Bryson DeChambeau has either always been a great person deep down, or he has an incredibly good PR team.
DeChambeau was not a popular figure in the slightest during his time on the PGA Tour, but he has completely revamped his image since joining LIV Golf.
His popularity in the game has risen exponentially over the past year or so, especially since he dipped his toes into the sphere of YouTube content creation.
However, his bread and butter is still competing in the biggest tournaments in the world. None come bigger than the Ryder Cup and the 31-year-old is set to play a key role for Keegan Bradley‘s side at Bethpage Black later this month.
DeChambeau qualified for the Ryder Cup team automatically despite having played in only eight counting events.
That was a sensational achievement from the two-time US Open champion, and it seems like he’s already getting in the mood to represent his country by checking in on another hugely popular team event this week.
Bryson DeChambeau receives praise from fans after what he’s just done
DeChambeau has not been granted permission to play the PGA Tour event in Napa next week.
The rest of the US Ryder Cup team will tee it up at the Procore Championship, aside from Xander Schauffele, of course.
Interestingly, though, he is over on the west coast of America right now, just 150 miles south of Napa.
DeChambeau was spotted in attendance during day one of the Walker Cup at Cypress Point on Saturday.
And the two-time major champion received plenty of praise from golf fans for taking the time to fly over to California and watch the first day of action at Cypress Point.
Two fans exclaimed: “Hell yeah. Love that,“ and “Love it.“
The compliments for the LIV Golf star continued. “This is awesome,“ one fan stated, while another said: “Bryson’s the man.“
Another made a great point, saying: “Bryson DeChambeau you are a true ambassador of the game! What a gentleman and an inspiration to young golfers. Go USA!!“
The sentiment was supported by many others, with comments stating: “It’s really great!,“ and “This is awesome.“
However, the way of the world nowadays means that some people will question the intentions behind DeChambeau’s trip to Cypress Point.
Was he genuinely there to support the US Walker Cup team, or was it nothing more than a shameless publicity stunt?
I firmly believe it was the former – let’s all try to give him the benefit of the doubt here. Sometimes it feels like DeChambeau can’t do right for doing wrong.
What Bryson DeChambeau has told the US Ryder Cup team about PGA Tour snub
Unfortunately for DeChambeau, he was not granted special permission to play at the Procore Championship next week, due to his LIV Golf allegiance.
That’s fair enough – the PGA Tour owe the 31-year-old absolutely nothing.
However, it’s understandable as to why he would be frustrated with 10 of his 11 Ryder Cup teammates set to tee it up in Napa.
Webb Simpson – one of Keegan Bradley’s five Ryder Cup vice-captains – has revealed what DeChambeau told the US camp about not being allowed to play the Procore Championship.
Simpson said: “Keegan did not have to try to talk one player into playing. They all were brought in.
“So we have everybody playing minus Bryson and he would kill to play. He has told us that he wishes he could play but that’s the state of golf right now.“
The bottom line is that DeChambeau would have been fully aware that his move to LIV would be accompanied by consequences, and the PGA Tour not granting him special dispensation to play in Napa next week is certainly an example of that.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
