TROON, Scotland — Nobody has played the major championships collectively better this year than Bryson DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open last month after contending at both the Masters and the PGA Championship.
But now the long-hitting DeChambeau attempts to tackle the style of golf that quite possibly has given him the most fits.
DeChambeau will try to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2000 to win the U.S. Open and British Open in the same year when the tournament begins at Royal Troon on Thursday.
It probably doesn’t help that DeChambeau played on a drastically different course in Valderrama last week for the LIV Golf event in Spain. Or that he has no experience at Royal Troon prior to this week.
“It can be a difficult challenge. I wouldn't say it's a problem. It's a challenge,” DeChambeau said Tuesday morning. “I think that's what's so great about links golf and the Open Championship, and what it provides is a different test and a different test to try and figure out and get an ‘A’ on, I guess you could say.
“For me, I played well at Royal Lytham St. Annes when it was firm and fast in the Walker Cup (in 2015). Played well at St. Andrews (he tied for eighth two years ago). Played well at other places. But it's always been a difficult test for me because I wasn't great at putting early on in my career. I've gotten a little bit better. My wedge game has gotten better. I've learned to flight the ball a little bit.
“So slowly it's getting there. Just a couple more reps. Shoot, if I play well this week, I think I can give myself a good chance obviously. That's all I'm focused on. I just think over the course of time I'm going to get more and more comfortable with this golf course.”
DeChambeau has emerged again as one of the top players in the game after injuries and his move to LIV Golf in 2022 saw him struggle.
He tied for fourth last year at the PGA Championship, then won twice later in the year on LIV Golf. He was the first-round leader at the Masters before tying for sixth, went down to the wire before losing to an 18th-hole birdie by Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship, then made the all-world par from a greenside bunker to defeat Rory McIlroy by a shot at the U.S. Open.
He has since posted two top-10 finishes in LIV Golf events, including a ninth last week in Spain at Valderrama.
“Very confident, obviously,” he said. “It all depends if I'm striking it well. I can come in here with the most confidence, obviously, off of a major championship win. Played decent last week, as well.
“Really what matters is if I can continue to drive the ball as well as I have and ball-strike my irons the way I know I can and putt the way I know I can. If I do those three things well, even four things with chipping and bunker play and on the greens, I'll give myself a chance. I know how to get the job done. It's just a matter of if I'm as consistent as I was at the U.S. Open, last week and a few other venues as well.
“If I can play the golf that I have been, I think I'll give myself a great chance.”
DeChambeau admitted that his long game might not always be an advantage, especially off the tee, around Troon. He will need to sometimes hit iron shots, depending on how much the ball rolls out on the hard surfaces.
“I don't think it's possible to overpower it,” he said. “There's too many hazards around the fairways, even in the bunkers. You've got to be very strategic out here.
“Look, I've played well on strategic golf courses in the past, whether it be RBC Heritage, I've played well there in the past. Valderrama, I played pretty well. I had two top 10s there, finished second last year and ninth this year. Those are pretty strategic golf courses and very placement-oriented golf courses.
“So I think I'm pretty solid at it, but overpowering this golf course, I don't know if it's possible.”
This article was originally published on www.si.com as At the British Open, Bryson DeChambeau Trying for a Feat Last Done By Tiger Woods.
