DeChambeau rallies to win Detroit
After a testy exchange with a cameraman during Saturday’s third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Bryson DeChambeau got into it with Detroit Golf Club on Sunday.
The course took a beating.
So, too, did the field. DeChambeau bludgeoned the mature Motown course and quickly swatted away a three-shot deficit at the start of Sunday en route to his sixth PGA Tour title. He birdied four in his first seven holes in the final round, five of his first 10 and then his last three before signing for a 7-under-par 65 to finish at 23-underpar 265 and three shots clear of 54-hole leader Matthew Wolff.
Arriving in the Motor City as the Tour’s Big Show since play resumed last month – an abundance of yarns have been told about his 40-pound weight gain; massive eye-opening drives; wanting to be a casino and making the odds work in his favor; and his 4,000plus per day calorie intake – he made news because of his chat with a cameraman who he claimed filmed him too long after an angry outburst in a bunker. He later advocated for more privacy and protection for players during the course of play, for any film of players in a bad light could damage their brands.
Well, DeChambeau finally rode his superb play into headlines about winning. The Rocket result was his seventh consecutive top-10 finish but his first win since the 2018 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.
Since golf returned after a 13-week break due to the COVID pandemic, DeChambeau is a Tour-leading 69 under in four events.
“Been a long time coming,” DeChambeau said of his victory. “This is a little emotional for me because I did do something a little different. I changed my body, changed my mindset in the game, and I was able to accomplish a win while playing a completely different style of golf. 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.
“It just takes a lot of hard work, a lot of figuring out things that you may not know and understand yet, but if you keep going down the line and you keep working on it, figuring stuff out, eventually you’ll get a little bit better each and every day and hopefully that leads to something great in the end.”
The man who sports the tam O’Shanter and now XXL golf shirts proved he is not all bulk and muscle as he led the Rocket Mortgage field in Strokes Gained: Putting while averaging a fieldbest 330 yards with his tee shots. On the 72nd hole, his drive went 367 yards and he knocked a wedge from 98 yards to just under 4 feet for his final birdie.
He will move to No. 7 in the official world rankings. DeChambeau also avenged his defeat at the hands of Wolff in last year’s 3M Open in Minnesota, where Wolff, after watching DeChambeau make eagle on the 72nd hole to take a one-shot lead, followed with an eagle of his own from 22 feet to win by one shot.
“It’s really exciting to be able to get the job done here and it’s a lot of momentum for the majors,” he said. “I feel like it’s a good test run for me hitting drives in some tight areas. It gives me a lot of confidence going forward that I’m heading in the right direction with my driving and my game.”
Wolff, who made 24 birdies and an eagle in taking the 54-hole lead, was trying to become, at 21, the youngest winner of two PGA Tour titles since Tiger Woods in 1996. But he was off-kilter on the front nine and turned in 2-over 38. By the eighth hole, his three-shot lead had turned into a three-shot deficit. He roared back on the back nine, however, with four birdies in his last seven holes – he pulled within one shot twice – but missed a few short putts to thwart his rally.
“It was definitely a grind out there,” Wolff said. “Didn’t start off really well at all, wasn’t hitting it how I was the beginning of the week and feel like I was really getting some bad breaks as well, which was pretty unfortunate.
“But overall I’m really happy with where I’m at right now. Bryson played great; 7 under, you know, it’s not like I gave it to him, he definitely earned it. Kudos to him. I’m looking to get another win in the near future, but I’m in a really good spot mentally and with my game right now, so I’m not looking at this week as a disappointment in any sense.”
Wolff finished with a 71. Kevin Kisner, after missing his past two cuts, raced home with a 66 to finish at 18 under and in third place. Danny Willett (66), Adam Hadwin (67), Tyrrell Hatton (68) and Ryan Armour (72) wound up at 16 under and in fourth place.