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DeChambeau holds straight to claim U.S. Open title
Although the rounds came out of order, let the record show that Bryson DeChambeau did record a 70, a 69, a 68, and, on the most important of days, a Sunday 67. He was the only player to shoot under par on day four, and the only player to finish under par for the week.
His six-shot victory was not a dominant one, but it was the next best thing: impressive. DeChambeau balanced strategy and sinew to perfection, decoding the challenges and opportunities offered by the West Course at Winged Foot, and he claimed his first major title just four days after his 27th birthday.
For nine holes on Sunday, DeChambeau was in a battle with pairing competitor Matthew Wolff. First #BigBangTheory, and then #RipDog, posted eagle at the par-five 9th, thanks to identical driver-pitching wedge combos. They went to the back nine at 5 under and 4 under, respectively. At 10, Wolff’s iron turned over just enough to miss the green and leave him the most awkward of stances. He made bogey, and the lead was doubled. The eagle at nine turned out to be Wolff’s only hole below par all day, and he would drop three more shots on the way in. Wolff finished the week at even-par, a number that many projected to win after Friday’s round.
DeChambeau simply gave no openings to anyone on this final day. His final birdie came at the 11th after his approach failed to release and finished on the fringe. Undeterred, he putted from the fairway, as he had all week, and the sphere found the bottom of the tin can. DeChambeau didn’t hit many fairways this week, but he didn’t need to. Clubhead speed and short approach shots conquered the rough, and the Calixan (a blend of Californian and Texan) played the course as if it were just another Fortnite stream on Twitch (where you might find him tonight).
The two, non-player topics to hold our attention all week are absence of fans and distance gains. Would the oohs and ahhhs, and possible interruptions, of galleries have impacted this week’s result? No question. Some golfers feed off the electricity, while others wilt. No doubt a chorus of “You da man” and “Big Bang Theory” would have caused some influence, at some juncture.
Next, what about distance? Remember 1997, when Augusta did its level best to Tiger-proof the golf course? DeChambeau is only 73 inches tall. What happens when a 75- or an 80-inch golfer adds the mass that he did? All facets of the distance conversation amount to one of many discussions to be had. Anyone see how well he putted? How well he chipped and pitched? How well he decoded slopes of greens? The puzzle was there for the taking, and one golfer solved it.
Cheers, kudos, Hogan hats off to the champion!
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Take it from a fellow who coaches high school golf in metro Toronto: there’s plenty of great golf played in the land of the maple leaf. All the greats have designed courses over the USA border: Colt, Whitman, Ross, Coore, Mackenzie, Doak, as well as the greatest of the land, Stanley Thompson. I’m partial to him, because he wore my middle name with grandeur. Enough about the architecture, because this week’s Tour Rundown begins with a newly-minted, Canadian champion on the PGA Tour. Something else that the great white north is known for, is weather. It impacted play on three of the world’s tours, forcing final-round cancellations on two of them.
It was an odd week in the golf world. The LPGA and the Korn Ferry were on a break, and only 13/15 of the rounds slated, were played. In the end, we have four champions to recognize, so let’s not delay any longer with minutiae about the game that we love. Let’s run it all down with this week’s Tour Rundown.
PGA Tour: TP takes TS at Byron’s place
The 1980s was a decade when a Canadian emergence was anticipated on the PGA Tour. It failed to materialize, but a path was carved for the next generation. Mike Weir captured the Masters in 2003, but no other countrymen joined him in his quest for PGA Tour conquest. 2024 may herald the long-awaited arrival of a Canadian squad of tour winners. Over the past few years, we’ve seen Nick Taylor break the fifty-plus year dearth of homebred champions at the Canadian Open, and players like Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Adam Svennson, and Mackenzie Hughes have etched their names into the PGA Tour’s annals of winners.
This week, Taylor Pendrith joined his mates with a one-shot win at TPC Craig Ranch, the home of the Byron Nelson Classic. Pendrith took a lead into the final round and, while the USA’s Jake Knapp faltered, held on for the slimmest of victories. Sweden’s Alex Noren posted six-under 65 on Sunday to move into third position, at 21-under par. Ben Kohles, a Texan, looked to break through for his first win in his home state. He took the lead from Pendrith at the 71st hole, on the strength of a second-consecutive birdie.
With victory in site, Kohles found a way to make bogey at the last, without submerging in the fronting water. His second shot was greenside, but he could not move his third to the putting surface. His fourth was five feet from par and a playoff, but his fifth failed to drop. Meanwhile, Pendrith was on the froghair in two, and calmly took two putts from 40 feet, for birdie. When Kohles missed for par, Pendrith had, at last, a PGA Tour title.
360° and in!
A nervy par save by @TaylorPendrith to remain one back as he seeks his first PGA TOUR victory @CJByronNelson. pic.twitter.com/LVFXUSidSg
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 5, 2024
DP World Tour: China Open in Otaegui’s hands after canceled day four
It wasn’t the fourth round that was canceled in Shenzhen, but the third. Rains came on Saturday to Hidden Grace Golf Club, ensuring that momentum would cease. Sunday would instead be akin to a motorsports restart, with no sense of who might claim victory. Sebastian Soderberg, the hottest golfer on the Asian Swing, held the lead, but he would slip to a 72 on Sunday, and tie for third with Paul Waring and Joel Girrbach. Italy’s Guido Migliozzi completed play in 67 strokes on day three, moving one shot past the triumvirate, to 17-under par.
It was Spain’s Adrian Otaegui who persevered the best and played the purest. Otaegui was clean on the day, with seven birdies for 65. Even when Migliozzi ceased the lead at the 10th, Otaegui remained calm. With everything on the line, Migliozzi made bogey at the par-five 17th, as his principal competitor finished in birdie. To the Italian’s credit, he bounced back with birdie at the last, to claim solo second. The victory was Otaegui’s fifth on the DP World Tour, and first since October of 2022.
.@adrianotaegui birdies the 16th to tie the lead at -17 ?#VolvoChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/p4tfE5DRJa
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) May 5, 2024
PGA Tour Americas: Quito’s rains gift title to Longbella
Across the world, superintendents and their staffs will do anything to prepare a course for play. Even after fierce, nightime rains, the Quito TG Club greeted the first four groups on Sunday. The rains worsened after 7 am, however, and the tour was forced to abort the final round of play. With scores reverting to Saturday’s numbers, Thomas Longbella’s one-shot advantage over Gunn Yang turned into a Tour Americas victory.
64 held the opening-day lead, and Longbella was not far off, with 66. Yang jumped to the top on day two, following a67 with 66. He posted 68 on day three, and anticipated a fierce, final-round duel for the title. As for Longbella, he fought off a ninth-hole bogey on Saturday with six birdies and a 17th-hole eagle. That rare bird proved to be the winning stroke, allowing Longbella to edge past Yang, and secure ultimate victory.
.@TBalla21 eagles 17, shoots 65 on Saturday to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the KIA Open. pic.twitter.com/TTOL2LxSdh
— PGA TOUR Americas (@PGATOURAmericas) May 4, 2024
PGA Tour Champions: Dunlap survives Saturday stumble for win
Scott Dunlap did not finish Saturday as well as he might have liked. After beginning play near Houston with 65, Dunlap made two bogeys in his final found holes on day two, to finish at nine-under par. Hot on his heels was Joe Durant, owner of a March 2024 win on PGA Tour Champions. Just behind Durant was Stuart Appleby, perhaps vibing from his Sunday 59 at Greenbrier on this day in 2010. Neither would have a chance to track Dunlap down.
The rains that have forced emergency responders into action, to save hundreds of lives in the metro Houston area, ended hopes for a third day of play at The Woodlands. Dunlap had won once previously on Tour Champions, in 2014 in Washington state. Ten years later, Dunlap was the fortunate recipient of a canceled final round, and his two days of play were enough to earn him TC victory number two.
Off the green? No worries for @ScottDu12500063
8-under solo leader @InsperityInvtnl pic.twitter.com/hoj5OujL5C
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 4, 2024
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Barbara Barrett
Sep 22, 2020 at 1:20 pm
Congratulations to Bryson from a fan since your beginning on the tour. I admire your intellectual approach and your work habits. I wish you continued success!!! Don’t let the jealous comments get you! You are always a gentleman and I’m proud to cheer for you!!!
Maximillian
Sep 21, 2020 at 1:27 pm
Good for Bryson. It’s not easy to be nicknamed “The Scientist” in a country that stands anti-science. It’s not easy to be considered intellectual in a country that pushes against education and critical thinking. He balances the science with great feel – see his variety of iron shots, short game and putting.
One place he did “dominate” – I thought he was the only player in the field who didn’t let Winged Foot get under his skin.
Joe
Sep 21, 2020 at 12:33 pm
Can’t watch him play. Totally forced and unnatural. Doesn’t look like he enjoys the game at all.
Rich
Sep 21, 2020 at 1:00 pm
Yeah, all that winning can be a distraction.
Mark
Sep 21, 2020 at 11:50 am
Easy to bag a win when you cheat!
Putter anchors against the left forearm – perhaps not strictly illegal but against the spirit of the rules! R&A / USGA – please fix that one in the next Rules update! – eg: No part of any club may extend 6” beyond the wrist.
Also Rules Officials – Why don’t you penalise a guy that regularity takes more than 2 minutes over a putt?
One good thing to come out of the 2020 US OPEN – Now they’ll definitely roll back the ball (at long last!)
Jim Taylor
Sep 21, 2020 at 8:41 am
As a television spectator, I do not at all miss the galleries, the hospitality tents, the concession stands and the attendant Porta Potties. Wingedfoot is such an amazing course and facility and it presented itself so much better without Bobba Booey and Mashed Potatoes there to muck things up.
I have often been highly critical of the USGA for how they have, at times, set up and managed course conditions throughout their premier tournament, but this time they demonstrated that they capable of doing things right.
Much will be made of Bryson’s bomb and gouge victory only because he physically personifies the bomb and gouge golfer to a greater extent than say a Dustin Johnson or a Roy McIlroy, but the USGA absolutely must restrain itself from interfering through some senseless technological “rollback”. If they don’t, they will render themselves obsolete. “Making Golf Great Again” in this fashion, is a really bad idea.
William Davis
Sep 21, 2020 at 6:29 am
I found it very uncomfortable viewing – the slowness, the mannerisms, the violence. But that’s just me. It is his life and good luck to him.
MhtLion
Sep 21, 2020 at 12:40 am
Kudos to BDC for the hard-work, innovative thinking, and the courage to try new ideas! Bryson is definitely not a run of cookie-cutter golfer. I have no doubt BDC will inspire many next-generation golfers.
Bob
Sep 20, 2020 at 9:02 pm
Terrible writing. Not dominant! Are you smoking tar? He was 6 strokes clear of the field and The ONLY professional golfer on planet earth under par for the tournament. If I heard correctly on radio he picked up 8 strokes on the field today. Basically every other hole Bryson gained a stroke over the next guy. That is not only dominant that is incredible! Amazing! Historic! This was the toughest us open maybe ever with technology and analytics having maxed human performance and Bryson said nah! Hold my protein shake while I take this trophy. If this was tiger in his prime you would have wet the bed and claimed it was the single greatest moment in golf. Get a grip and get better writers. Maybe you should join Faldo In wine and cheese lounge and you can regale each other with the length of brysons wedges. Which are are longer than yours.
Ronald Montesano
Sep 20, 2020 at 10:37 pm
Hello, Bob. Thank you for checking in. You’re calling the writing “terrible” because of one split hair? That’s quite ephemeral of you.
Did you notice that Bryson was one clear of Matthew when they sawed off the skin on nine with eagles? Also, fawns and faroles aside, Wolff’s performance has no impact on Bryson’s dominance. Dominant is a word reserved for someone who plows a field under from start to finish. Bryson didn’t do that. He chipped away, little by little, and stuck to his plan.
Don’t you agree with me now?
MhtLion
Sep 21, 2020 at 12:44 am
I agree that BDC was impressive. Dominant? A bit tricky. I think he was dominant in the last 9 holes.
Hyperbolic Anabolics
Sep 20, 2020 at 8:51 pm
BAD isn’t natty though. Look at the Hawaiian Islands around that man’s pie hole.
Ronald Montesano
Sep 20, 2020 at 10:39 pm
Thank you for the geography lesson. Natty Golf on Instagram?
jeff
Sep 20, 2020 at 8:10 pm
I smile thinking about all the haters out there having an aneurism today. The bulging eyeballs and spittle coming from their lips as they mutter to themselves and whoever will listen; “It’s just not the way the game was meant to play”
Ronald Montesano
Sep 20, 2020 at 10:40 pm
I’m confident that Allan Robertson, Babe Didrickson, Joanne Carner, Ted Ray, Laura Davies, Frank Stranahan, Ben Hogan, and many more, made the genteel heeled ones quiver in their cups, as Bryson did today. Golf evolves, humans evolve. I’m with you, bruh.
Miamistomp
Sep 20, 2020 at 8:09 pm
how was that not dominant- Wolff looked like a deer caught in the headlightswhen the chips were down and Bryson never deviated from his plan
Ronald Montesano
Sep 20, 2020 at 10:42 pm
See what I wrote to Bob above. I blended your comment with his in my mind, so your answer is up their, labeled fawns and faroles. Tournament not decided until final nine holes. You can’t call that dominant. Tiger in 2000 was dominant. US Opens are rarely “dominated.”
Rich
Sep 20, 2020 at 7:28 pm
Well, the Genius did it again, this time at a major. Not only that, his success can be directly attributed to his modern, innovative thinking. The only player under par for the day, the only player under par for tournament, and 6 shots clear of the field. He absolutely crushed the idea that you can’t bomb-and-gouge your way to a US Open win. And if he can do that to Winged Foot, imagine what’s in store for Augusta in November.
BDC was my inspiration to try single-length irons 4 years ago (Wishon Sterling). I’ve never gone back, and iron play has gone from my weakest area to being as strong as every other part of my game. Thanks, Bryson! (And Tom Wishon, too!)
Ronald Montesano
Sep 20, 2020 at 10:45 pm
I don’t think that he will have the same advantage at Augusta. His advantage was strength out of the rough. Augusta doesn’t have rough like WF.
Also, Augusta’s greens don’t feed like Winged Foot’s did. I bet the members ask Hanse to change the greens to non-feeder. Or, they will ask for hole locations that don’t allow true feeding, as the green jackets do each spring.
He was brilliant, wasn’t he? He bided his time. He didn’t rush. Reminded me of Koepka in his prime.