Bryson DeChambeau suggested this week that the 2021 BMW Championship included the most embarrassing moment of his professional career as he lost out to Patrick Cantlay in a six-hole play-off at Caves Valley.
Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay battled it out over the BMW Championship, with the pair shooting three rounds of 66 between them over the weekend in Maryland. Ultimately, it would be Cantlay who would get across the line with the birdie on the sixth play-off hole.
However, his opponent had chances. And DeChambeau claimed this week that missing a five-foot putt for the win is the biggest embarrassment he has had on the course during his career.
What is remarkable is that it came shortly after one of the best rounds of DeChambeau’s career as he shot 60 on the Friday to come agonisingly close to posting the 13th round of 59 or better on the PGA Tour.
What Jordan Spieth said after Bryson DeChambeau shot 60 at the 2021 BMW Championship
Jordan Spieth was playing alongside DeChambeau that day, and he shared what it was like to have a front row seat. He also made a very interesting comparison between the Scientist and arguably the greatest player to have ever played the game at the peak of his powers.
“Yeah, I mean, this course those first seven holes is where you’ve got to get it, and he was six through seven, ended up being seven through eight,” he said.
“I played with Bryson the first two rounds when he won at Bay Hill, and when he’s driving it that straight, it’s got to be what it was like in the early 2000s with Tiger just hitting it the furthest and the straightest.
“It’s a little easier from there, but you’ve still got to get it in the hole, and he just drove the ball well, made a few longer putts today, and had it going.
“I was just trying to piggy-back a little bit, but when you’re watching it, it can be a little bit kind of frustrating if you don’t have it going just because you’re like, man, is this what everyone is doing; is everyone tearing it up? But yeah, what a round.”
How DeChambeau’s driving distance improved over the years
Obviously, 2019 will go down as a real turning point in DeChambeau’s career. The 31-year-old decided at that stage to make drastic changes to his body in an attempt to hit distances rarely seen on the PGA Tour.
What was particularly remarkable, as Spieth notes, is that he could keep the ball incredibly straight a lot of the time considering how quickly he was swinging the golf club by 2021.
| Year | Driving distance (yards) | PGA Tour rank |
| 2018 | 305.7 | 25 |
| 2019 | 302.5 | 34 |
| 2020 | 322.1 | 1 |
| 2021 | 323.7 | 1 |
And while he did dial down some of his methods in the hope of making his changes more sustainable, he still remains the benchmark when it comes to driving the ball off the tee. No-one hit the ball further than DeChambeau on LIV Golf this past season, with the two-time major champion averaging 323.5 yards in 2024.
When DeChambeau is at his best, there are certainly not too many players who can still compete with him.
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