Bryson DeChambeau secured his second win of the 2020-21 season Sunday night as he held on for a one-stroke victory over Lee Westwood at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. DeChambeau was one of just three players to fire an under-par round on Sunday as firm, fast and blustery conditions ballooned scores.
It’s the second time DeChambeau has prevailed under the toughest of conditions since he revamped his game — the other being during his U.S. Open triumph at Winged Foot — and the performance illustrates how valuable strength and high swing speeds are on those types of setups. While many have called for lengthening the courses, and the rough, to combat bombers, it seems that those setups are actually advantageous to someone like DeChambeau.
“If you make the golf course super difficult in regard to the fairway width and you grow the rough up, long hitters are still going to have an advantage,” DeChambeau said. “They’re going to be the ones that are the farthest up and they’re going to be the ones that can hit a wedge out of the rough on to the green.”
Long holes, thick rough
Making courses long and gnarly only make it more difficult on the shorter hitters. When they miss the fairway, they’re left with a mid-to-long iron in their hand which is difficult to hit on the green. When DeChambeau misses the fairway, he has a shorter club that is easier to chop out and onto the green.
Another element of DeChambeau’s game that gives him a huge advantage on courses with U.S. Open-like setups is his bag configuration — specifically his single-length clubs. With all of his clubs being the same length, his wedges are longer than a typical wedge. Because of this added length, he can generate more swing speed. This is a huge advantage for being able to chop the ball out of the rough, and to get the ball spinning when it comes out of the thick stuff.
But even with these advantages on difficult setups, the determining factor on whether or not he will win is his putting. When DeChambeau is rolling the ball well, he’s tough to beat.
“I think that [putting] is a very underrated aspect of my game,” he said. “The putting was relatively easy for me, as it had been all week, and I’ve been putting great since I’ve went to the Sik putter and everything. So I’ve been putting really great.”
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