Bryson ‘charts’ path with new methods, hard work
MAMARONECK, New York, Sept 22, (AP): The road to his US Open title might have been tougher than anything Bryson DeChambeau faced at Winged Foot.
And there were plenty of bread crumbs along the way.
It was just under a year ago that DeChambeau tied for fourth in his final PGA Tour event of 2019, and upon leaving for a two- month break he said with a grin and a measure of mystery: “I’m going to come back next year and look like a different person. You’re going to see some pretty big changes in my body.” If only it were that simple. “How many people have changed their body, changed their golf swing and lost their career?” said Chris Como, who works with DeChambeau as a swing coach and speaks his language with his background in biomechanics.
Como had just watched DeChambeau dismantle Winged Foot with four rounds at par or better – never before done in five previous US Opens – to finish with the lowest score ever at the fabled course (6-under 274) to win by six shots.
DeChambeau had been the talk of golf since it returned from a three-month shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also moved the US Open from June to September, the week of his 27th birthday.
He was big. He was strong. His tee shots were enormous. He was everything he said he was going to be. And now he’s a US Open champion who made a radical change for moments like this.
GOLF
Change doesn’t away guarantee success.
“It’s about being aware of that risk, trying to be really intelligent about making big changes and big progressions in a way you can hopefully mitigate risk as much as possible. But the risk is still there,” Como said. “He put a lot on the line.”
He built up his body, sure, adding some 40 pounds of muscle and mass. DeChambeau said he weighed 235 pounds, and he wants to add 10 more. He’s a steak-andpotato guy, along with protein shakes that he was drinking down the fairway in the final hour and in the middle of his news conference. He’s relentless.
And then it was time to apply his new body to a swing that would be stronger, enough to send a golf ball some 200 mph off the face of his driver.