Bryson DeChambeau is looking to add to his one Major title with a second US Open win at Pinehurst No.2 this week, but ultimately, he wants something most players don’t get close to – a career Grand Slam.
The LIV Golf star spoke to the media ahead of the Major. While a second US Open title won’t get him closer to the dream of capturing all four Majors, though, he admitted his runner-up at the PGA Championship had given him confidence he can get there.
He said: “So what I took out of Valhalla was I would say personally the confidence that I can do it again. And my ultimate goal, after 20 more years hopefully of playing golf, God-willing, I'm hopefully going to complete that career Grand Slam. That's my ultimate goal for myself. Just trying to get that done at Valhalla for the second leg, and it didn't happen.”
While DeChambeau will have to wait another month, until The Open at Royal Troon, for a chance to get half way to his target, he admitted his performance at Valhalla, where he pushed winner Xander Schauffele all the way on the Sunday, has given his the belief that when the pressure’s on, he can thrive.
“Just knowing that I can get the job done, especially shooting 64 on Sunday, I gave it all I had,” he added. “I left it all out there. I feel really confident with my game in under-pressure situations, which is great. That's what I took out of Valhalla. That was a lot of fun.”
DeChambeau finished T18 at LIV Golf Houston last week, and while he admitted that wasn’t quite the performance he was looking for ahead of this week's event, he’s feeling good ahead of a stern test at Pinehurst No.2.
He said: “My game is in a pretty good spot. Didn't play my absolute best last week, but I can tell you that I'm excited for the week and got some good mojo going forward.”
Rather than dwell on a somewhat subdued display in Houston, DeChambeau instead came back to his form at Valhalla, particularly in that final round. He said: “I played spectacular that week. I scored impeccable. I didn't strike it as particularly well as I would have liked to, but I got fortunate in certain situations, and I capitalized with my putting being a huge asset to me that week.
“It's given me a lot of confidence. Valhalla has definitely given me a lot of confidence. Now it's just time to go execute this week and get some good breaks, hopefully. And if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.”
Perhaps ominously for the others in the field, he also revealed he’s not too far off the form that saw him card a historic 58 on the way to winning the 2023 LIV Golf Greenbrier tournament. He said: “I'm just trying to get the Greenbrier feel that I had back when I shot 61-58 on the weekend, and I feel pretty close to that."
DeChambeau will be in a group with PGA Tour stars Max Homa and Viktor Hovland in the first two rounds of the US Open. The three begin at 1.25pm local time on Thursday and 7.40am on Friday.
Updates as it happened...
Hello and welcome to live updates from Bryson DeChambeau's US Open press conference. We're expecting the 2020 champion at 9.40am local time here today at Pinehurst.
A MIXED US OPEN BAG FOR BRYSON
DeChambeau of course won the 2020 US Open for his one and only Major win to date, but his overall record has been mixed, with two missed cuts and a T15 four years earlier his second-best finish.
DECHAMBEAU GROUPED WITH HOMA AND HOVLAND
The tee times for the opening two rounds have been released, and LIV golfer Bryson's in a tasty group with PGA Tour stars Max Homa and Viktor Hovland. The three begin at 1.25pm local time on Thursday and 7.40am on Friday.
'I FEEL LIKE I'M RIGHT THERE'
He's talking now and seems confident ahead of the tournament, particularly after his runner-up at Valhalla at the PGA Championship, saying: "I feel like I'm right there."
PRAISE FOR SCHEFFLER
He's full of praise for the amazing form of PGA Tour star Scottie Scheffler, saying he spoke to him earlier in the week and remarked: "You're playing unbelievable, what are you doing man?" He also said Scottie is the "gold standard" for the rest of the field at the moment.
LIV GOLF HOUSTON WAS 'A PRETTY SOLID TEST'
DeChambeau finished T18 at LIV Golf Houston and while there have previously been concerns over whether the circuit offers the best preparation for Majors, Bryson is happy with how he got on, describing it as a "pretty solid test."
HE LOVES THE TEST OF PINEHURST
He's played Pinehurst before. Here's what he had to say about it last week: "I actually played Pinehurst in 2013 actually right before the U.S. Open with the SMU golf team -- might have been 2012.
"Anyway, it was with the college team. We had a great time out there. I know Bob Dedman that owns the golf course pretty well, and he's a big supporter of SMU, so we got to go out there and play. I loved the test of golf that it presented. It was a lot of fun playing there."
ADDING NUANCE TO HIS GAME
He's spoken about how his iron play could be vital this week, and added he's "Definitely not comfortable just bombing a driver around here." By the way, he says he's currently getting 220 yards out of his 7-iron!
BRYSON DESCRIBES 'ULTIMATE' CAREER GOAL
Having bagged the US Open once, even a win this week won't get him closer to a career Grand Slam, but he says that's his ultimate aim. He also said he took plenty of confidence from his near-miss at Valhalla in the PGA Championship
HOW HE'S CHANGED SINCE 2020 WIN
DeChambeau says he's matured a lot since his win four years ago, saying: "My life has changed dramatically. I still feel like I'm the same kid that came out here at the start, but I'm a different person to interact with. I'm definitely different."
ALL DONE!
And that's it! Bryson sounds confident, and why wouldn't he? He's put in two excellent performances at the Majors so far this year, and with one US Open win under his belt, who's to say he won't become the first LIV golfer to claim the trophy on Sunday evening?
