CHARLOTTE – Bryson DeChambeau pointed out the obvious Tuesday when he spoke to the media prior to this week’s PGA Championship, calling Quail Hollow “a bomber’s paradise.” What he didn’t say was that the sprawling layout was a perfect fit for his unique brand of bomber golf.
There was no need.
While the gaming industry is squarely fixated on Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy this week, DeChambeau is basking in relative obscurity and well-earned confidence. The seeds of that confidence were planted at last year’s PGA Championship where he finished a shot behind champion Xander Schauffele thanks to a closing 64 at Valhalla.
“I feel like I’ve always had the capacity to play well in major championships and contend consistently. A lot of things have to go right in majors for you to play well. Your whole game has to be on,” DeChambeau said. “I felt like at Valhalla, especially after Augusta, that was the second time that I played well in a major, and it kind of gave me that confidence that I could just keep moving forward with that at every major and keep hammering down on majors.”
DeChambeau followed his runner-up showing at Valhalla with an emotional victory over McIlroy at the Pinehurst U.S. Open and added another top-5 finish to his Grand Slam total last month at the Masters in another duel with the Northern Irishman.
DeChambeau explained that his iron play wasn’t sharp enough at Augusta National but he dialed in his approach play earlier this month with a commanding victory at the LIV Golf event in South Korea.
“Played OK at Augusta. My irons weren’t that great. But played better [at the LIV event in Mexico]. My irons were really good in Korea. I feel like it’s moving in the right direction,” he said.
DeChambeau can also pull confidence from his play at Quail Hollow. Before leaving the PGA Tour for LIV Golf, he finished fourth at what is now known as the Truist Championship in 2018 and tied for ninth in ’21.
“Quail Hollow is an amazing place. Charlotte is a great place. I love it here,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve always felt comfortable here. Even when I was playing here on the PGA Tour, I felt really comfortable.”
