As an amateur, DeChambeau became the fifth player in history to win both the NCAA Division I championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same year.[3] With his U.S. Open victory he became the third player to have won those three championships, after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.[4]
Renowned for his analytical approaches to the sport, DeChambeau has acquired the nickname "The Scientist". His clubs are specially designed to his specifications, with thicker than normal grips and irons that are all the same length. In 2020, he became the longest driver on the PGA Tour.[5][6]
In June 2015, DeChambeau became the first SMU Mustang to win the NCAA individual championship, recording a score of 280 (−8) to win by one stroke.[10] In August, he won the U.S. Amateur title, defeating Derek Bard 7 & 6 in the 36-hole final. He became the fifth player to win both the NCAA and U.S. Amateur titles in the same year, joining Jack Nicklaus (1961), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1996), and Ryan Moore (2004).[3]
DeChambeau made his PGA Tour debut as an amateur in June 2015 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic near Memphis, Tennessee, and finished in 45th place. He played in his first major championship at the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, but missed the cut by four strokes.[11] DeChambeau was unable to defend his NCAA title in 2016 after the SMU athletic department was handed a postseason ban by the NCAA.[12] He decided to forgo his senior season to play in a number of events before turning professional.[13] At the 2015 Australian Masters in November, DeChambeau was runner-up with John Senden and Andrew Evans, two shots behind the winner Peter Senior.[14] He was the low amateur at the Masters in 2016 and tied for 21st place.[15]
Professional career
2016–2019: Early success on tour
Immediately after the Masters in mid-April 2016, DeChambeau turned professional and signed a long-term agreement with Cobra-Puma Golf.[16] He made his pro debut days later at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina and tied for fourth, earning over $259,000.[17][18] The decision to turn professional meant the forfeiture of his exemptions to the U.S. Open at Oakmont and Open Championship at Royal Troon, but DeChambeau qualified his way into the U.S. Open and tied for 15th place to earn over $152,000,[19] improving his world ranking to 148. Despite the strong start, DeChambeau did not earn enough non-member FedEx Cup points that season to qualify for a 2017 PGA Tour card but did qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals. He was successful at earning his card through the Finals, due to a win at the DAP Championship.[20][21]
On July 16, 2017, DeChambeau earned his first PGA Tour victory by winning the John Deere Classic by a single stroke over Patrick Rodgers. He carded a round of 65 in the final round to win his maiden title in his 40th start on tour. The win, coming the week before, gained DeChambeau a place in the 2017 Open Championship, where he missed the cut after rounds of 76–77 (+13).[22]
On June 3, 2018, DeChambeau won the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio, in a sudden-death playoff against Kyle Stanley and An Byeong-hun, after the three finished regulation play tied at −15. After Stanley bogeyed the first hole of sudden death, DeChambeau proceeded to win with a birdie on the second hole, giving him his second victory on the tour.[23] On August 26, 2018, he won The Northern Trust for his first playoff victory and, in the process, established a new record for the tournament when held at the Ridgewood Country Club – with a score of 266 – besting the old Ridgewood record of 270, which was set in 2014 by Hunter Mahan.[24]
The following week, DeChambeau won at the Dell Technologies Championship played at TPC Boston in Norton, Massachusetts, with a final score of −16, two shots clear of Justin Rose. This put him over 2000 points ahead of second place player Dustin Johnson in the FedEx Cup rankings. This margin secured him top seeding at The Tour Championship, regardless of his finish at the BMW Championship. This also marked his fourth win on the tour, third for the year, and second in a FedEx Cup playoff event.[25] At the Tour Championship, DeChambeau finished 19th out of 30 participants. As a result, he fell to 3rd in the FedEx Cup, winning $2,000,000.[26] In September 2018, DeChambeau was named as a captain's pick by Jim Furyk for the United States team participating in the 2018 Ryder Cup. Europe defeated the U.S. team, 17½ points to 10½ points. DeChambeau went 0–3–0. He lost his singles match against Alex Norén.[27]
On November 4, 2018, DeChambeau won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas, Nevada. The win was worth $1,260,000 in prize money.[28] The win brought him to number five in the Official World Golf Ranking. On January 27, 2019, DeChambeau won the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai, UAE. DeChambeau claimed his maiden European Tour title by producing a closing 64 to win the tournament by seven shots.[29] In December 2019, DeChambeau played on the U.S. team at the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Australia. The U.S. team won 16–14. DeChambeau went 0–1–1 and halved his Sunday singles match against Adam Hadwin.[30]
2020–2021: Added driving distance, first U.S. Open victory
Beginning in late 2019, DeChambeau set out to add muscle mass in order to increase his swing speed and hit the ball farther. He added 20 pounds before the tour's break due to the COVID-19 pandemic and another 20 during the break. When the tour resumed, he quickly moved to the lead in driving distance.[31] On July 5, 2020, DeChambeau won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan, by three strokes over Matthew Wolff. In the final round, DeChambeau shot a 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club, birdieing four of the first seven holes and closing with three consecutive birdies. He finished at a career-best 23-under 265. DeChambeau came into the week with six straight top-eight finishes and was the only player with top-10s in the first three events after the restart from the coronavirus.[32]
In the second round of the 2020 Memorial Tournament in July, DeChambeau's second shot at the 15th went out of bounds under a fence.[33] He argued that only part of the ball was out of bounds, and he should be allowed to play it, but PGA Tour rules official Ken Tackett ruled against him. DeChambeau asked for a ruling from a second official, who confirmed the initial ruling. He went on to shoot a quintuple-bogey 10 on the hole and miss the cut.[34][35] In his next start two weeks later at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, DeChambeau's tee shot at the 7th stopped near the base of a tree. He argued that there were "red ants" in the area of the ball, and asked for a free drop regarding cases "when a dangerous animal near a ball could cause serious physical injury to the player". Ultimately Tackett, also the rules official in this incident, stated the ball had to be played as it lay. DeChambeau finished the hole with a double-bogey 6.[35]Brooks Koepka later poked fun at DeChambeau, faking as though he was summoning a rules official in response to an ant infestation after he hit his drive into a similar position during the same tournament.[36]
In August 2020, DeChambeau briefly held a share of the lead during the final round of the PGA Championship; he went on to finish in a tie for fourth place, his first top-10 finish in a major championship. Six weeks later, at the 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he came from two strokes behind at the start of the final round to win his first major championship. His six-under par total gave him a six stroke victory over Matthew Wolff. He was the only player under par in the final round, with a three-under par 67 and the only player to finish under par for the tournament.[37] With the win, he became the third player in history, after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, to win the NCAA Individual Championship, the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open during a career. The win moved him to number five in the Official World Golf Ranking, matching his previous best, which he had first achieved in November 2018.[38]
In March 2021, DeChambeau won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. He shot a final round one-under 71 to defeat Lee Westwood by one shot.[39]
After shooting an opening round 1-over 71 at the 2021 Open Championship, DeChambeau placed blame on his driver, saying after the round, "That's what I said a couple of days ago; if I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that's great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks". That comment drew the ire of Ben Schomin, a tour operations manager for Cobra Golf who caddied for DeChambeau at the Rocket Mortgage Classic two weeks prior. Schomin told Golfweek, "It's just really, really painful when he says something that stupid. He has never really been happy, ever. Like, it's very rare when he's happy". DeChambeau would later issue an apology on Instagram.[40]
In August 2021, DeChambeau shot 27 under-par at the BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Maryland, but lost on the sixth hole of a sudden-death playoff to Patrick Cantlay.[41]
2022–2024: Move to LIV Golf, second U.S. Open Title
In February 2022, amid speculation that he was joining the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour, DeChambeau released a statement committing to the PGA Tour.[42] In April 2022, DeChambeau announced that he had surgery on his left wrist and would be taking the appropriate time to rest and recover.[43] After missing the cut in the Memorial Tournament at the start of June, DeChambeau was again asked about LIV Golf, in which his answer suggested he would continue with the PGA Tour.[44] However, a few days later on June 8, The Daily Telegraph reported that DeChambeau would be joining LIV Golf.[45] On June 10, LIV Golf confirmed that DeChambeau had joined the tour.[46]
As a result of joining LIV Golf, Rocket Mortgage ended its sponsorship deal with DeChambeau.[47] 911familiesunited.org, a coalition of families and survivors of the September 11 attacks, sent a scathing letter to representatives of DeChambeau as well as other LIV Golf members, expressing their outrage toward the golfers for participating in LIV Golf and accusing them of sportswashing and betraying the United States.[48] In June 2023, DeChambeau stated in an interview with CNN that families of the victims the September 11 attacks should move forward "in forgiveness."[49]
In August 2023 at The Greenbrier, DeChambeau won his first tournament on LIV Golf. He followed up a 61 in the second round, with a new tour record of 58 in the third and final round, which also tied the record for lowest round in an elite-level men's professional golf tournament.[50]
Hole
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Front
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
Back
Total
Par
4
4
3
4
4
4
4
3
4
34
4
4
5
4
4
3
4
5
3
36
70
Shots
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
3
28
3
4
4
4
4
2
3
4
2
30
58
To par
−1
−2
−2
−3
−4
−5
−6
−5
−6
−6
−7
−7
−8
−8
−8
−9
−10
−11
−12
−6
−12
In September, he won his second tournament on the LIV tour, at LIV Golf Chicago. He shot a final-round 63, including a 28 on the back nine, to win by one stroke.[51]
At the 2024 PGA Championship, DeChambeau shot a final round 7-under par 64, which included a birdie on the 72nd hole, to tie leader Xander Schauffele. Schauffele then went on to birdie the 72nd hole himself to win by one stroke.[52]
At the 2024 U.S. Open, DeChambeau got up and down from 55 yards away in the bunker on the 72nd hole to win his second major title, shooting 6-under for the tournament.[53][54]
Unique clubs
All of DeChambeau's irons and wedges are cut to exactly the same length: 37.5 inches (95.3 cm).[55] Their lie and bounce angles are also the same; only the lofts are different. In addition to the single-length concept, his clubs are unusual for their extremely upright lie angle.[56] He also uses custom-made carbon graphite shafts on all of his clubs, including his putter. He is a first to do so among PGA Tour players.[57] DeChambeau keeps the club on the same plane throughout his swing and does not turn his wrists during his swing.[58] In 2011, at the suggestion of his instructor Mike Schy, DeChambeau switched to JumboMax Grips, the largest grips commercially available, which allow him to hold the club in his palms rather than his fingers.[59]
DeChambeau is known for very long drives, and has experimented with a longer-than-usual 48-inch driver. Partly in response, the R&A and USGA, which jointly determine the rules of golf, to avoid troublesome issues with the effect of club length on distances, instituted a local rule from 2022 to allow competition organisers to limit the permitted length of a non-putter golf club to 46 inches. DeChambeau later said that the 48-inch driver had not worked for him.[60]
On August 6, 2023, DeChambeau won his first event on the LIV tour using a unique driver which is not usually played by professional golfers – a Krank Formula Fire LD which is designed for and primarily used by elite long-drive competitors. After the event, he was quoted as saying "It's probably performed the best I've ever had in the past five years in professional golf for me".[61]
Personal life
DeChambeau's father Jon was diagnosed with diabetes in the early 1990s, and suffered kidney failure due to the disease in 2014. Through Bryson's victory at the U.S. Amateur in 2015, Jon reconnected with a high school friend, Ron Bankofier, who donated a kidney to him in 2017. Jon was able to witness Bryson's first win on the PGA Tour a few months later, and his victory at the U.S. Open in 2020. Jon continued to struggle with diabetes after the kidney transplant, and died in November 2022, aged 63.[62]
DeChambeau withdrew from the 2020 Summer Olympics after testing positive for COVID-19.[63] When asked about it before the start of the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, DeChambeau said he was not vaccinated and "the vaccine doesn't necessarily prevent it from happening. I'm young enough, I'd rather give [the vaccine] to people who need it. I don't need it. I'm a healthy, young individual that will continue to work on my health. I don't think taking the vaccine away from someone who needs it is a good thing. My dad is a perfect example. He got [the vaccine] early on because he's a diabetic. People like that need to get it".[64][65][66]
In December 2017, DeChambeau played a round of golf alongside U.S. PresidentDonald Trump, senator David Perdue, and former professional golfer Dana Quigley.[67] DeChambeau had also gifted Trump a set of golf clubs that year valued at $750.[68] DeChambeau said in a 2020 interview, "I am extremely honored to represent Trump Golf and have the relationship with the Trump Organization that I have. From Larry Glick, to Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., the entire team is always behind me 100%, and I am grateful for their support".[69]
After winning the 2020 U.S. Open, DeChambeau celebrated his victory at Trump National Golf Club Westchester with Eric Trump.[70] Following the 2021 United States Capitol riot and the PGA of America's decision to remove the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, DeChambeau had the Trump logo removed from his bag. He said, "It's unfortunate and it is what it is and I understand it. At the end of the day, whatever [the PGA of America’s] moves are, they are. I really don't have a comment".[71] DeChambeau played a round of golf with Donald Trump two months later.[72] He also played with Donald Trump, alongside Eric Trump and Dustin Johnson, in a pro-am round at the 2022 LIV Golf Bedminster event. He said afterwards, "It was an honor. I mean, anytime you get to play with a president, whether past or sitting, it's just an honor, no matter who it is."[73]
† indicates the event was won in a playoff; ‡ indicates the event was won wire-to-wire; # indicates the event was won by an amateur; 1942–1945 cancelled due to World War II
