Golf-I didn't do anything different, says DeChambeau after huge turnaround

The Star

4 days ago

Golf - The 153rd Open Championship - Royal Portrush Golf Club, Portrush, Northern Ireland, Britain - July 18, 2025 Bryson DeChambeau of the U.S. hits his tee shot on the 14th hole during the second round REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland (Reuters) -Bryson DeChambeau said he was ready to go home after a horror round of 78 at the British Open on Thursday but, after drawing on his dad's mantra of never giving up, he roared back with a fabulous six-under par 65 on Friday to boost his hopes of making the cut.
DeChambeau resembled a high-handicap hacker at times on Thursday, on one occasion managing an air shot as he tried a baseball-style swing at a ball embedded in deep rough high on a bank.
By the end of the round, where he didn't manage a single birdie, he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but Royal Portrush, trudging off to sign for a seven-over card.
Asked what he was thinking at the time, the American said: "I want to go home.
"But I woke up this morning and I said, 'I can't give up'. My dad always told me never to give up, just got to keep going, and that's what I did today. I was proud of the way I fought back."
He was certainly a different player after his early start on Friday, finding seven birdies and one bogey to sit one-over, yet he said there were no major changes in his approach.
"I've played the same as I did yesterday. That's links golf for you," he said.
"I executed pretty much the same shots as I did yesterday. I didn't feel like I played any different. Today they just kind of went more my way."
DeChambeau, twice U.S. Open champion, has a wretched record at The Open, with a best finish of tied eighth in 2022 sitting alongside three missed cuts and a tied 33rd, tied 51st and tied 60th from his seven attempts.
"In order to be a complete golfer you've got to win over here. That's something I've struggled to do," he said.
"I've played well at times when it's dry and greens are more consistent ... But when it gets as chaotic as this, with the wind going every which way, flipping on 18 completely, you have to be a complete golfer that pivots on demand."
DeChambeau, famous for his left-field club tinkering, revealed that he had been practising with a new ball that he feels could help with his control, but said it was too soon to put it into action.
"It's coming; it'll be here, worst case scenario September, but an iteration of it in the next couple weeks.
"I need a golf ball that on wedges can click on the face more consistently. I get a lot of slipping on the face just because of how vertical I am and how much loft I have ... so getting something that comes off at a more consistent trajectory in adverse conditions is really the goal."
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Toby Davis)