Troon, Trump and Tiger: Bryson DeChambeau prepares for LIV UK

Bryson DeChambeau said he learned more from missing the cut at The Open Championship than he did at the season’s first three majors.

The Crushers GC captain, who won the U.S. Open and finished second at the PGA Championship, spoke to reporters Thursday on the eve of the LIV Golf United Kingdom event at JCB Golf and Country Club in Rocester, England.

“Playing more of American-style golf, even at Augusta (where he finished T6 this year), I’ve played there enough, and I know how to play those types of golf courses for the most part. Always can get better in small areas,” he said.

“But The Open Championship has always been kind of a different one for me. I have played well in sunny, dry, normal conditions there, but when it gets really wet and windy and nasty, I’ve always struggled.”

DeChambeau shot 76-75 at Royal Troon to finish at 9-over par. His best finish at The Open was a T8 in 2022.

“Last week just felt like I broke the seal a bit in that second round,” he said. “Even though I didn’t play that great, I felt like I could control the golf ball for the first time in those types of conditions, and that was a huge moment for me to go, OK, I think I can do this if I just work a little bit harder leading into this tournament in these conditions.”

With the grand slam season over, DeChambeau returns his focus to the LIV circuit, where his best individual finish this year was a T3 at Nashville last month.

DeChambeau, 30, enters the UK event ranked ninth in the individual standings, but his Crushers GC team holds a sizeable lead over Legion XIII in the team competition. He is playing with England’s Paul Casey, India’s Anirban Lahiri and John Catlin, who has been filling in for the injured Charles Howell III.

“I feel like we’ve played well all year,” DeChambeau said. “We had a little bit of a lull middle of the season, and we’ve started to pick it back up, and I feel like our games are all peaking and trending, moving at the right pace and getting ready for that team championship in Dallas. That’s what we’re all excited for.”

DeChambeau was asked for his thoughts on Tiger Woods, who also missed the cut at The Open, after some had suggested it was time for the 15-time major winner to consider retiring.

“He’s probably the most influential figure in the game of golf,” DeChambeau said. “He is the most influential figure in the game of golf right now, and I think he deserves to play in the majors. He’s done more than enough for this great game, and he continues to give back by playing in these tournaments and trying to win. He wants to win. He’s a competitor.

“… I think he can do it still. He’s going to have a tough road to beat us youngsters, but he’s got that grit and fire in him that he’s not going to stop until he gets it done. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

The subject of DeChambeau’s viral video playing golf with former President Donald J. Trump also came up.

“It’s an honor to play with anybody of that type of influence, no matter who it is on any political side,” DeChambeau said of playing with the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential race.

He said his people have extended invitations to the Democrats to produce similar content.

“Whether it’s (former President Barack) Obama or anyone else on that side, I’m more than willing to play with them,” DeChambeau said. “I have no issues whatsoever. That’s the thing about golf is that the more we can utilize golf to bring everyone together in a cool way, I think that’s the vision of the global game of golf.”

–Field Level Media