The Bryson DeChambeau rollercoaster continued at PGA Championship
Less than three years ago, Bryson DeChambeau was fresh off a U.S. Open romp and was the story of the golf world. The time since has not nearly gone as smoothly, but could the 2023 PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club be what gets the SMU alum back to the top?
In his opening round of the second major of the year Thursday, DeChambeau fired a four-under 66 to set the pace. Starting on the back nine, the California native penciled three birdies against a pair of bogeys by the turn, then went to work.
DeChambeau birdied the first, fourth and sixth holes to reach that four-under mark, salting away the first-round lead with a mid-range par save at 7 and nondescript pars at his final two holes.
His approach at the sixth, one of the shots of the day, was a thing of beauty.
DeChambeau finished his round with a one-shot edge over world No. 2 Scottie Scheffler and Canadian Corey Conners. The question going into his 2:31 p.m. tee time is straightforward. Was Thursday a return to form for the eight-time PGA Tour winner, or a one-off?
If the answer is the former, it would be quite the turnaround. Over the past two calendar years and change, DeChambeau has engaged in an open feud with Brooks Koepka, suffered a hand injury that forced him to miss the 2022 edition of this event, admitted to regretting bulking up and has just one top-10 on the LIV Golf circuit since leaving the PGA Tour last June.
But now, DeChambeau is back in the thick of a major. It is a familiar feeling, but one that comes in the wake of some drastic changes.
“I lost 18 pounds in 24 days,” DeChambeau said of the changes he made to his diet last fall, to reverse the effects of his bulking routine, via SI.com. “It was crazy. It wasn't fat. It was all water weight. You know how I looked before. I was not skinny. So a lot of changes in that regard."
DeChambeau, undoubtedly, is a polarizing figure. He inspires emotions, whether over his persistent TikTok presence or his January 2020 comments that Koepka “didn’t even have any abs.”
But polarizing figures bring eyeballs. Over the next three days, those eyeballs will be glued to the man who once had his sport in the palm of his hand.
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