ROCHESTER, NY — About the only thing Bryson DeChambeau has transformed him more than his golf swing over the course of his career has been his body. After swelling to hit the ball off the tee a few years ago, DeChambeau has downsized considerably to conserve energy.
That change, along with another series, finally led to some positive results in the opening round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club on Thursday. DeChambeau had six birdies and two bogeys and took the early lead with a 4-under 66.
“The feelings fluctuated very high, very low, thinking I had something and I failed and I just went back and forth,” said Dechambeau, a former fourth player who has since slipped to No. 214 in the Official World Golf Ranking. “It’s humbling. Golf, life, always [has] A good way to kick you for what you know when you’re on your high horse. It’s good to feel this day.”
DeChambeau, who says he weighs between 210 and 215 pounds, changed his diet from eating 5,000 calories a day to about 2,900. He stopped eating foods that fuel his body, including corn, wheat, gluten, and dairy. DeChambeau said he lost 18 pounds in 24 days after starting the diet in August.
“It was crazy,” Dechambeau said. “It wasn’t fat. It was all water weight. You know how I used to look. I wasn’t skinny.”
Those weren’t the only changes Dechambeau made in his life. The 2020 US Open champion jumped from the PGA Tour to LIV Golf, where he captained the Crushers GC. He changed his equipment company, as well as his can trainer and seesaw.
By increasing power and swing speed, DeChambeau once believed he could beat professional golf with brute force. He once boasted that Augusta National Golf Club, site of the Masters, was a par-67 course because of the distance he hit balls from the tee. He has entered national long drive competitions and has performed well.
Even after losing significant weight, DeChambeau averaged 313.3 yards from the tee on Thursday, which ranked sixth in the field as he finished his run. He was gaining approximately 2.5 hits in the field after hitting nine of 14 passes.
For 18 holes, at least, DeChambeau wasn’t just hitting it far, he was hitting it straight, which isn’t something he’d always done in the past.
“That was the most surprising part because I’m used to hitting him everywhere,” DeChambeau said. “Look, it might happen tomorrow. I don’t think it will, but I feel really confident. Golf is a weird animal. You can’t quite have it like Arnie (Arnold Palmer) said. You always thought you got it one day, and then the next it’s gone. You just have to. Be careful “.
DeChambeau’s other parts of the game looked good in the first round, too. He hit 15 of the 18 greens and was gaining more than 2 hits in the outfield.
“He looked like Bryson to me,” said Keegan Bradley, who played for Dechambeau on Thursday and shot a 2-under 68. “It’s good to see him. He was smashing drives again, he played golf pretty much.”
Often called “the scientist” because of his degree in physics from Southern Methodist, DeChambeau said he might finally be done experimenting with his body and playing it.
“I want to be stable now,” he said. “I’m tired of changing, trying different things. Yeah, can I hit it a little bit more? Can I try to get a little bit stronger? Sure. But I’m not going to try my best. It’s been great… Shoot, now I can hit.” With a 200-yard par that’s 8 ft. So it’s an asset, and it was a fun experience, but I definitely want to play some good golf now.”