With some free time until the next LIV Golf event, Bryson DeChambeau is headed back to the Nevada desert for a long drive contest.
DeChambeau received a special invitation to the Professional Long Drivers Association World Championships in Mesquite a year ago and wowed the crowds with a 412-yard blast while advancing out of the first round.
Ranked No. 7 in the world at the time and fresh off assisting Team USA win the Ryder Cup, DeChambeau ultimately reached the final eight, where he bashed a ball 406 yards before bowing out.
Now ranked 46th, he’s heading back to Mesquite on the eastern edge of the state near the Arizona border to compete again. And according to a story titled “How Bryson DeChambeau Saved Long Drive Golf” in The New York Times, his presence will be more than welcomed.
Two-time long drive champion Kyle Berkshire, who won the event a year ago, said: “He saved us, that’s for sure.”
Having one of golf’s household names on board the long drive competition certainly elevates the sport.
“Back when I was in college, everyone thought the long drive guys were the clowns of the golf world. That whole perception is changing,” Berkshire told the Times.
DeChambeau, an eight-time PGA Tour winner and the 2020 U.S. Open champion, is among the many golfers who spurned the PGA Tour for the big-money LIV Golf circuit. That cost him his Tour membership as well as a chance to play in events such as the just-concluded Presidents Cup.
But his LIV Golf participation won’t keep him away from his long drive side hustle.
“I actually watched the 2019 world long drive championship, and that’s what inspired me and got me thinking,” DeChambeau said in a recent phone interview with the Times. “These guys were swinging the golf club 40 or 50 miles faster than me, so I thought, what if I could add just 15 percent to my swing speed and use that on tour? That’s how it started, and then I got addicted to hitting it farther and farther.”
The PLDA World Championships start Tuesday with the final set for Saturday. The next LIV Golf Series event is in Thailand, Oct. 7-9.