NEWS FROM THE TOUR VANS
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Once the top headline producer in Range Rat, Bryson DeChambeau went into the wilderness.
From 2018 to 2021, DeChambeau finished the year in the top five of the Official World Golf Ranking on three occasions and won eight times, including at the 2020 U.S. Open. His gear exploits during that stretch were nothing short of legendary.
Whether he was spritzing water on golf balls during practice sessions, constantly rotating through drivers (that he sometimes disparaged), downing six protein shakes per day in an effort to test the limits of ball speed or implementing single-length irons, DeChambeau has provided enough equipment-related entertainment to sustain this column for years. He has even breached USGA rules, such as when his side-saddle putter or use of a drawing compass to mark hole locations were deemed non-conforming.
But DeChambeau became the forgotten man in 2022. By the time he announced his departure for LIV Golf on June 10, he had missed four cuts on the PGA Tour, his best finish a tie for 25th among 38 players in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He fell to No. 29 in the world at that point and has since plummeted to No. 96 given the lack of world-ranking points available at LIV. Even in six LIV starts, his best finish in the 48-man fields was a tie for eighth at Rich Harvest Farms. Last week at the Saudi International, DeChambeau shot 7-over 147 and missed the cut by seven strokes.
The man who once claimed Augusta National was a par 67 due to his tremendous length off the tee has now gone winless in 31 starts, dating to the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Physical difficulties are part of the reason why. DeChambeau underwent surgery last April to repair the fractured hook of a hamate bone in his left wrist, experienced dramatic weight loss – including a drop of 18 pounds in less than a month in August – and discovered food sensitivities to wheat, gluten, dairy, rice, corn and egg products. After a comprehensive MRI, doctors explained that DeChambeau had a retention cyst in his sinus that amounted to a chronic sinus infection, restricting air flow through his nose. That required surgery in December.
Now DeChambeau claims he is in the best shape of his career.
“My energy level is so much better,” DeChambeau told Mike McAllister for LIVGolf.com. “My clarity of thought is way better. I don’t know if you can tell, but my speech is a lot more fluent and I’m not stopping as much or pitching as much like I used to last year and before. I feel like I’m back to 2018 me.”
He is also back to creating gear headlines.
DeChambeau was seen using a TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus driver this week in Saudi Arabia. A Cobra staffer since turning pro in 2016, DeChambeau was still on the brand’s site as of Thursday before being taken off by Friday. Cobra executives confirmed that his contract expired at the end of 2022 and was not renewed. He is still in Cobra-Puma apparel and using Cobra irons, but he is no longer an official staff member.
Once a man on a mission to break speed barriers, DeChambeau told McAllister that he is no longer interested in pushing the limits of ball speed.
“Technology is not up to par with the way golfers can perform at high speeds,” DeChambeau said. “Anything over 185 mph – good luck trying to control it right now.
“We’re still on a pursuit to (see) who can make a driver that can work it at 200 (mph ball speed) anywhere and everywhere on the face and still goes in the fairway. When that day comes, that’s going to be eye-opening for a lot of individuals because they will be optimizing ball speeds at 195, which can fly 360 yards. And that’s going to change the game forever. But we’re not there yet.”
It appears we’re in store for a lot of gear changes with DeChambeau, now a free agent. Bridgestone dropped him last July after his move to LIV, and he is currently playing a Titleist Pro V1x Left Dash. He was also seen using Project X shafts instead of LA Golf shafts – a signature product which he spent considerable time testing.
Where he goes from here is a mystery.
For Range Rat’s sake, we hope it isn’t further into the wilderness.