Bryson DeChambeau of Crushers GC lines up a putt during the final round of the LIV golf tournament at The Grove on Sunday, June 23, 2024 in College Grove. Bryson DeChambeau said he learned more from missing the cut at The Open Championship than he did in the first three majors of the season.
The Crushers GC captain, who won the US Open and finished runner-up at the PGA Championship, spoke to reporters on Thursday ahead of the LIV Golf United Kingdom event at JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester, England.
“I play more American-style golf, even at Augusta (where he finished T6 this year), I’ve played enough there and I know how to play those types of golf courses for the most part. You can always improve in the little areas,” he said.
“But the Open Championship has always been something different for me. I’ve played well in sunny, dry, normal conditions, but when it’s really raining, windy and the weather is bad, I’ve always struggled.”
DeChambeau shot a 76-75 at Royal Troon to finish 9 over par. His best finish at The Open was a T8 in 2022.
“Last week, I felt like I broke the seal a little bit in the second round,” he said. “Even though I didn’t play great, I felt like I could control the golf ball for the first time in those conditions, and that was a big moment for me to say, ‘OK, I think I can do this if I work a little harder before this tournament in these conditions.’”
With the Grand Slam season over, DeChambeau is turning his attention back to the LIV Tour, where his best individual finish this year was a T3 in Nashville last month.
DeChambeau, 30, comes into the British event ranked ninth in the individual standings, but his Crushers GC team holds a commanding lead over Legion XIII in the team competition. He plays with England’s Paul Casey, India’s Anirban Lahiri and John Catlin, who is replacing the injured Charles Howell III.
“I feel like we’ve been playing well all year,” DeChambeau said. “We had a little lull in the middle of the season and then we started to pick up steam, and I feel like our games are all peaking and trending, moving at the right pace and getting ready for the team championship in Dallas. That’s what we’re all excited about.”
DeChambeau was asked what he thought of Tiger Woods, who also missed the cut at the Open, after some suggested it was time for the 15-time major winner to consider retirement.
“He’s probably the most influential figure in golf,” DeChambeau said. “He’s the most influential figure in golf right now, and I think he deserves to play in the majors. He’s done more than enough for this great game, and he continues to give back by playing in these tournaments and trying to win. He wants to win. He’s a competitor.”
“I think he can still do it. He’ll have a hard time beating us young guys, but he’s got that grit and that drive in him that won’t stop until he does it. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
The topic of the viral video of DeChambeau playing golf with former President Donald J. Trump also came up.
“It’s an honor to play with someone of that type of influence, no matter who it is on a political side,” DeChambeau said of playing with the 2024 Republican presidential candidate.
He said his aides had urged Democrats to produce similar content.
“Whether it’s (former President Barack) Obama or anybody else, I’m more than willing to play with them,” DeChambeau said. “I have no problem with that. That’s the cool thing about golf, is the more we can use golf to bring everybody together in a cool way, I think that’s the vision for world golf.”
–Field level media
