One of Bryson DeChambeau’s most impressive performances during his time on the PGA Tour came at the 2021 BMW Championship, an event he did not even manage to win.
The BMW Championship has returned to Caves Valley this week for the first time since 2021. The Maryland course played host to an amazing duel four years ago between Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay.
DeChambeau so nearly posted a 59 on Friday. But it would be Cantlay who secured the victory that week, with the pair needing six playoff holes to be separated.
It appears that the BMW Championship that year marked the genesis of the Patty Ice nickname which Cantlay has subsequently lived up to in both the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup.
In fact, that week at Caves Valley looks particularly odd in hindsight given how the last few years have played out, with DeChambeau very much seen as the pantomime villain.
Why Bryson DeChambeau had a heckler removed after losing the playoff at the 2021 BMW Championship
DeChambeau’s relationship with the fans could hardly have been more different than what it would be at the 2024 US Open, when he seemed determined to let every person at Pinehurst touch the trophy he had just won after a stunning duel with Rory McIlroy.
DeChambeau seemed to be every bit as popular as the player who was arguably the game’s biggest superstar since Tiger Woods.
At the 2021 BMW Championship however, the fact that it was DeChambeau in the playoff meant that the majority of the galleries seemed to be particularly keen to see Cantlay win. It is surely fair to say that Cantlay has never been a player who has captured the imagination.
At the time, DeChambeau was involved in a feud with Brooks Koepka, which resulted in some spectators taunting the two-time US Open champion. And it seems that DeChambeau had had enough of biting his tongue by the end of the BMW Championship.
Writing for ESPN at the time, Kevin Van Valkenburg noted that DeChambeau had a spectator removed on his way back to the clubhouse.
“Halfway up the hill, something happened that made me feel like we’ve arrived at a miserable place in the never-ending circus that is DeChambeau. A patron waited until DeChambeau had walked by, but was not out of earshot, then sneered from over the rope line, “Great job, Brooksie!” DeChambeau spun around in a rage and began briefly walking in his direction,” he wrote.
“‘You know what? Get the f— out!’ DeChambeau yelled. He had rage in his eyes.
“DeChambeau had been hearing, and ignoring, that kind of taunt all week. But everyone has their breaking point.
“Thankfully, DeChambeau paused, angrily motioning for a police officer to handle the heckler, then continued his march up the hill. The entire exchange took less than 10 seconds. The PGA Tour declined comment when asked about the incident by ESPN. But we’ve been building to something like this all summer. And I don’t know what the endgame is.”
How the feud between Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka calmed down
What seemingly started out as a clash of personalities between two star players clearly got out of hand. And it appears that it was the 2021 Ryder Cup which played an important role in calming everything down, with Koepka telling ESPN that Steve Stricker had encouraged the pair to put their differences to one side.
They would both play their part in USA securing a record win at Whistling Straits. Meanwhile, they would take part in The Match later that year, with Koepka winning comfortably.
Interestingly, heckling at Caves Valley has once again become a talking point this week, with Robert MacIntyre getting distracted during his third round.
It is hard to imagine, however, tempers boiling over to the same degree whatever happens over the final round of this year’s BMW Championship.
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