Bryson DeChambeau is many things. The moniker of The Scientist has followed him through his career and he is also an influencer with more than 2.4 million subscribers on YouTube. As we’ve seen on the practise range here at Bethpage, he is also quite the showman.
He couldn’t help himself the other day. De Chambeau was urged on by the crowds on the temporary driving range after one of the jumbo-sized screens posted the distances of that day’s longest carries. Rory McIlroy led the way at 335 yards.
Eventually, DeChambeau passed out McIlroy with a couple of 340-yard carries. Not yet satisfied, he kept going and eventually recorded a carry of 361 yards that had the American high-fiving members of his team.
DeChambeau hasn’t ruled out attempting to drive the dogleg right par-four opening hole of 397 yards. However, the risk – his line of sight blocked out by mature trees – would likely be too great. This will be illustrated by most players, who will hit tee shots beyond the elbow and leave just a lob wedge in.
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Still, DeChambeau’s presence on the US team is impressive in itself. The LIV Golf player managed to accumulate sufficient points through his performances in the Major championships. He has been embraced by the other 11 PGA Tour players at the Ryder Cup. They believe his X-factor and role as a crowd pleaser could make a difference to the outcome.
“This is his arena. If he views himself as a gladiator golfer, this is as good as it gets,” said Xander Schauffele of DeChambeau. US captain Keegan Bradley, for his part, described him as a “a really fiery player”, adding: “When you come to a Ryder Cup, you don’t want guys to try to be something they’re not. We have a lot of calm, mellow guys, so we need the energy from Bryson.”
DeChambeau was a member of the losing team in Paris in 2018 and the winning USA team at Whistling Straits in 2021. He missed out on qualifying for Rome in 2023.
Of missing out two years ago, he said: “It sucked. I wanted to be there. I didn’t play well enough in the Majors. I knew what I was up against when I went to LIV. That’s a whole other conversation. But still wanted to make the team and wasn’t able to. Seeing the guys lose really put a fire in my stomach and I wanted to make the team this time around.
“I want to be a part of this team and be the most helpful person I can for this team in whatever way possible that is. The words really aren’t there right now to explain how passionate I am about this USA team and how good I think we are and how positive we are and how encouraging we are . . . how inspiring we are.”
He praised Bradley for bringing the USA team “together like possibly no other captains have done in the history”.
Such hyperbole is part of who he is. Thing is, he can live up to the hype.
As a friend and supporter of Donald Trump, DeChambeau believes the US president’s appearance at Bethpage – scheduled for day one with the possibility of a return on Sunday – will also be of benefit to the home team.
”I hope he will inspire us to victory. I think he’ll be a great force for us to get a lot of people on our side. I think it will be interesting and exciting to see how the crowd and everybody reacts. It’s going to be an electric environment.”
