NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — The short-game practice area at Aronimink sits right next to the PGA Championship’s Fan Zone, home of free food and high-priced alcoholic beverages. That means anybody who wants to practice their bunker game prior to their tee time does so with several dozen Philadelphia fans looming right over their shoulders. Some players tolerate this; others live for it.
About 30 minutes before his Friday tee time, Bryson DeChambeau hopped into the practice bunker with barely a nod toward the phone-holding fans all around him. For DeChambeau, who thrives on attention and admiration, this qualified as intense, in-the-zone focus. But then, when you’re coming off your worst round ever at the
Yeah … no. First, DeChambeau missed the cut at the Masters, his second in three majors, and never looked remotely competitive either day. Then, days after that, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund cut his leverage out from under him by announcing it would withdraw its ongoing support from LIV Golf at the end of this season. Going to be tough to sign a half-billion-dollar contract when there aren’t any spare half-billions lying around anymore.
The PGA Tour has made motions in DeChambeau’s direction — first offering him a pathway back that he declined, more recently relaxing its social media policy for players — but DeChambeau won’t be permitted to waltz back onto the Tour without consequence. He did, after all, sue the PGA Tour a few years back.
DeChambeau has loudly proclaimed that he could just become a YouTube golfer, and sure, he absolutely could. His videos are entertaining, and his puppy-dog-with-a-monster-drive persona is perfect for YouTube. He’ll make some good money at this, too. But how well does playing with Walmart clubs prepare him for majors?
That, in essence, is the question facing DeChambeau. What does he want to be, a golfer or an entertainer? Does he want to win majors, or does he want to stockpile subscribers? One way lies money; the other way, legacy. He’s undoubtedly got the talent to be one of the best players in the game, but does he want to make the sacrifices that talent demands? Or does he want to take a path of less resistance, whether by playing in smaller fields with LIV or performing on YouTube? The ground has shifted under his feet, and DeChambeau now must figure out how to respond to a situation he wasn’t expecting even six weeks ago.
DeChambeau declined to speak to the media on Thursday. After his round on Friday, DeChambeau walked past a group of reporters, put his hands together as if in prayer, and said, “Thank you, thank you,” but kept right on walking, taking his thoughts on his future with him.
Earlier in the day, in the minutes before his tee time, working out at the Aronimink practice range, DeChambeau had methodically lasered shot after shot within inches of the cup, a mesmerizing display of singular talent. It didn’t count for a single thing on his scorecard. But it would have made for a hell of a video.