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Either Bryson DeChambeau’s The US Open victory will revolutionize golf or just give some folks a new edge, got other players talking after Sunday’s final round at Winged Foot.
Ignoring fears of deep toughness in favor of sheer distance, DeChambeau shot a three-under-par 67 to win his first major title by six strokes, jumping from ninth to fifth in the world rankings.
“Revolutionize? Maybe I’m just exposing our game,” American said. Xander Schauffele said. “If she keeps hitting further and further, I don’t see why she couldn’t win a lot more US Open.”
DeChambeau’s scientific approach, which now includes a beefed-up body bolstered by protein shakes and exercise during a three-month coronavirus break, has proven to be a winning formula: drive long, hit hard, sink putts.
“I really don’t know what to say because that’s the complete opposite of what you think a US Open champion does,” said the four-time Major winner. Rory McIlroy, who shared eighth after a close of 75 left him adrift at 12.
“He has found a way to do it. I don’t know if that’s good or bad for the game, but it’s not the way I saw this tournament being played.
“It’s a bit difficult to understand.”
DeChambeau only reached 23 streets during the week, but he also became the first player since 1955 to win with the only score below par in the last round. He humbled a course that crushed enemies.
“It’s kind of a trend in the new direction of golf,” Schauffele said. “Everybody was talking about hitting fairways. It’s not about hitting fairways. It’s about hitting on the right side of the hole and hitting it far away so you can hit a wedge instead of a 6-iron from the rough.
“The only way to make a really tough golf course is to firm the greens and grow the rough … You’d rather be the guy in the rough with a lob wedge than an 8 iron.”
Then there are those who settle for the old-fashioned streets, as a two-time grand prize winner. Zach Johnson.
“If he’s not hitting fairways, the short game has been very good and this place is not easy on the greens,” Johnson said.
“Is it the right way? I don’t know, but it’s a way to play. And it’s not bad at all. It’s very different but also very effective.”
With new club-and-ball technology to increase distance and big muscles to propel them, DeChambeau has “taken advantage of the situation in the game at the time,” McIlroy said.
“Whether it’s good or bad, that’s right.”
American Harris English, fourth in 283, indicates the short game skill required to maximize advantage in strategy.
“It’s amazing what it can do out of nothing,” said English. “It’s a game we’ve never seen before.
“John Daly changed it a little bit during his time, Tiger (Woods) changed it and Bryson is changing it again. It’s really amazing what he’s doing.”
McIlroy, hoping to complete a career Grand Slam at the Masters in November, says DeChambeau’s strategy could pay off at Augusta National.
“I don’t flinch, but if he can do it around here, and I’m thinking about Augusta and thinking about the way you play there, yeah,” McIlroy said.
“The game has come a long way in the last 14 years since the US Open was played here, and you’re looking at what the game has become, what it’s doing there.”
McIlroy had been skeptical before, thinking that what might work in a PGA Tour event would not be worth it in a major, especially a US Open, due to punitive harshness.
“In a way I said, ‘Okay, wait until you get to a suitable golf course. You will have to check it again,'” McIlroy said. “This is as appropriate as they come in and look at what happened. He has full faith in what he’s doing and it’s pretty impressive.”
South African Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open champion, saw no hope for the American Golf Association to defend a DeChambeau course.
“I don’t think they can prepare it for him,” Oosthuizen said. “I don’t know what they can really do because he’s hitting so far. He’s very strong out of the rough and he’s probably one of the best putters out there.
“He went out on this trip and he’s doing it. He’s playing really well.”
Sunday final round results of the 120th US Open Golf Championship at Winged Foot in Mamaroneck, New York (United States unless otherwise noted)
274 – Bryson DeChambeau 69-68-70-67
280 – Matthew Wolff 66-74-65-75
282 – Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 67-74-68-73
283 – Harris English 68-70-72-73
284 – Xander Schauffele 68-72-70-74
285 – Dustin Johnson 73-70-72-70, Will Zalatoris 70-74-70-71
286 – Tony Finau 69-73-73-71, Justin Thomas 65-73-76-72, Webb Simpson 71-71-71-73, Zach Johnson 70-74-68-74, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 67-76 -68-75
287 – Lee Westwood (ENG) 67-76-72-72, Adam Long 71-74-69-73, Patrick Reed 66-70-77-74, Viktor Hovland (NOR) 71-71-70-75
288 – Jason Kokrak 68-71-77-72, Paul Casey (ENG) 76-70-69-73, Lucas Glover 71-71-71-75, Alex Noren (SWE) 72-74-67-75, Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) 71-69-70-78
289 – Im Sung-jae (KOR) 70-75-73-71
290 – Erik van Rooyen (RSA) 70-74-76-70, Taylor Pendrith (CAN) 71-74-75-70, Jon Rahm (ESP) 69-72-76-73, Brendon Todd 68-72-75-75, Thomas Pieters (BEL) 66-74-73-77, Joaquín Niemann (CHI) 68-73-72-77, Rafa Cabrera Bello (ESP) 68-70-74-78
291 – Charles Howell 73-72-72-74
292 – Lucas Herbert (AUS) 72-74-74-72, Renato Paratore (ITA) 71-72-73-76, Bubba Watson 72-69-74-77
293 – Tyler Duncan 73-71-77-72, Stephan Jaeger (GER) 71-70-79-73, Romain Langasque (FRA) 71-74-75-73, Daniel Berger 73-70-74-76
294 – Cameron Smith (AUS) 71-73-78-72, Jason Day (AUS) 72-74-76-72, Brian Harman 74-72-75-73, Adam Scott 71-74-74-75, Billy Horschel 72-70-72-80
295 – Shane Lowry (IRL) 76-70-77-72, Patrick Cantlay 70-76-76-73, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 73-72-76-74, Matt Wallace (ENG) 70-75-73-77 , Lanto Griffin 71-74-71-79
296 – Michael Thompson 70-75-75-76
297 – Rickie Fowler 69-77-72-70, Thomas Detry (GER) 71-72-73-81
298 –John Pak 69-76-79-74, Chesson Hadley 73-73-77-75, Ryo Ishikawa (JPN) 72-74-74-78
299 – Adam Hadwin (CAN) 72-73-74-80
300 – Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA) 70-76-72-82
301 – Abraham Ancer (MEX) 71-75-79-76, Robert MacIntyre (SCO) 74-72-76-79
302 – Troy Merritt 72-74-78-78
304 – Rory Sabbatini (SVK) 69-76-78-81, Sebastián Muñoz (COL) 71-74-77-82
305 –Shugoi Imahira (Japan) 71-74-78-82
