Golf beast Bryson DeChambeau left stunned as ‘unbelievable’ rival denies him a major championship
Golf beast Bryson DeChambeau left stunned as ‘unbelievable’ rival denies him a major championship
Bryson DeChambeau did everything he could to win his second major at the PGA Championship.
He got the lucky breaks, he sunk the clutch putts, and he equalled the then-record for lowest ever score at a major.
But somehow, after all that, his name was still second on the leaderboard at Valhalla on Monday morning (AEST).
Bryson DeChambeau did everything he needed to do to win a major, but still fell short. (Getty)
“Definitely surprised myself, impressed myself and I know I can do it again … it’s just going to take some time,” he said.
His lone major came at the 2020 US Open.
DeChambeau had some incredible breaks – the putt that barely toppled in on the 18th hole, the tee shot on the 16th that hit a tree but somehow careened back into the fairway. He chipped in from off the green a couple of times throughout the week.
That putt on 18 closed a thrill-a-minute round of 7-under 64 – tied for best of the day – and put him in a tie for the lead at 20-under par. He went straight to the range to keep warm in case of a playoff.
Bryson DeChambeau celebrates making his birdie putt on 18th for a share of the lead. (Getty)
DeChambeau stood with his hands on his hips, stared at the big screen and watched Schauffele’s winning putt go in. Once it dropped, he turned quickly and exited stage left, making his way to 18 to congratulate the winner.
“I gave it my all,” DeChambeau said. “I put as much effort as I possibly could into it and I knew that my ‘B’ game would be enough. It’s just clearly somebody (else) played incredibly well.
“I seriously thought 18 (under par) was going to do it, then when I saw what Xander was doing, it’s like, ‘Man, he’s playing some unbelievable golf’.”
DeChambeau during the fourth round. (Getty)
DeChambeau’s most memorable moments came on 16 and 18. On 16 he shouted “Fore!” when he hooked his tee shot deep into the trees to the left of the fairway. It pinballed around, then landed on the fairway, still some 200m from the pin.
From there, he pulled 8-iron and stuck the shot to less than a metre. While it was in the air, he gestured wildly, urging the ball to do exactly what it did – land and stop for his easiest birdie putt of the day.
“I looked at (caddie Greg Bodine) and I go, ‘OK, this is what it takes to win major championships. You got to have breaks like that happen,'” DeChambeau said.
He also needed a birdie on 18 to tie Schauffele. DeChambeau teed off into an awkward lie in a bunker to the left of the fairway, but punched a 6-iron out to the first cut of rough to the left of the green.
The chip stopped 10 feet away and the ensuing putt didn’t look like it had enough steam. On the very last revolution, it tumbled in. DeChambeau pulled the ball from the hole, jabbed his fist in the air, then fist-bumped fans on his way off the course and back to the driving range.
“I (thought I) left it short again like a you-know-what, like an idiot,” he said. “Luckily it got there and it was some nice elation to finish off a round like that in a major championship. Pretty proud of myself, yeah.”