CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | At a moment when Bryson DeChambeau probably wanted to be anyplace else, he stood outside the scoring area late Sunday afternoon to congratulate Scottie Scheffler on his five-stroke victory in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
Whether it was frustration, bewilderment or some combination of both, it was visible on DeChambeau’s suntanned face after he finished tied for second with Harris English and Davis Riley and tried to make sense of how something that felt so close also seemed so far away.
“I’m baffled right now. Just felt like things just didn’t go my way this week. Drove it really well. I drove it as good as I can, as of right now, I gave myself a good chance. I just felt like a couple breaks went a different way,” DeChambeau said.
“There were times where I feel like I pressed. Green Mile did it to me yesterday and kind of did it to me again today, and that’s golf, man.”
Late in Saturday’s third round, DeChambeau was pushing Scheffler until he bogeyed the 16th hole then double-bogeyed the 17th, making his Sunday task more difficult.
He was still close enough late Sunday to believe he could possibly force a playoff but it didn’t happen, ending with a bogey that cost him solo second. The real damage was done when DeChambeau failed to birdie the reachable par-5 10th, then bogeyed the 13th, effectively ending his chances.
“I’ve got a dozen shots I could look back at and be like, man, that could have been way different. And we’re looking at a different story,” DeChambeau said.
“Another top five. Always proud to [finish] top five in a major. I feel like I’m playing good when I’m doing that but I mean, it’s disappointing not to get the job done because that’s what I came here to do.”
After fighting with his swing at the Masters last month, DeChambeau had more control at Quail Hollow, where he led the field in strokes gained off the tee and was joint second in strokes gained overall. But the edge was missing, the little things that could have made the difference.
There was a moment on Saturday afternoon when DeChambeau had a share of the lead with Jon Rahm and Scheffler, suggesting a titanic showdown on Sunday. Rahm played his part, at least until the closing holes, but DeChambeau struggled to get into the fight in the final round.
With a T5 at the Masters and a second consecutive runner-up at the PGA Championship, DeChambeau will go to the U.S. Open at Oakmont with great expectations in his title defense.
“I felt like I had the game to win this week, and the golf course suited me pretty well, missed a few putts coming down the stretch and got a little unlucky in this great game of golf. It kind of is what it is. I’m sure you heard me out there really baffled quite a bit,” DeChambeau said.
“It was a good fight, good battle, take a lot from it. It’s just burning a bigger fire in my belly.”
Ron Green Jr.