Bryson DeChambeau leans on Erin Hills experience ahead of U.S. Open
TOWN OF ERIN - If it wasn't apparent by his laughs and jokes after striping tee shot after tee shot in Monday's practice round, Bryson DeChambeau admitted he felt comfortable around Erin Hills.
And for good reason.
The 23-year-old is the only player in the U.S. Open field to have won a competitive event at the course, something he did back in 2014 at the Erin Hills Intercollegiate tournament hosted by Marquette University.
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"That's funny. That's pretty cool," DeChambeau said, "but this is the U.S. Open. The rough is a little longer and the greens are a little bit more tricky than they were then.”
Not only did DeChambeau win that collegiate tournament in 2014, but before that he played two rounds at Erin Hills in the 2011 U.S. Amateur and then in the aforementioned Marquette-hosted tournament in 2013.
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As a sophomore at Southern Methodist University in 2013, DeChambeau placed third in the Intercollegiate and a situation in the final round sparked controversy.
Playing with fellow Tour pro Patrick Rodgers — who will not be playing in this week’s 117th playing of America’s championship — DeChambeau set up to a ball on hole No. 10, but then pushed his foot into a divot because it felt uneven in his stance.
“I didn’t feel like it was placed back all the way, so I just kind of went like this,” DeChambeau said, squishing his left foot to the right.
Ultimately, it was spotted by someone in a cart and he was charged a two-stroke penalty for improving his stance. At the time, DeChambeau trailed Rodgers by two.
"It was difficult to focus," he said at the time. "My mind was somewhere else. It's unfortunate but that's the Rules of Golf and that's golf. You've got to get past that and be able to focus and hit the next shot and I wasn't able to do that, unfortunately."
Tim Tucker, now DeChambeau’s caddie, wasn't on the bag when DeChambeau won the tournament the following year, yet he's noticed how loose DeChambeau has been through two days.
“It’s great. He’s knows exactly where he needs to go,” Tucker said walking off of the seventh tee box, “and it’s going to give him more confidence. I’m just the monkey.”
DeChambeau quipped: “The fat monkey.”
The two chuckled.
DeChambeau has become somewhat of a lightning rod since turning professional in 2016. The former physics major at SMU modeled his game after reading books: "The Golfing Machine," by Homer Kelley, and "Vector Putting," by H.A. Templeton.
All of DeChambeau's irons are the same length.
Last year, without his tour card, DeChambeau qualified for the U.S. Open and tied for 15th. In September, he won the DAP Championship on the Web.com Tour, which earned him a spot on the 2017 PGA Tour.
Then came January and then came the side-saddle saga.
DeChambeau attempted a side-saddle putting method with an obscure putter in December. In January, the USGA ruled the club was not permitted, to which DeChambeau responded in a comment to Golf Digest: "They’re not a good organization, and you can quote me on that. I’m part of their family and as family it’s very frustrating to see them stunt the growth of the game.”
Looking back on it all, DeChambeau said "it's been a long journey.”
“I’m still working and figuring things out and people are going to criticize me for what I do, but I’m just going to keep chugging along and do my absolute best.”
After qualifying last weekend in Columbus, Ohio, DeChambeau arrived Saturday night and played nine holes on Sunday. He said he loves the course — when he hits it straight.
“You’ve just got to hit it straight,” DeChambeau said. “The next part is obviously being a great iron player, but you can utilize the contours of these greens to help out a little bit with that.”
DeChambeau hopes his experience helps, too.
“I can’t wait," DeChambeau said. "It’s going to be a great test. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”