Bryson DeChambeau endured somewhat of a bittersweet first day at the Ryder Cup, where he played in both sessions.
The USA entered the Ryder Cup with the major advantage of home fans on their side at Bethpage Black, but it failed to inspire them on Friday.
Keegan Bradley’s men suffered a 3-1 defeat in the morning foursomes, with that scoreline extended to 5.5-2.5 by Team Europe after the afternoon fourballs.
But one positive note for the United States Ryder Cup team was Bryson DeChambeau, who lived up to his reputation after coming in for criticism just before the event.
Brandel Chamblee called DeChambeau a “captain’s nightmare” in the build-up to the Ryder Cup, but it really didn’t faze the popular figure.
Bryson DeChambeau proves Brandel Chamblee completely wrong at the Ryder Cup
DeChambeau laughed off Chamblee’s comments, before completely denouncing them with his golf and his actions in general on day one.
The LIV Golf star was entrusted by USA captain Bradley with the opening tee shot of the entire tournament, and it’s fair to say he didn’t disappoint.
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DeChambeau’s caddie said he could drive the first green, and while he fell just short in achieving that remarkable feat, he deserves huge credit for the stunning hit.
Even in front of his own fans, the American would have been under immense pressure, but he more than delivered.
And his fantastic effort was unsurprisingly enough to really get the fans going and indeed kick off the tournament in the best possible way for viewers.
Unfortunately, however, it turned out to be in vain, with DeChambeau and Justin Thomas eventually losing to Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
Bryson DeChambeau gets Bethpage crowd going on very disappointing day for the USA
After the morning session, DeChambeau was able to play much more aggressively in the afternoon fourballs, where he was paired with Ben Griffin.
The Ryder Cup rookie could hardly have asked for a better partner for his debut at the tournament, with the LIV Golf ace again raising the noise levels during their round.
And DeChambeau was aggressive with his play in the format, but at the same time he was controlled, which hasn’t always been the case for the big-hitter.
He was by no means on fire as he lost with Griffin to Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, but he was still able to get the crowd going despite too many poor shots from the American team, himself included.
A lot of eyes were on Scottie Scheffler to deliver, but fortunately for Bradley, the world number one’s blushes were spared by a handful of his teammates.
The likes of Cam Young and Thomas did manage to step up for the hosts in the afternoon session, having won their contest with Ludvig Aberg and Rasmus Hojgaard, while Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns claimed a half-point against Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
But it’s clear that crowd-pleaser DeChambeau remains key to any home success this week given his mere presence, having already proven he is anything but a “captain’s nightmare”.
All home players incidentally fell well short of his fellow LIV Golf star Rahm, who was in inspired form for Luke Donald’s Europe.
The USA players definitely need to give their fans something to really cheer about on Saturday, and it’s very likely that DeChambeau will be the man to instigate any comeback in New York.
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