Bryson DeChambeau participated in last weekend’s Rocket Mortgage Classic with an incredible streak – in his previous six tournaments, he had finished fifth, second, fourth, third, eighth and sixth (including draws). The only thing he hadn’t done this season yet was win a real golf tournament, but that came to an end on Sunday when he surpassed the field in Detroit for a 23-under par finish that was enough for his sixth professional victory.
DeChambeau is the greatest history of golf. And that’s because he’s trying to become the greatest human in golf For now, DeChambeau’s weight gain is legendary: The 26-year-old American started the 2019-20 season noticeably thicker, adding 20 to 30 pounds of muscle for the Presidents Cup in Australia in December. Then, when the coronavirus outbreak gave him an additional offseason, DeChambeau did what most of us quarantined: He ate a lot. In all, DeChambeau’s expansive diet, which includes seven protein shakes a day (seven!), And his rigorous weight-lifting regimen allowed him to add about 40 pounds of muscle since last September. The golfer notoriously data-minded saw this as a calculated experiment to gain a competitive advantage: more volume means more power and distance from the tee. And at least for now, the experiment seems to have worked.
DeChambeau currently ranks first on the PGA Tour in average yards per unit at 323 yards. The only golf player 7.5 yards from DeChambeau is Cameron Champ, averaging 322.6. Both golfers are currently challenging Hank Kuehne’s record 2003 average of 321.4, which remains the only full season at 320 yards since the Tour began tracking statistics in 1980. But while Champ has been one of the Tour’s biggest bombers. , led the Tour at a distance A year ago at 317.9 yards – DeChambeau was never a mega hitter. Last year, he averaged 302.5 yards per unit, which tied for 34th. His best year was 2018, when he reached 305.7 yards per unit (25th best). DeChambeau has improved his average driving distance by 20.5 yards this year, easily the most of any current player.
No one has been muscled like DeChambeau
Biggest year-over-year increase in average yards per drive for qualified players on the PGA Tour 2020
| Half Yards per unit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | 2019 season | 2020 season | Dif. |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 302.5 | 323.0 | +20.5 |
| Jonathan Byrd | 281.6 | 294.8 | 13.2 |
| Brian Gay | 274.9 | 288.0 | 13.1 |
| Adam Scott | 299.3 | 310.3 | 11.0 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 298.7 | 309.5 | 10.8 |
| Webb Simpson | 288.6 | 298.4 | 9.8 |
| Lee Kyoung-hoon | 286.2 | 295.8 | 9.6 |
| Danny Willett | 293.8 | 302.8 | 9.0 |
| Ryan Moore | 282.2 | 291.1 | 8.9 |
| Seamus Power | 295.9 | 304.6 | 8.7 |
Looking beyond 2020, DeChambeau’s single season increase in driving distance is even more impressive. Only three other players have improved their driving distance by more than 20 yards per unit between seasons since 1980, when the Tour began following statistics.
DeChambeau has a place in the history of gaining distance
Biggest year-on-year increase in average yards per unit for qualified players on the PGA Tour since 1980
| Player | Year | Half Yards / Drive | Previous Season | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Quigley | 2001 | 298.5 | 276.4 | +22.1 |
| Ernie els | 2003 | 303.3 | 281.4 | 21.9 |
| Billy Ray Brown | nineteen ninety five | 260.0 | 239.3 | 20.7 |
| Bryson DeChambeau | 2020 | 323.0 | 302.5 | 20.5 |
| José Coceres | 2003 | 282.8 | 263.2 | 19.6 |
| Retief Goosen | 2003 | 299.4 | 279.8 | 19.6 |
| Robert Gamez | 1994 | 278.4 | 259.1 | 19.3 |
| Joey Sindelar | 2001 | 291.5 | 273.2 | 18.3 |
| Phil Mickelson | 2003 | 306.0 | 288.8 | 17.2 |
| Jeff Sluman | 2001 | 281.6 | 265.0 | 16.6 |
And unlike DeChambeau, the other players in the table above saw their increases in the 1990s and early 2000s, a period in which technological advancements allowed driving distance to achieve its biggest gains in recent years. 40 years. The sport as a whole was going through a boom in distance during this period, partly due to the new team and partly due to Tiger Woods, whose ability to gain distance, and therefore punches, from the tee allowed him to dominate the Tour. for years while the rest of the field caught up. In 2003 alone, the year after Woods collected his seventh and eighth specializations, four of Woods’ biggest competitors saw significant gains in driving distance. Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and Vijay Singh, who started 2003 in second, third, fifth and seventh place in the world, respectively, saw increases similar to Bryson’s in their driving distance, and each improved in at minus 16 yards.
Tiger’s main rivals added distance while hunting
PGA Tour players ranked in the Top 10 to start 2003 and added at least 15 yards per drive that season in the previous season, plus Tiger Woods.
| Half Yards / Drive | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | World Ranking ’03 | 2002 season | 2003 season | Dif. |
| Ernie els | 3 | 281.4 | 303.3 | +21.9 |
| Retief Goosen | 5 5 | 279.8 | 299.4 | 19.6 |
| Phil Mickelson | two | 288.8 | 306.0 | 17.2 |
| Vijay Singh | 7 7 | 285.6 | 301.9 | 16.3 |
| Tiger Woods | one | 293.3 | 299.5 | 6.2 |
Unsurprisingly, DeChambeau’s historical overvoltage has come at the expense of precision. Last season, DeChambeau reached 65.02 percent of fairways from the tee, which was 66th on the Tour. This year, that number has dropped to 61.05 percent, which ranks 112th. You probably don’t mind that (at least as much as you care that your rants are caught on camera, thereby damaging your brand). Based on the strokes won, which evaluates the value of each shot based on how a player’s expected score on the hole increased or decreased, DeChambeau’s impulses helped him gain 0.42 strokes per round on the field last season (which he held position 24). This year, he’s picking up 1,113 shots per round on the field through his driving alone, which is second only to Champ. Better positioning from the tee has also helped DeChambeau attack the pin. He is hitting 72.6 percent of the greens in regulation this year, up from 66.2 percent, and his “tee-to-green” hitting rating has improved from 37 to sixth.
DeChambeau’s last two holes on Sunday, when he was chasing a late offer from runner-up Matthew Wolff, showed the added advantage on the job. At par 5 17, he uncorked a 355-yard bomb that went missing on the street to the left. Even though his ball was rough, he had traveled so far that he only needed an 8-iron to find the green for an eventual birdie. However, it was on the 18th par 4 that Bryson completely unleashed the “Kraken” (his expression, not ours). His run was speeding down the left side of the street for 367 yards, the longest run anyone had ever reached at No. 18 that week and the longest of the day for DeChambeau. He had an easy wedge left to prepare for his eighth birdie of the round, which sealed the victory.
If DeChambeau were a right tackle or a power forward or even a third baseman, all of this would make perfect sense. Golfers have gotten much more fit this century, but adding raw muscle mass has never been a clear path to success on the field. If anything, we hear more stories of golfers losing weight to improve their games.
Because DeChambeau’s story is so unusual, there have been quite a few skeptics. Some, including some of its competitors, are concerned about the long-term health implications of their weight gain. Meanwhile, golf legend Colin Montgomerie seems to think that the DeChambeau driver represents an existential crisis for the sport.
Whatever it means, it’s working for DeChambeau now. But he is not a one trick pony. DeChambeau’s recent success may have as much to do with the short stick as it does with the controller. He certainly did it last weekend, when DeChambeau led the field with punches won off the tee. and The punches were put in, highlighted by a 30-foot birdie on the 70th hole. This season, his hitting punches have improved dramatically, from 28 on the Tour to 12. So it’s not just about the long ball for Bryson, But ask any pro golf player and he’ll tell you that an extra 20 yards per course certainly doesn’t hurt to have.
