Dechambeau claims BACK-TO-BACK WIN
MASSACHUSETTS: Physics major Bryson Dechambeau solved all the equations and became the first player to win consecutive tournaments on the PGA Tour this season with a twostroke victory over Justin Rose at the Dell Technologies Championship on Monday.
Dechambeau jumped clear with three consecutive birdies from the seventh hole en route to a fourunder-par 67 at TPC Boston in Massachusetts.
The American finished at 16-under 268, while fast-finishing Englishman Rose birdied four of the final six holes to claim second place with a 68.
Dechambeau’s victory in the second PGA Tour play-off event, following his previous win at the Northern Trust, increased his lead in the Fedexcup standings with two tournaments left. The 24-year-old will be named a captain’s pick on Tuesday as part of the United States team for this month’s Ryder Cup in Paris. He had previously narrowly failed to clinch an automatic berth.
Dechambeau, uniquely on tour, plays with irons that all have shafts of the same length, which allows him to make pretty much the same swing no matter what club he chooses to hit.
“Consistency has been a big thing for me,” he said in a greenside interview after joining compatriots Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson as three-times winners this season.
“I’ve been trying to get that week in and week out and I was able to figure something out last week on the putting green and that’s kind of progressed me to move forward in the right way.” CROWDED LEADERBORAD Dechambeau was part of a crowded leaderboard early in the final round, with 17 players at one stage bunched within two shots.
He built a four-shot lead early on the back nine, before Australian Cameron Smith made it interesting, cutting the margin to one shot with two quick birdies.
“I was leaking oil a little bit,” said Dechambeau, who after bogeying the 13th steadied the ship by sinking a five-footer to save par at the next.
“Once I was able to make that putt on 14 it pushed me forward. I made birdie on the next and it was smooth sailing.”
Smith subsequently hit his second shot into a hazard at the par-five 18th and made bogey to finish third, three shots behind.
Overnight leader Abraham Ancer of Mexico putted poorly and shot 73 to finish five shots off the pace.
He barely scraped into the field for the BMW Championship starting outside Philadelphia on Thursday, where the top 70 in the standings will tee it up.
Only 30 will advance to the seasonending Tour Championship in Atlanta, where Dechambeau is assured of starting as top seed in the race for the $10 million bonus awarded to the Fedexcup champion.
“If I keep doing the numbers right and keep executing the right shots I can’t do much more than that,” he said.
“If I keep going that route I’ll be hard to beat.”
Dechambeau’s victory in the second PGA Tour play-off event, following his previous win at the Northern Trust, increased his lead in the Fedexcup standings