Dechambeau eyes the 2022 Scottish Open in bid for ‘golden ticket’
Bryson Dechambeau hinted he will almost certainly be making his Scottish Open debut next year as he bids to get his hands on a “golden ticket” in the 150th Open at St Andrews.
The American finally looked as though he had got to grips with links golf as he closed with a bogey-free five-under-par 65 at Royal St George’s in his fourth appearance in the Claret Jug event.
His next outing in the game’s oldest major will be on the Old Course and, in a bid to get himself properly prepared for that assignment, the preceding Scottish Open is definitely on his radar.
“Yes, absolutely,” he replied to being asked if he was tempted to add the Rolex Series event, which will almost certainly be played at The Renaissance Club for the fourth year in row, to his 2022 schedule.
“This year was a little interesting. I didn’t really know what to do with schedules. But, hopefully, I can come next year and try to play and get acclimated earlier so I can have a better chance going into the Open and hopefully I can hold up the Claret Jug. That would be awesome.”
According to Gary Player, inset, big-hitting Dechambeau could potentially drive nine greens at St Andrews, the South African fearing the iconic venue will be made to look “obsolete”.
Looking ahead to the milestone edition, Dechambeau
said: “I’ve never played it and I’m really forward to seeing what I can do next year. If I candriveitreallywell,ithink there’s a lot of opportunities. I’ve heard that. So, hey, maybe next year is the golden ticket for me.”
Having been at the centre of attention for the wrong reasons at the start of the week after saying that his Cobra driver “sucks”, the 2020 US Open champion was pleased to sign off on a high note in Sandwich.
“Whenever you shoot five under at a major championship, especially at the Open Championship when I’m not used to it and have played American golf my whole life, it’s great to get something under my belt ahead of next year,” he said.
“I felt like I understand a little bit more on how to play Open Championship-style golf and it’s just about trying to get a little better on the greens. I could have shot eight or nine under. It could have been a deep one. But I’m proud of the fact I got five under and I will learn a lot from this round for next year. “I don’t think I will ever figure out the whole ins and outs of Open golf, but hopefully one year I can get some of the right breaks going for me and being really good with all facets of my game and give myself a great chance to win an Open Championship.
“It’s just strategy. Learning to play from certain parts of the fairways, so I can get to certain pins effectively. I didn’t do that too much the few days, but still started to learn on Saturday and felt pretty comfortable, even with the wind switching.
“It’s was cool (today) to see the way I navigated around the golf course and just picked it out where I could and picked it apart.”