What Bryson DeChambeau did at the 2020 US Open which a stunned Rory McIlroy said he couldn’t get his head around

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The 2020 US Open was not only significant for being the tournament where Bryson DeChambeau won his first major title.

Bryson DeChambeau took little time to establish himself as one of the most unique players on the PGA Tour. He quickly became known for being the player whose irons and wedges were all the same length. Meanwhile, it would be difficult to find anyone who swings the club quite like DeChambeau.

DeChambeau’s potential was clear as he won four times in 2018, including at the Memorial and two play-off events in the FedEx Cup. But after going winless in 2019, he decided to make drastic changes to his body in a quest to add significantly more distance.

Some vindication would come at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July 2020. But the big prize would arrive in September at Winged Foot. DeChambeau won his maiden major title with a six-shot victory at the US Open. He was actually the only player in the field to post a round in the 60s on Sunday.

How Bryson DeChambeau stunned Rory McIlroy during the 2020 US Open

But that final round performance was all the more remarkable for the fact that DeChambeau just hit four out of 21 fairways to end the tournament.

Following his win, Rory McIlroy was asked how he would have reacted had he been told on the Wednesday ahead of the tournament just wayward the winner would prove to be.

“No chance. No chance. I don’t really know what to say because that’s just the complete opposite of what you think a U.S. Open champion does,” he said.

“Look, he’s found a way to do it. Whether that’s good or bad for the game, I don’t know, but it’s not the way I saw this golf course being played or this tournament being played. It’s kind of hard to really wrap my head around it.”

How DeChambeau moved the goalposts

Distance has always been incredibly valuable. But DeChambeau is arguably the player in this era who has shown just how much of a game-changer it can be.

His average distances rose considerably off the back of the changes he started to make in late 2019. And he remains the player to set the standard, having led the way for driving distance on LIV Golf in 2024.

The fact that he has won two major titles across five seasons shows that distance is not everything, particularly when almost every player at the top of the game now hits it an extremely long way.

But clearly, when DeChambeau is at his best, there are very few players who have the ability to compete with him.