Bryson DeChambeau’s Thrilling PGA Championship Comeback Falls Short
Sportsgrid Staff
Host · Writer
The putt that barely toppled in on the 18th hole. The tee shot on No. 16 that hit a tree but fortuitously careened back into the fairway. The chip-ins from off the green, the fist pumps in the air, and the fist bumps with the fans.
Bryson DeChambeau put on the kind of show, and caught the sort of breaks, that make players larger than life and sometimes win them major titles. Yet somehow, when he looked up at the scoreboard for the last time Sunday at the PGA Championship, his name was stuck in second place.
One of golf’s most entertaining characters, DeChambeau, trickled in his final putt for a birdie to close out a thrilling round of 7-under 64—tied for the best of the day—putting him in a tie for the lead at 20-under par.
Half an hour later, Xander Schauffele made a birdie from virtually the same angle—his putt lipped halfway around the cup before falling in—to break the tie, set the all-time major scoring record, and capture his first major.
DeChambeau left not with a shiny new trophy, but with the bright spots from his electrifying performance at Valhalla.
“I gave it my all,” he said. “I put as much effort as I possibly could into it and I knew that my ‘B’ game would be enough. It’s just clearly somebody (else) played incredibly well.”
Warming up for a potential playoff, DeChambeau stood with his hands on his hips, staring at the big board near the driving range, watching Schauffele’s winning putt drop. Once it did, DeChambeau turned quickly and exited stage left, making his way to 18 to congratulate the winner.
“I seriously thought 18 was going to do it," DeChambeau said. “Then when I saw what Xander was doing, it’s like, ‘Man, he’s playing some unbelievable golf.’”
The 2020 U.S. Open remains DeChambeau’s only major title, but golf fans won’t soon forget the charge he put on, the fun he had with the fans, and the exhilarating near-miss in another heart-stopper at Valhalla.
Schauffele admitted he would have been the underdog had the tournament gone into extra holes.
“I really did not want to go into a playoff with Bryson," he said. “Going up 18 with his length, it’s not something that I was going to have a whole lot of fun with.”
DeChambeau’s most memorable moments came on 16 and 18. On 16, DeChambeau was shouting “Fore!” when he hooked his tee shot deep into the woods to the left of the fairway. It pinballed among the trees, then landed 221 yards from the pin in the fairway.
He pulled 8-iron and stuck the shot to 3 feet, taking a monster step forward, waving his arms, then leaning forward and putting his hands on his knees, urging the ball to do exactly what it did—land and stop for his easiest birdie putt of the day.
Needing a birdie on 18 to tie Schauffele, DeChambeau teed off into an awkward lie in a bunker to the left of the fairway but punched a 6-iron out to the first cut of rough to the left of the green.
The chip stopped 10 feet away and the ensuing putt didn’t look like it had enough steam. On the very last revolution, it tumbled in. DeChambeau pulled the ball from the hole, jabbed his fist in the air, then fist-bumped fans on his way off the course and back to the driving range.
Only a day before, DeChambeau set the stage on 18 when he used a 6-iron from 10 yards off the green to chip in for eagle. It vaulted him to two shots out of the lead and was a hint of things to come.
Once one of the most divisive characters in pro golf, DeChambeau has cut down on the weight lifting and toned down the “Mad Scientist” act that first propelled him into the spotlight. (Though he’s still big on cutting-edge equipment’s major role in his game.)
He has moved to LIV Golf. This performance, combined with two other top-10 finishes in majors over the last 12 months, is helping quiet any talk that the LIV players can’t compete at the highest level.
He is honing his persona on YouTube—manufacturing plenty of followers online and fans at the course.
On one of golf’s biggest stages, he delivered some much-needed drama and good times for a sport at a crossroads. The best news for DeChambeau and his fans: He’s confident there’s more to come.
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