Bryson DeChambeau, for the second-straight major, looks totally out of his depth.
The two-time US Open winner has followed up his missed cut at The Masters with an opening round 76 at the PGA Championship, which has left him four shots above the projected cut line.
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DeChambeau had an adventurous outing, as his wayward shots took him everywhere from the hospitality buildings to the depths of the Aronimink rough. His ball striking was horrendous.
He’s known for spending hours at the practice range to refine his game, and that was no different after his opening round of the PGA. And while watching him hit balls, Golf Channel analyst Ryan Lavner spotted something worrying about his game.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America via Getty Images
Bryson DeChambeau ‘clearly not comfortable’ on the range after round one of PGA Championship
DeChambeau spent nearly an hour on the driving range after his opening round disaster at Aronimink, and Lavner spotted some concerning signs about his golf swing.
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Speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, he said, “The only birdie of his day came on the final hole of the day, the par five ninth hole, his 18th hole of the day. He did not talk to reporters, I waited for about 45 minutes on the range, he went through three buckets of balls, bashing it.
“He was clearly not comfortable with his swing. He started missing left, thought he had figured that out, and then all of a sudden started missing right. He absolutely could not figure it out.
The biggest issue for Bryson was not even his ball striking.
“That was mediocre or middling, it was his work around the greens. Up and down with just one in seven chances. He ended up losing a field worse three and a half shots around the green!”
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Lavner’s co-host Rex Hoggard noted that DeChambeau’s round unravelled after his second hole, where he flew his ball past the flag and left himself with an extreme downhill putt. He barely breathed on the ball, and it rolled all the way down the green.
Hoggard criticized DeChambeau for putting himself in that spot: “He did not speak with the media and did not speak with you, however if he did I’m sure he would have something to say about the 11th hole and he’s not the only one.
“It’s very severe. It is probably some of the most dramatic slopes we have seen in major championship golf in a long time, probably since Merion. As a result they had to slow that green down, it’s not quite as fast as the greens on the rest of the golf course.
“But if you look at the way Bryson played that hole he hit a horrible wedge shot, which bounced long and he ended up putting himself in an impossible position. You can get angry at the green and your first putt which ran all the way off the green on the other side but you put yourself in that position.”
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Aronimink was about course management through day one, as the bombers struggled to keep their ball out of the thick rough and on the right part of the green. DeChambeau needs to learn from that for Friday’s play.
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