that out. Started taking it out in August and over the course of time I’ve lost all this inflammation, lost a lot of fat, and slimmed down like crazy.
“I lost 18 pounds in 24 days. It was crazy. It wasn’t fat. It was all water weight. You know how I looked before. I was not skinny. So a lot of changes in that regard. Obviously having the hand injury was no fun and then learning to play golf again with a new hand.”
If it sounds a bit frenetic, well, it is. That is DeChambeau’s world, which has included the spat with Koepka, his rift with equipment manufacturer Cobra at the 2021 British Open, his split with a caddie … and then the move to LIV, where he was given an equity stake in his LIV Golf team called the Crushers.
Through all of that, there was not much golf. His seventh-place finish last week at the LIV Golf Tulsa event was his best in 12 events. And his best anywhere since he tied for eighth last summer at the British Open at St. Andrews.
“He played great,” said Keegan Bradley, who played with DeChambeau and shot 68. “It looked like Bryson to me. He hit the ball great, putted great, drove it really nice. It was good to see him. He was smashing drives again, and he played pretty much flawless golf. Happy for him.”
DeChambeau hit nine of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens. He made just two bogeys and led the field in strokes gained off the tee and strokes-gained tee to green when he finished.
It was a pretty solid effort for a guy who has seemingly been lost in the golf wilderness for a long time. I mean really, ask yourself when was the last time you even heard his name before yesterday?
“Hitting the driver straight, finally,” DeChambeau said. “That’s been the most surprising part because I’m so used to hitting it everywhere. Look, it could happen tomorrow. I don’t think it will, but I feel really confident. Golf is a weird animal. You can never fully have it. Like Arnie (Palmer) said, you think you have it one day and then it just leaves the next. Just got to be careful.” Let’s sit back and enjoy this weekend’s wild ride. One thing is for sure. Whatever the outcome, I know I’ll have a front-row seat! Get your popcorn 🍿ready…
