The 2020 season was a hugely significant one in the career of Bryson DeChambeau, with the American reaping the rewards after pushing the boundaries.
Bryson DeChambeau had certainly enjoyed success before late 2019. He won four times on the PGA Tour in 2018. He had also made his Ryder Cup debut that year.
But DeChambeau became a different player. He added significant size to his frame, while he also worked to add considerable speed to his swing. It was a dramatic transformation which led to DeChambeau winning the 2020 US Open by six shots at Winged Foot.
Unsurprisingly, there was a lot of intrigue surrounding DeChambeau when golf returned earlier in the year.
Why Jim Furyk had his doubts about Bryson DeChambeau back in 2020
The RBC Heritage was only the second event after golf resumed. It had been just over three months since The Players Championship had been cancelled after the first round due to the pandemic.
And ahead of the event at Harbour Town, Jim Furyk was asked about his view on what DeChambeau was trying to do.
Furyk – who had captained DeChambeau two years earlier at Le Golf National – spoke of being taken aback by what he saw from him the week before at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
“I guess no, I would not [attempt similar]. That doesn’t mean he’s wrong. I guess what I would be nervous – I kind of built my game on accuracy and hitting the ball straight. For me to try to get longer, I always worry I’m going to lose what I’m good at, which is that accuracy side of things. It’s always great to improve your weaknesses but not at the risk of hurting your strengths,” he said.
“The present day player plays a different game. The best players in the world attack the golf course differently than I do right now at 50 years old because that’s the way I grew up. It’s fun to watch. Fairways hit really isn’t an important stat anymore. It has nothing to do with shots gained off the tee. I shouldn’t say nothing. It has very little to do with shots gained off the tee, whether you’re fairway or rough.
“I think what he’s doing is really interesting, to be honest with you. He looks like a different person. He’s much bigger. I think he said he gained two shirt sizes. I only saw him hit one shot on TV last week. It was, I think, on the second day off the first tee. I think his ball speed was 185. The player that hit right in front of him was Dustin Johnson, and his ball speed was 177. So for me, that was kind of an eye raiser. Dustin is pretty big, pretty strong, athletic, hits it pretty far. If you’re gaining eight miles an hour on Dustin Johnson, that’s moving it.
“You know, it’s interesting. I think we’re in an era right now with golf, the way it’s played, the way our golf courses are set up, it’s quite an advantage to be able to hit the ball far like that. I can see why so many guys are kind of chasing distance, using technology, using launch monitors for launch and spin for equipment to gain distance. It’s definitely affecting the game.”
The remarkable run Bryson DeChambeau had on the PGA Tour five years ago
DeChambeau would have been particularly frustrated to see the golf season halted because he was enjoying a fantastic run of form leading into TPC Sawgrass.
He finished fifth at the Genesis Invitational before a second place finish at the WGC-Mexico Championship. DeChambeau was then fourth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational – an event he would win a year later.
But he was able to pick up where he left off upon the season’s resumption. Eighth at the RBC Heritage was his worst result in his next four events. Meanwhile, he won the Rocket Mortgage Classic for his first victory since November 2018.
The 2020 PGA Championship actually saw DeChambeau make the top 10 in a major for the first time as he finished fourth. And he would follow that with his victory at Winged Foot.
It was incredible just how quickly DeChambeau found a way to hit the ball a mile off the tee – and prove that Furyk was wrong to be concerned about how it would impact his overall game.
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