Bryson DeChambeau is known for bombing long drives, but a rocket he unleashed during The Match 4 may top all the rest.
The mammoth 17th hole (it was the 8th hole during The Match) at Moonlight Basin measures at a gawdy 777 yards. However, the scorecard yardage is a bit deceiving as the course sits at roughly 7,500 feet above sea level, and the tee shot features a 280-foot drop. It was the perfect stage for a potential 500-yard drive.
The key to hitting the ball over 500 yards is keeping the ball in the fairway and clearing a small fairway bunker in the middle of the short grass. Phil Mickelson’s ball found the pesky bunker after “giving it all [he’s] got,” and DeChambeau was up next.
Like he’s done so many times in the last two years, he took a mighty lash at the ball and sent it soaring into the beautiful Montana sky. The ball-speed indicator on the screen read 198 mph as the ball reached its apex — this ball was smoked.
“That is amazing!” exclaimed Mickelson. “Good heavens.”
As the ball came back down from orbit, it landed on the downslope and took off down the massive ski-slope-like fairway. But just before it could reach the 500-yard mark, it was caught up in the rough.
Watch the entire sequence below.
DeChambeau, ever the showman, was understandably disappointed that he couldn’t eclipse the 500-yard mark on camera, so he took a mulligan. Unfortunately, his do-over was pulled left from the start and never had a chance to find the fairway.
A 500-yard drive will have to wait another day.
