Rich Beem commented on the ‘interesting’ thing he saw Bryson DeChambeau do on the range before the final round of the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 on Sunday.
Bryson DeChambeau went into the final round in a strong position as the final groups teed off in North Carolina, with the American starting the day with a three-shot lead over the likes of Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay and Matthieu Pavon.
DeChambeau fascinates like few others in the game right now, and one of the reasons for that is the unique equipment he uses in his bag.
That includes the 30-year-old using a long drive head for his driver, but there is absolutely no question that the results have been remarkable, with DeChambeau not only hitting the ball a long way, but also proving to be devastatingly accurate.
So what would have worried fans of the 2020 US Open champion was pictures of DeChambeau removing his driver head and swapping it with another on the range before his tee time.
Bryson DeChambeau forced into late change before US Open final round
It is not uncommon for cricketers, for example, to replace their bats mid-innings when they become cracked, but it does not appear to be something that happens quite as often to golfers on the range before a round.
And speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 16/6; 19:17), Rich Beem expressed his concern about DeChambeau seemingly having to make the change so soon before he teed off.
“That’s interesting, it’s almost as if he was switching club heads there like he might have cracked it. He does have one of those driver heads the long drivers utilise,” he said.
“They have very thin faces, they’re always on the margin of having that spring-like effect so Bryson might have cracked one of the heads that he’s been using and had to put a new one in play.”
Overnight leader will have left no stone unturned
In fairness, if there is anyone on tour who is going to have extensively tested every single piece of equipment he may or may not need, it is surely DeChambeau, so he may not have been particularly put off by the change.
But of course, it would not have been the ideal preparation to make that change late on, particularly at such a massive moment in his career.
The first couple of drives on Sunday from DeChambeau found the wasteland on the right of the fairway, but that appeared to be more down to the LIV Golf star rather than any issues with the replacement driver head, judging by the trajectories and the distance they still travelled.
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