Bryson DeChambeau might have got two US Opens to his name already but despite those successes, he’s been told that his win in 2024 was pretty unwarranted.
DeChambeau famously held off Rory McIlroy last summer in one of the most dramatic finishes in recent golf history.
As we know, McIlroy got his revenge by winning The Masters last weekend and in doing so, bumping DeChambeau well down the leaderboard and out of contention.
For DeChambeau, the idea of adding more majors is something that drives him on.
However, while he will look back on two US Opens well earned, golf analyst Brandel Chamblee has spoken of DeChambeau actually being lucky to win at Pinehurst in 2024.
Bryson DeChambeau told he didn’t deserve to win the 2024 US Open
Discussing McIlroy versus DeChambeau on his new podcast, the Favourite Chamblee, the golf analyst suggested that looking back to 2024, DeChambeau was actually very fortunate to win the US Open.
“You know, I feel like he won the US Open last year, but it was a bit smoke and mirrors. He drove it all over the place. He shouldn’t have won it,” Chamblee said.
“If he’d have been penalized for missing those fairways, like they thought and anticipated he was going to be penalized for missing those fairways, Rory would have won by five. Cause Rory drove the eyes out of it that week. And when you think about the US Open, you should drive the eyes out of it.
“And if you don’t, you shouldn’t win it. And so, The Masters was going to be a referendum on LIV. It’s always is, it’s always a LIV versus PGA Tour.
“And we don’t talk about it that much, but 100% it’s LIV versus PGA Tour. And then it’s this rivalry between Bryson and Rory. So all that’s going on, and then it’s this rivalry between Rory and history.
“And then it’s this rivalry between Rory and The Masters. So who could have played that round and not shot 80, 78, 75? I mean, the lead impoverished is everybody, everybody.”
Why the current golf landscape could help Bryson DeChambeau win again
This might come across that Brandel Chamblee is having a dig at DeChambeau but he is more trying to make the point that US Open courses should punish bad shots more.
With 2025 coming up at Oakmont, it will be interesting to see if the big hitters are favoured or not.
However, in the same interview, Chamblee suggested DeChambeau is going to be helped by the current ‘deforestation’ of golf courses.
“Well, there is a deforestation movement going in the game of golf, which I absolutely hate. They all say, ‘oh, we’re going to return this golf course to its good’. The reason they were building these golf courses on land with no trees is because the trees had been scalped to build homes,” Chamblee said.
Chamblee went on to complain further about the issue and claimed golfers should be punished more for hitting bad shots, such as higher rough or more trees.
By the time Oakmont rolls around and more trees are gone, it could very much favour a DeChambeau win.
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