PINEHURST, N.C. — The toughest shot in golf history came between Bryson DeChambeau and his second major championship.
The ball came to rest on the soft sand of Pinehurst. After an approach shot from behind a tree root, the ball had traveled 55 yards—a distance that professional golfers almost universally despise. The hole is located just six steps from the back right edge of the green, bordered by another bunker. The groans that followed after Rory McIlroy missed a par putt on the final hole still hang in the air around Grandstand 18.
DeChambeau hit the wedge with a 55-degree wedge. Bogey and a playoff. Up and away as a two-time U.S. Open champion.
DeChambeau says if given 100 chances, he would be up and down from that position 4 or perhaps five times. But his caddy, Greg Bodine, assured him: “You’ve got it,” he told DeChambeau before descending into the bunker. “I’ve seen you hit harder shots.” On Sunday, DeChambeau took Bodine’s words and executed the impossible.
“That bunker shot was the best shot of my life,” DeChambeau said.
The ball bounced along the putting surface, taking several jumps before rolling to 3 feet, 11 inches. Is there even a question of what happens next? DeChambeau ran out of putters.
You can call him a mad scientist in the golf world, a PGA Tour star who devoted himself to LIV Golf, a content creator who has a generation of young people following his every move on YouTube and TikTok. Whatever Bryson DeChambeau is or has been, the next moment makes him simple.
DeChambeau threw his arms in the air, ripped off his Crushers GC hat, and turned to the photographers lined up on the left side of the 18th green. He stares into the television cameras and points to the pin he wears on his hat in memory of an icon, the late Payne Stewart, who won here 25 years ago.
He screamed, emptying his lungs until his face turned red. This is his moment.
DeChambeau started Sunday at the practice range like he always does: launching the ball into the stratosphere with his team of confidantes.
Behind him were three backpacks filled with strange props such as measuring sticks and levels. DeChambeau began using Sportsbox AI, an artificial intelligence app, last week to capture video of his golf swing through his iPhone to get real-time 3D motion feedback. His swing coach, Dana Dalquist, lingered. While DeChambeau cleared the bag, Bodine wiped the clubs clean.
Then something puzzling happened. Sixteen minutes before DeChambeau teed off with a three-shot lead at the U.S. Open, he unscrewed his driver head and replaced it with a new one. DeChambeau’s special Krank driver (a brand of equipment used by long-drive players) has a flattened face. The numbers on his Foresight launch monitor point to the problem, and his wayward ball flight further proves it. DeChambeau aligned a protractor-like tool with the curved face of the clubhead to give his final verdict. DeChambeau won’t necessarily throw in a new header in the final round of the U.S. Open, which he only hit six times, but he’s prepared for the possibility.
The bunker shot of his career!@b_DeChambeau Does this putter still have a chance to win the U.S. Open? pic.twitter.com/Vleb6k6PvO
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2024
DeChambeau’s goal in this game is prediction. His eternal mission is to eliminate variables, no matter how small their impact. Lately, DeChambeau has been working to take the guesswork out of golf.
DeChambeau placed the golf ball in Epsom salts to determine the lowest point of its weight so he could optimize the roll of the putter. Since the Masters, he has been playing with a set of 3D-printed irons that mimic the design of his drivers and minimize the impact of off-center hits. He uses Sportsbox AI to detect unwanted motion in the golf swing, recording hundreds of data points for future analysis. When DeChambeau practices, he doesn’t hit the ball looking for a vague “feel.” He uses artificial intelligence motion capture to detect whether his movements produce the shots he wants to see. If he could pass these checkpoints, he would be satisfied. DeChambeau doesn’t want to hear anyone else’s opinions on how he can improve his game and win more golf tournaments. He follows a formula. What he seeks is the truth.
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Augusta National does not allow players to use slope measuring equipment. Dahlquist said DeChambeau’s team is currently discussing building a 25-foot ramp in his backyard to simulate Masters putting.
“This is not just a science project, and we can’t just make things up and hope out of thin air,” Dahlquist said. “He knew it was nonsense as soon as he heard it.”
The reliance on facts and science has been recognized by many since DeChambeau took the single irons on tour — which he still uses today. To some, DeChambeau’s whole tactic is a frenzied pursuit of some kind of advantage in a game that’s supposed to be kept simple. But for DeChambeau, it’s the only way that makes sense.
However, it’s impossible for DeChambeau to control all the variables Sunday at Pinewood II. He knows it, and embracing that thought is what helped him shoot rounds of 67, 69 and 67 to take a three-shot lead heading into the final round of the U.S. Open on Father’s Day.
Bryson DeChambeau had to hit his second shot on the 18th hole with a bad lie, angle and position. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
DeChambeau defeated Winged Foot with bombs and instrumentation to win his first U.S. Open title, charting his course around Donald Rose’s design in the North Carolina sand dunes, removing conservative moves from the tee route. Although he led the way in driving distance, his newfound mind led to some less-than-ideal situations on his home soil at Pinehurst. He hit just five fairways on Sunday, his fewest in a final round since Angel Cabrera in 2007. Competitor Written by Justin Ray. But in addition to needing to chip away at the wire grass on No. 12, DeChambeau escaped danger by working hard to hit the ball into good positions around the green and relying on his short and flat game to erase par.
Unforeseen adversity defines the test of this golf course, and DeChambeau faced perhaps the most extreme example on the 18th hole, when he landed himself in jail with yet another wayward tee shot. DeChambeau’s ball nearly hit a group of tournament volunteers before it came to rest near the roots of a tree, whose branches limited the length of his backswing. He wonders if he was injured while hitting the ball and tries to find relief from a nearby, temporarily immovable obstacle. No luck.
To win the championship and avoid the playoffs with McIlroy, DeChambeau must rely on something unquantifiable. Something that will never be distilled into science.
DeChambeau grew up throwing balls into impossible holes, training himself to harness his creativity and use a golf club to escape anywhere.
“I go back to being a kid,” DeChambeau said.
Four years ago, DeChambeau won his first major championship during a global pandemic, surrounded by golf courses with no fans and no atmosphere. on Sunday? He charged off the 18th green with the U.S. Open trophy in hand, determined to give every fan who came near a chance to touch the noble metal.
As the sun set on the tournament, he jumped from interview to interview, hugging and kissing his new hardware and celebrating with the friends and family who surprised him Sunday night. He took selfies and attempted to throw the ball into the towering U.S. Open stands. His mother watched it all from her home in California — jumping over Winged Foot as her son hoisted the trophy. She won’t mess with fate. He dedicated his Father’s Day victory to his late father, Jon.
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Most champions quickly head off to a private place to celebrate their achievements with those closest to them. Two and a half hours after winning the U.S. Open, DeChambeau was signing autographs for nearly every kid left on the court.
DeChambeau isn’t always easy to root for, but the folks at Pinehurst are rooting for him, just like they did at Augusta National and Valhalla. He’s had moments – several of them – where the golf world has been basically disgusted by his antics. DeChambeau attributes his public recognition to a tight inner circle and the ability to use the pipeline to express what he calls his true character to the world.
“I realized there’s a lot more to life than golf,” DeChambeau said. “I’m not perfect. I’m human. Everybody’s human. Of course, those low moments helped me develop a new frame of mind about who I am, what my expectations are, what I can do, and who I am in life. What do you want to do.
(Above: Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
