Bryson DeChambeau is determined to be an outstanding team player at the Ryder Cup, and he wasted no time proving it on Tuesday.
He spoke to the print media, putting an end to a 48-day boycott.
Points are not given based on the number of words used. Nonetheless, DeChambeau used his time to clear the air for the American team as it prepares to reclaim the Ryder Cup from Europe at Whistling Straits.
First and foremost, his hands are fine, and his motivation is solely focused on the Ryder Cup. DeChambeau admitted that his “hands are wrecked” from two-a-day training for the Professional Long Drivers Association World Championships, which begin the day after the Ryder Cup.
“So, before the FedEx Cup playoffs, I had some blisters on my hands and wrecked my hands,” DeChambeau explained. “The story was revealed later. During the FedEx Cup playoffs, I performed admirably. I’ve given this event my undivided attention in the run-up to it, and I believe that’s part of why I’ve done so well.”
That part is difficult to argue with. Last September, DeChambeau won the US Open with the lowest score ever at Winged Foot. At Bay Hill, he won again by nearly driving the green on the par-5 sixth hole, which bends left around a lake. He is ranked seventh in the world for a reason.
He also stated that his two-year feud with Brooks Koepka is no longer an issue this week and may be coming to an end.
DeChambeau has become a must-see golfer, whether he’s slamming drives or blowing off all but his own, hand-picked members of the media. He expresses a desire to showcase both his game and his personality. It’s now a matter of incorporating that into a team concept. He had to remind himself of this at times. For the first full day of practice, players fanned out across Whistling Straits, dropping a few hints on potential pairings, some of which were obvious.
Jordan Spieth was paired with Justin Thomas in a 3-1 loss in France, while FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay was paired with Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele, close friends and partners at the Presidents Cup.
Sergio Garcia was in the same group as Lee Westwood, with whom he is 4-1-2, and Rory McIlroy was out with Viktor Hovland of Norway, one of three European rookies.
This stems from Team Europe’s most recent creative work to inspire a winning team. Captain Padraig Harrington created a video that he showed his team on Monday night to highlight how special it is to play in a Ryder Cup — only 164 players from that side have competed since 1927, fewer than have been to space or climbed Mount Everest.
For a video titled “Make It Count,” he numbered them alphabetically — No. 1 was Aubrey Boomer in 1927, No. 164 is Bernd Wiesberger this year —
In winning nine of the last 12 Ryder Cups, Europe has always been able to rely on unity, as well as timely putting. The United States team is relying on new energy, with six rookies and the team’s youngest ever average age of 29. The only Americans who have competed in more than one Ryder Cup are Spieth, Koepka, and Dustin Johnson.
Fans flock to him because they admire how he has bulked up his body to swing faster and hit it farther, which has resulted in heckling at recent tournaments, with the favorite nickname being “Brooksie” due to his spat with Koepka.
Perhaps a victory, or at least some points, would be beneficial. In his Ryder Cup debut in France, he went 0-3 and did not win a match at the Presidents Cup (0-1-1).
