THE SHAPE OF SWINGS TO COME
Muscle-bound driving machine DeChambeau believes he has changed game of golf forever
BULKED-UP Bryson DeChambeau claimed he has changed the future of golf after winning his first PGA Tour title since adding 40lb of muscle.
The American showed he is going to be a huge star by outpowering the field to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit by three shots.
The new world No7 also led the field for driving distance by averaging 350.6 yards off the tee after an extreme weight-lifting regime took his ball speed close to 200mph.
DeChambeau, 26, has carded 70 or better in 16 competitive rounds since the restart to be the on-course story, with Tiger Woods still absent and Rory McIlroy struggling.
He is now second favourite for next month’s US PGA Championship behind world No 1 McIlroy.
And like when Woods arrived in the 1990s, DeChambeau, below, predicted the next generation will follow him to the gym in pursuit of the same powers.
“This is a little emotional for me because I did something a little different, I changed my body, changed my mindset and I was able to accomplish a win while playing a completely different style of golf,” he said.
“And it’s pretty amazing to see that and I hope it’s an inspiration to a lot of people that if they set their mind to it, you can accomplish it.
“I think the most important thing is that
I’ve shown people that there’s another way to do it and there’s going to be other people trying to come up and do it that way.
“Whether it translates on the PGA Tour, I don’t think so.
It’s going to take a generation for this to all evolve into something different. There are going to be a lot more players down the road trying to hit it as far as they can, and straight.”
DeChambeau, who toasted his sixth PGA Tour win with “another couple of protein shakes”, weighs 240lb (17st 2lb). McIlroy is listed at 160lb (11st 6lb).
Kevin Kisner, who finished third, said: “It shows me how much time he has on his hands. He needs kids or something! He’s changed the entire way the game’s played.”
DeChambeau has added brawn to his brains. The physics major had already earned a reputation as the Nutty Professor for his single-length irons and a single-plane swing.
But his eccentricities can also take him out of bounds. During the third round in Detroit, he confronted an on-course cameraman filming another temper tantrum and claimed he had a right to “privacy” and the images could “damage our brand”.
DeChambeau said: “I respect everybody. People took it the wrong way, I’m sorry they did. I want to provide the best entertainment out here.”
Danny Willett and Tyrrell Hatton tied fourth to each bank almost £240,000.