Outside of Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau is surely going to be the favourite to win the US Open at Oakmont this week with the LIV Golf star already winning the major on two occasions.
It already feels like a lifetime ago but Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champion this week at the US Open, with the 31-year-old winning at Pinehurst one year ago after an amazing duel with Rory McIlroy.
Of course, that was one of the most enthralling days of major championship golf.
But perhaps it was DeChambeau’s previous major win which had a bigger impact on the golfing world as he seemed to play a completely different game at the 2020 US Open.
Bryson DeChambeau compares Oakmont and Winged Foot ahead of the US Open
DeChambeau won by six at Winged Foot after attempting to completely overpower the golf course. He was several months into transforming his body and adding considerable speed to his swing.
He has found a much more sustainable level in more recent years. And ahead of this week’s US Open, DeChambeau outlined how brave he is going to be able to be at Oakmont.
“It depends — so how many drivers I will hit depends on how I’m hitting it. I’m hitting it pretty nicely right now, especially better than last week, so hopefully I don’t have to hit that much,” he said.
“Can I be fearless on this golf course? Well, yeah, anybody really can. Are there times to be more reserved, depending on wind locations, softness of greens, pin locations, you name it, very strategic.
“It’s not like every single hole is Winged Foot out here. You can’t just bomb it on every single hole and blast over bunkers and have a wedge run up to the front of the green. You can on a lot of the holes but not on every one of them.
“I think this golf course you have to be just a fraction more strategic, especially when the rough is so long. I’m going to be as fearless as I can possibly be out there; I know that.”
How Xander Schauffele reacted to Bryson DeChambeau’s US Open win in 2020
Many of the world’s best players would surely say that DeChambeau changed the game from late 2019. He reminded everyone how much easier golf courses could become if you could get even further down the hole.
It sounds simple, but DeChambeau, once again, pushed the boundaries. And it is interesting reading what Xander Schauffele said about his countryman on Sunday at Winged Foot five years ago.
“Yeah, he’s a man of his word. I said it last night, if there’s anyone that I was worried about, it was him. Everyone talked about hitting fairways out here. It’s not about hitting fairways. It’s about hitting on the correct side of the hole and hitting it far so you can kind of hit a wedge instead of a six iron out of the rough,” he said.
“Yeah, he’s sort of trending in the new direction of golf, and he said he wanted to do everything he’s doing, and yeah, happy for him. He’s playing unbelievable.”
When it comes to gaining more distance, many of DeChambeau’s secrets are out of the bag. But despite that, stopping him winning a third US Open title this week is going to be easier said than done.
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