Bryson DeChambeau in no mood to play as he responds to ‘nightmare’ dig
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Bryson DeChambeau cut a forlorn figure as he was asked about criticism in his Ryder Cup press conference. He’ll need to block out the negativity if he’s to live up to his promises…
It’s been a rollercoaster week already for Bryson DeChambeau. But did you really expect anything else from golf’s content king?
Let’s just remind ourselves of the timeline.
In July, at the Happy Gilmore 2 premiere, People asked DeChambeau about going up against Rory McIlroy at the Ryder Cup. “I’ll be chirping in his ear if we go up against each other, you can be sure of it.”
McIlroy was asked about the comments by The Guardian’s Ewan Murray, who sat down with the grand slammer at the season-ending Tour Championship. “I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people,” The Masters champion replied. “That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others.”
Then, on the ground at Bethpage and head to toe in Team USA colors, DeChambeau responded to McIlroy.
“All I’m trying to do is inspire kids on YouTube,” he said. “We have amassed quite a big audience on YouTube and I’m continuing to focus on that train of thought, and whatever Rory says and whatnot, granted I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m excited. I hope we can have some good banter back and forth.”
That led to DeChambeau finding himself in Brandel Chamblee’s crosshairs.
“I thought it was pretty pointed there when he [was] asked about the retort of Rory, that he didn’t mention the goal this week of a Ryder Cup,” the outspoken Golf Channel pundit said. “Nope, he didn’t do that. He didn’t talk about playing on a team and how much that meant. Nope, didn’t do that. What he did do was talk about his YouTube channel, which, you know, if we want to talk about the numbers that are generated from that, it’s pretty dubious. I have no doubt bots are generating a lot of those views. There may be some interest as well. But that’s what he wants to talk about. Not the team, not the Ryder Cup.”
He continued: “It’s one of the reasons why I think he’s going to be such a difficult person to get paired with. No doubt he’s one hell of a golfer. No doubt he has his moments of generosity with fans – I have heard about them. But he’s an odd duck when he’s trying to blend in with the team, and he has so many potential bulletin-board mistakes. I think he would be a captain’s nightmare.”
(It’s worth noting here that Keegan Bradley said this to Sports Illustrated long before DeChambeau had qualified for his team: “Bryson is going to be a very important piece to us winning the Ryder Cup. He brings so much. He brings energy, passion but most importantly, he’s one of the best players on the planet.”)
While signing autographs for hundreds of kids screaming his name, the 32-year-old joked: “Did Brandel say something?”
And when he was asked about it in his pre-tournament press conference, he was a bit more thoughtful in his answer. But he didn’t seem to want to see the funny side any more.
“I think it’s great,” he said, somewhat unconvincingly. “I think any time that people can throw stuff at me like that, I enjoy it. I appreciate it. I think it’s good, ultimately, for the game of golf because it starts to spur conversation on.”
Responding directly to Chamblee’s YouTube dig, he added: “You have to be verified to be able to subscribe and whatnot, so I don’t think it’s really that honest or true. But it is what it is. I mean, any time you can say something like that and create more buzz for the game of golf, it’s great.”
But while he brushed it off, it doesn’t take a psychology expert to see that DeChambeau is hurting. To cop the flak from afar while playing on LIV is one thing, to cop it here, at Bethpage, from a fellow American, while pulling on the red, white and blue is a whole different ball game.
“I’m one that can get down on myself, but over course of my career I’ve learned to curb that and learned how to use that and turn it into positive momentum,” the two-time US Open champion explained.
After The Open at Royal Portrush, DeChambeau promised American fans that he would “bring a lot of energy and a tsunami of a crowd that’s going to be rooting for Team USA”.
“This year’s no joke,” he added. “We’re tired of it. We’re tired of losing.”
Fast forward to Ryder Cup week and he’s reined that back somewhat.
“I view myself as support,” he explained. “I’m here to help in whatever way possible – whether it’s emotionally or leadership, it’s more of just getting people excited and ready to go and pumping people up, and hopefully giving people some energy out there.
“Helping people realize what we are here for, what we are doing, why we are playing this week, is a top priority for me.”
As for the McIlroy back and forth, DeChambeau seemed keen to avoid making unwanted headlines – almost as if he was under strict instructions to not be, as Chamblee called him, a “captain’s nightmare”.
“I think rivalries are good for the game of golf,” he explained. “And I have the ultimate respect for Rory as a player. It’s going to be fun to go up against him this week, whether it’s against him directly or through other players.
“Would I love to go up against him? Yeah. It would be a lot of fun. Is it going to happen? It’s not likely. I mean, maybe once. You never know. I don’t know if there’s planning behind the scenes, but he’s a fierce competitor, a great competitor, and one that I would love the opportunity to play against this week.”
It’s hard to imagine a more entertaining scenario than those two squaring off in Sunday’s singles with the Ryder Cup in the balance.
While he was restrained in front of the world’s media, once play – finally – gets underway on Friday, you best believe the beast will be unleashed.
Because he promised us Box Office Bryson, not Downbeat DeChambeau.
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Bryson DeChambeau promised to bring a 'tsunami' to the Ryder Cup.
