Bryson DeChambeau’s unorthodox style got major validation on Sunday, as the power-driving “mad scientist” of the PGA Tour claimed the US Open by a definitive six-stroke margin and silenced the skeptics.
Since he unveiled his single-length set of clubs at the start of his professional career, the former physics major has embarked on a one-man mission to revolutionize golf, facing plenty of doubts in a sport where tradition is valued above all else.
His most recent experiment was perhaps his most ambitious yet: a physical transformation that saw the 27-year-old pack on about 14kg of muscle with a high calorie diet and hours spent at the gym during the PGA Tour hiatus this year to add jaw-dropping velocity to his drive.
Photo: AFP
“I all of a sudden got a lot stronger, worked out every day, been working out every day, and all of a sudden — not because of clubs, but because of me, I was able to gain 20, 25 yards,” said DeChambeau after winning his maiden major title over fellow American Matthew Wolff.
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy, who finished tied for eighth place at Winged Foot Golf Club, told reporters that he was initially skeptical that DeChambeau’s hard-charging approach would work in the long term, after playing with him at Colonial in June.
“I sort of said: ‘OK, wait until he gets to a proper golf course, he’ll have to rein it back in,’” McIlroy said. “This is as proper as they come, and look what’s happened. Yeah, he’s got full belief in what he’s doing and it’s pretty impressive.”
Unlike some of his past experiments — including his now-banned on-course compass and the “side-saddle” putting technique he tried and quickly abandoned in 2017 — DeChambeau told reporters his new approach was here to stay as he aims to add more muscle before the Masters in November.
“I think I’m definitely changing the way people think about the game. Now, whether you can do it, that’s a whole different situation. There’s a lot of people that are going to be hitting it far,” said DeChambeau, who plans to try out a 1.2m driver next week. “There’s a lot of young guns that are unbelievable players, and I think the next generation that’s coming up into golf hopefully will see this and go: ‘Hey, I can do that, too.’”
The Rakuten Monkeys on Sunday downed the CTBC Brothers 2-1, handing the hosts their second consecutive loss in the best-of-seven CPBL Taiwan Series at the Taipei Dome. Monkeys’ ace starter Pedro Fernandez of the Dominican Republic dominated on the mound, cruising through six scoreless innings before giving up a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. He gave up only three hits and walked two batters in a 93-pitch outing, giving his Taoyuan-based team an edge. Offensively, the Monkeys’ leadoff batter Lin Li hit Brothers starter Brandon Leibrandt’s pitch over the center-field wall in the game’s first at-bat,
Rafael Leao on Sunday shot AC Milan to the top of Serie A with a brace in a 2-1 win over ACF Fiorentina who were enraged by the “scandalous” awarding of the penalty that decided the game. Portugal winger Leao pushed Milan one point ahead of local rivals Inter, SSC Napoli and AS Roma with a coolly taken spot-kick, given for what looked like a soft foul on Santiago Gimenez by Fabiano Parisi, with four minutes remaining. That goal capped a fine first league start of the season for Leao and came after he drew the hosts level with a brilliantly struck
Barcelona star Lamine Yamal would be motivated by criticism ahead of the Clasico, Barcelona assistant coach Marcus Sorg said yesterday. Teenage winger Yamal has been in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after joking that Real Madrid “steal” and “complain” during an appearance on a social media stream. Champions Barca face Real Madrid today in La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu, looking for a fifth consecutive win over their rivals. “Lamine is a top player and I think [the criticism] will be motivating for him,” Sorg told a news conference. “I hope we all see him tomorrow [give] the best performance.” The 18-year-old Spain
Sean Dyche on Thursday achieved in his first game with Nottingham Forest what predecessor Ange Postecoglou could not in eight matches in charge: Win. Under its new coach, Nottingham Forest presented a concentrated display resulting in a 2-0 victory over Porto in the UEFA Europa League. It was the first victory for Nottingham in the competition and only the second overall this season, while Porto were defeated for the first time this season. Morgan Gibbs-White converted from the penalty spot in the 19th minute at the City Ground in West Bridgford, England. Igor Jesus doubled the advantage from another penalty in the 77th
RSS