'BEAU YEAH!
Bryson rolling into Sunday with 4-shot lead, likely spot at Ryder Cup
Bryson DeChambeau was at the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine in Minnesota. Not as a player. As a fan. DeChambeau is not from Minnesota. He lives in Dallas. But he made the trip to Minnesota to be there as a spectator to root on the U.S. team against the Europeans and — more importantly — to soak in the atmosphere of an event he craved to be a part of one day.
There’s still one round to play in the Northern Trust on Sunday, but at the pace DeChambeau is rolling — leading the tournament by four shots at 16-under par after shooting an 8-under-par 63 Saturday at Ridgewood Country Club — it’s looking a lot like he’ll be at the 2018 Ryder Cup next month in France. Not as a fan. As a player. DeChambeau finished ninth on the Ryder Cup points list while the top eight players, by the end of the PGA Championship, earned automatic spots on the team. That left DeChambeau among those on the outside looking in with hopes of being one of Jim Furyk’s four captain’s picks.
“I wanted to get a little bit of an experience of what that would feel like,’’ De- Chambeau said Saturday of is trip to Minnesota two years ago. “[I] wanted to kind of get my feet in the water so hopefully I could be prepared coming to 2018. But, I’m looking forward to [Sunday], because I’ve just got to keep focusing on this tournament.
“If I can play well … I’ll hopefully show captain [Furyk] that I’m worthy. But as of right now, I’m a man on a mission.’’
At the conclusion of next week’s Dell Technologies Championship outside of Boston, Furyk will announce three of his four picks with the fourth to come after the BMW Championship in two weeks.
The belief among those in the know is Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are locks to be two of Furyk’s four picks. That leaves the other two, one of which DeChambeau probably locked up with his performance Saturday, but can seal if he turns it into a win on Sunday.
Helping DeChambeau’s cause is the fact that Woods, who also happens to be an assistant captain to Furyk, has taken a liking to him and plays a number of practice rounds with him.
Among those nipping at the back of DeChambeau’s golf shoes include Tony Finau, who’s also a prominent possibility as a captain’s pick, having finished 15th on the points list. Finau, who shot 66 on Saturday, is 11-under and five shots behind DeChambeau. Keegan Bradley, who set the tone of the day early with a scorching 9under-par 62, is 12-under for the tournament.
Joining Finau at 11-under is Cameron Smith, a 25-year-old Aussie who shot 65 Saturday. Adam Scott and Billy Horschel are 10-under. Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Adam Hadwin, Chez Reavie, Beau Hossler and Patrick Cantlay are all 9-under.
Sunday will feature a mad Ryder Cup scramble between Finau, who has only one career PGA Tour win (an opposite-field event in Puerto Rico), and DeChambeau, who won the Memorial this year. Finau is the highestranked player on the FedEx Cup points list without a win this year, which is not lost on him.
“I’m hungry,’’ he said. “I’m excited to be in the mix. I look forward to the challenge [Sunday]. If I continue to score the way I have the last three days I’ll have a good chance.’’
For those chasing DeChambeau who might think the deficit is too much, they should consider his finalround meltdown last month at the Porsche European Open in Germany. DeChambeau had a one-shot lead with four holes to play, dropped five shots in those last four and lost by five shots to Richard McEvoy.
“My golf swing was in a different place,’’ DeChambeau said his Germany experience. “If somehow something breaks down [Sunday], I think I’ll have a better understanding of how to bring it back. That’s really what I’ve learned from that situation. It was unfortunate the way everything played out, but same point in time, it was actually a great learning experience all things considered.’’
Sunday surely will be a test of will for DeChambeau and a test Furyk surely will be watching closely to see if he passes. If he does pass the test, DeChambeau will get to experience the Ryder Cup from the other side of the ropes — the right side of the ropes.
“It was a great experience,’’ he said of his Minnesota sojourn. “I hope to a have that in a few weeks.’’