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DeChambeau's Close, but Needs a Better Wedge Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Alex Miceli | Last updated May 16, 2025 8:19 PM ET

Two days in a row, Bryson DeChambeau has walked off the last green after his round, shaking his head, seemingly in disbelief.

The skepticism stems from another round of ‘not good enough.’

In both rounds, when he finished with a bogey on the 18^th hole in the first round and then a bogey on the ninth on his final hole of the second round, the errors cost him a shot each day, but each misstep would add salt to the wound of knowing his game is better than that.

Yet, DeChambeau finds himself on the cusp of a leaderboard in a major, sitting at 3-under and five shots off the lead of Venezuelan Jhonattan Vegas at 8-under.

“It was a weird day today, much like yesterday,” DeChambeau said of his five birdies and two bogeys performance. “I felt like I was playing good, just didn't get anything out of it. Today was a little bit better on some of the holes.”

The 31-year-old Californian has been a permanent fixture in majors, except for a missed cut in the 2024 Open Championship. DeChambeau has been on the leaderboard in all four rounds of the 2024 Masters, the 2024 PGA Championship, the 2024 U.S. Open, and the 2025 Masters.

In the first two rounds at Quail Hollow, DeChambeau has been outside the top 10 with rounds of 71-68, yet sitting at T17, the two-time U.S. Open winner is in touch with the leader as he looks to rectify what has failed him in Charlotte and dating back to 1990, each of the last 35 PGA Championship winners were either leading or within six strokes of the lead through 36 holes.

“Not my best driving although I'm hitting it really far right now, which is great,” DeChambeau said. “Wedge play needs to be cleaned up a little bit. Yeah, take more advantage of the par-5s and short par-4s for me.”

The wedge play has been the Achilles heel for DeChambeau, not allowing him to take advantage of his prodigious length and struggling to get the ball in a reasonable position near the hole from 100 yards.

DeChambeau is ranked first in Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee, but 79^th on Approach-the-Green and 111^th Around-the-Green.

“I've just got to have my putting a little more on and keep playing the way I am,” DeChambeau said. “It easily could be 7-, 8-under right now, or I could be even par. So just keep moving along, and I think a 65, 64 is out there. I almost shot it out there today, and I definitely saw it out there, I just didn't accomplish it.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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