Bryson DeChambeau looks to have corrected his major championship form at the US Open.
After missing the cut at The Masters and the PGA Championship, DeChambeau had a solid start to the US Open, shooting a one under par round at Shinnecock Hills.
He’s five shots back of the leading Wyndham Clark, but with second place sitting at two-under, DeChambeau is well in the mix among the leading pack. Barring disaster on Friday, he’ll make his first major cut of the year, and be in contention for the win on the weekend.
And during his opening round, DeChambeau broke one of his own personal records, in a moment that caused massive controversy in the golfing world.
Bryson DeChambeau hits longest drive in professional career
During his opening round at Shinnecock Hills, DeChambeau hit an astounding 427 yard drive. He did have wind behind him, and his ball did take a friendly bounce off the road, but it was still a ridiculously long drive.
After his round, DeChambeau said it was the longest drive of his tour career: “You know, I’m feeling pretty good. You know, golf game is in a solid place. Just more of the same, being strategic and hitting that driver when I can, but really trying to be strategic out here, much like Pinehurst.
“Middle of the greens, give myself 20-footers, and hopefully a couple will drop, and don’t put myself in bad places. I feel like I did a decent job of that today. So my goal is more of the same today for tomorrow.”
When asked about the drive, DeChambeau said, “That’s my longest drive ever on tour, which is great.”
This is a phenomenal opportunity for DeChambeau win his third US Open title. When asked about how he feels about the rest of the week, he said, “Yeah, it’s great. Excited to hopefully showcase it more, and hopefully it stays in the same track because that’s what I’ve been feeling with it, and hopefully it stays the same.”
Bryson DeChambeau was fortunate at the US Open
The opening day at Shinnecock Hills was supposed to massively favour the morning wave, as the wind was expected to pick up in the afternoon and make the course near-impossible. But that never materialized.
Instead, a delay at the start of the day due to fog meant it was the morning wave that got the worst of the conditions, and by the time the afternoon wave came, the wind had died.
This was particularly helpful for DeChambeau. He is a notoriously poor player in the wind, so he would have been affected badly by the weather in the morning window.
But because of the delay, and because of his tee time, DeChambeau was able to play in benign conditions and post a good score. He’ll hope for more of the same throughout the week.
