Bryson DeChambeau has long been an enigmatic figure in the golf world, but now the 27-year-old is a major champion.
DeChambeau won the 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot, finishing the week six under and as the only player under par. Curious to know more about Bryson? We’re glad you asked. Here are 12 reasons he’s the most interesting player in golf.
1. He became obsessed with Homer Kelley’s 1969 book, “The Golfing Machine.” When he was 15 he borrowed a copy from swing coach Mike Schy. That’s where DeChambeau learned about customized swing planes and using a stroke without variation. It led to his revolutionary single-length irons.
2. He won the NCAA individual title and U.S. Amateur title in the same year (just the fifth player ever to do that) and he was a hot commodity before he turned pro. When he signed with Cobra Puma Golf at 22 years old, Cobra’s VP of R&D Tom Olsavsky called it “the Bryson recruiting lottery.”
3. This interview:
4. He’s right-handed, but he can write his name backwards with his left hand. Sounds simple, sure. But can you do it?
5. He loves Fortnite. He’ll log on to Twitch and stream the action often. So if you ever need a game, go find Bryson (his Twitch username is TheBadOne23).
6. He was a math wiz at a young age. During the final-round broadcast of Sunday’s U.S. Open, analyst Paul Azinger said DeChambeau’s parents said that he understood algebra at age 6.
7. He experimented with side-saddle putting for a few months beginning in 2016, which involves facing the hole and using a pendulum stroke with the putter. There was some controversy around it and the USGA eventually deemed his putter to be non-conforming.
Inside Bryson DeChambeau’s Saturday-night range session at the U.S. Open
8. At the end of 2019 he said he wanted to get way bigger and hit the ball a lot father. And he kept his word. DeChambeau went from about 195 pounds to more than 240 in the middle of the summer. His epic drives have since, as you are probably well aware, gained lots of attention.
9. He’s known for his Hogan flat cap — although he never wears it during practice rounds, only tournament rounds.
10. Speaking of his weight gain, he has to work out and eat a lot to keep it all on. Like, a lot of food. He has seven protein shakes a day. Here’s his diet, as he broke down at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit this summer (which he won):
“I would say that in the mornings I usually have four eggs, five pieces of bacon, some toast and two [Orgain] protein shakes. Throughout the course of the day, I’ll have a GoMacro bar here and there, I’ll have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I’ll have another protein drink, I’ll have at least two protein drinks on the golf course, at every six holes, and then after the round I’ll have one.”
“After that,” he continued. “I’m snacking when I’m practicing after. Go back to the hotel, eat a dinner, steak, potatoes. I’ll have two protein shakes with it there as well. So I’m consuming around, I’d say, around six to seven of those Orgain protein shakes a day now where I used to be two or three. With the weight up, I just had to consume a lot more. Luckily, I like the taste of those shakes so I can take those pretty easily.”
He estimates that he consumes about 3,000 to 3,500 calories a day.
11. His putter (6 degrees) has more loft than his driver (5.5 degrees).
12. When the Rules of Golf were revised in 2019, putting with the flagstick in was a hot topic. DeChambeau was one of the few who immediately embraced it. “It depends on the COR, the coefficient of restitution of the flagstick,” he told GOLF.com in November 2018, before the rule came into effect. “In U.S. Opens, I’ll take it out, and every other Tour event, when it’s fiberglass, I’ll leave it in and bounce that ball against the flagstick if I need to.”
