Chris Como has lauded Bryson DeChambeau for what he did after Xander Schauffele sealed the PGA Championship at Valhalla back in May.
It was somewhat overshadowed by what happened at the US Open a month later, but there was an outstanding finish to the PGA Championship in Kentucky, with Xander Schauffele looking to seal his first major title.
Schauffele started the final round tied for the lead with Collin Morikawa, with Bryson DeChambeau two back. But a brilliant 64 on Sunday saw DeChambeau take the clubhouse lead on 20 under par for the tournament, with the LIV Golf star making a fantastic putt on the last to set the benchmark.
DeChambeau certainly celebrated as if he felt that the putt would be significant, as he put all of the pressure on Schauffele – who was having to deal with questions about his ability to win tournaments having put himself in position on so many occasions.
Bryson DeChambeau praised after PGA Championship
Schauffele was able to get the job done however, making a superb birdie on the final hole to beat DeChambeau by one.
DeChambeau was one of those to congratulate the 30-year-old, and speaking on the Talk of the Tour podcast, Como shared how impressed he was by his actions.
“You couldn’t script it with more drama with Bryson breathing down his neck,” he said. “Bryson was awesome, the way he handled that, kind of met up with him when he finished the round.
“And that putt, just 18, even just the hole, he hit a drive that was not a bad drive, bounces in the bunker and you can interpret that either way, that could very easily be a ‘here we go again’ type of thing, or it can be okay, here’s the challenge, step up and meet this challenge.
“Hits a great shot with an awkward lie, up in front of the green, has a very tricky pitch, it’s a very solid pitch, and has one of those putts where you’re going to miss that a significant percentage of the time, and then again, it becomes the whole narrative of here you go again, or whatever.”
Question marks remain over LIV star, but he deserves a lot of credit
Some have questioned how genuine DeChambeau is, as he has definitely been a character who has divided opinion over the years. But he deserves plenty of credit for responding to coming so close to a second major title with an act of class.
He would be on the other side one month later, with Rory McIlroy leaving the course immediately after DeChambeau clinched the US Open. You could understand McIlroy’s devastation, but it arguably highlights how impressive DeChambeau has become that he was able to congratulate Schauffele at Valhalla.
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