Bryson DeChambeau usually has a lot on his plate – literally and figuratively – but even for the man who loves to go down rabbit holes, a host of issues he’s dealing with heading into the 149th British Open will severely test him.
Start with his memory. In his last major, he went from leading the tournament with nine holes to play to finishing in a tie for 26th after imploding en route to taking 44 strokes on the back nine at Torrey Pines in the U.S. Open last month.
Move to the breakup. In his most recent start on the PGA Tour, his longtime caddie, Tim Tucker, bailed on him on the eve of the Rocket Mortgage Classic and the world No. 6 missed the cut and refused to speak to the media.
Now consider his history. In his only three starts in the oldest championship in golf, he missed the cut in 2017 and 2019 and tied for 51st in 2018.
Oh, and he’s moving into a new house. And let’s not forget his ongoing public discord with Brooks Koepka that is rattling social media on many fronts.
DeChambeau doesn’t like to live in a world of controversy and conflict but he’ll deal with it and continue to press forward best he ca.
“Everybody is human. We all make mistakes and things happen,” he said Tuesday at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England. “We have emotion. Somebody that thrives in controversy, I don’t even think it’s about that.
“For me, I’m somebody that doesn’t necessarily like controversy. I just like doing my own thing. Do I like showcasing something unique and different? Yeah, but I guess what comes with that is controversy, and I guess that’s something that I don’t necessarily deal the best with sometimes. At the end of the day I try to do the best.
“I’m trying to become better at it.”
DeChambeau’s most pressing concerns ahead of Thursday’s first round are twofold – he needs to adapt to links golf and match up with a new caddie.
DeChambeau said he and Tucker are good and remain friends and could work together again in the future. DeChambeau had Cobra-Puma equipment rep Ben Schomin on the bag for the Rocket Mortgage. This week he has Brian Zeigler, an instructor at Dallas National who works with Chris Como, DeChambeau’s coach.
“It’s certainly throwing him into the deep end,” DeChambeau said. “He’s OK with it. He loves it. We’ve been doing really good together. It’s provided me an opportunity to be in a different state of mind with Brian. He’s a different individual and a very hard worker, somebody that I have high regard for and respect for, as well as Tim.
“I would say that he’s still learning the ropes a little bit, which is expected on any end when you have somebody new that’s really never caddied before, but I wanted somebody on the bag that I could trust as much as I did with Tim, and I think that’s why he fit the place so well. It’s going to take probably a few weeks, but so far, he’s done super well and I’m proud of him for taking this role.”
As for his Open record, this will be the first time the enlarged DeChambeau will tackle a links with his heightened, high-octane speed.
“The times I’ve played in the British Opens in the past, I think they’ve been a little wet and windy. I usually struggle with that in general,” he said. “Hopefully if we get a little bit of a dry week, I can get the wind under control in my brain and hopefully I can have a good week.
“I love links golf. I’ve shot low numbers over here before, but it’s about putting it together for four rounds and making sure my game is pretty repeatable. The thing is you can’t miss it out here very often. If you do, you’re in the hay and it’s not easy to get out of. This is the first time I’ve taken my length to links golf. We’ll see how that plays. Maybe it plays out this week; maybe it doesn’t.
“I’ll keep trying to figure it out.”