Photo courtesy of the USGA
Following are excerpts from the Bryson DeChambeau press conference Tuesday at The PLAYERS Championship.
DeChambeau is coming a win last weekend at Bay Hill, wowing the crowd with some monster drives, including a 370-yard blast on the 6th hole at Bay Hill.
It is a bit of a long read, but it’s entertaining to have a chance to get inside the mind of DeChambeau, arguably the most cerebral player on the Tour.
ACES editor Dennis Miller edited the transcripts.
AMANDA HERRINGTON: We’d like to welcome the TOUR’s most recent winner, Bryson DeChambeau to the virtual interview room here at THE PLAYERS Championship. You recaptured the lead in the FedExCup with your victory on Sunday, making your third start here at THE PLAYERS Championship. Have you had a chance to reflect on everything that happened last week and headed into a big event like this?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: No, I haven’t, actually. It’s been a quick turnaround. Last night I was practicing quite a bit, trying to figure out some stuff in my golf swing still. Albeit, it was an incredible win and I was honored to win Mr. Palmer’s event, we have THE PLAYERS Championship this week and I’ve got to get focused for this and figure out the best strategy this week and how I can best navigate the golf course.
Q. What is your take on this golf course? You’ve broken par seven of the eight of your rounds, T37, T20. What are your thoughts on your approach to this golf course?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, it’s a very demanding golf course. You have to put the ball in play and there’s a few holes where you can take advantage, from a length perspective, but for the most part, the par-4s you’ve got to hit it in play, and you’ve got to have great iron play this week. So that’s what I’m really focused on. If I can get my iron play down this week and my wedges down this week, I’ll have a great chance to win with my putting.
Q. What kind of juice did having fans kind of surrounding you on No. 6 last week and down the stretch, just having them back out there, and with even more expected this week, could this tournament kind of be a step back to normal?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I definitely think it’s a step back to normal. This is one year removed from us not playing golf, and the world kind of shutting down. I think it’s cool that one year later we’re back to somewhat normal. There’s obviously different things that are going on, but I would say that for the most part, it’s pretty amazing to see fans back out, and there was a lot of juice on No. 6 last week, and I think that for the most part, fans are what create some of that momentum for players, and for me I know that was definitely the case last week, and will continue to do so. They’ve always kind of been my little edge, I guess you could say, for helping improve my performance on the golf course. There’s no doubt about it. Winning in Detroit last year and then winning the U.S. Open, it was weird. It was a weird feeling to win and not have fans there.
Felt more like college events. Not to make them sound like they work college events at all, but there just wasn’t the people out there that there usually are, and having fans back out last week was definitely a great momentum boost for me.
Q. Have you decided if you’re going to try the far left line on No. 18 yet?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I’ll probably give it a try, but it’s most likely not going to happen. If there’s stands — I haven’t seen it yet, but if there’s stands there there’s really no reason to go for it, when I could just drive it 100 yards from the green if I get a good wind normally. It’s not really that big of an advantage but taking the water out of play and having an easier second shot, it may be easier, I don’t know.
Q. How do you go about plotting out a golf course, and what’s the challenge of kind of this one with so many different nuances?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, well, a lot of it depends on how comfortable I am and what my dispersion values are that I give myself. So like, oh, I know I’m missing my driver this far to the right, missing it this far to the left. So based on those numbers personally, I kind of find where I can fit the golf ball into certain areas to give me a better advantage on this hole or on that hole or whatnot. But that’s kind of how I look at it.
You know, Tim, my caddie, Tim Tucker, he works really, really hard at finding lines for me to make sure that this is the best place for me to gain the most off the tee or to gain the most, just having a better approach to the green or whatever certain pin location. Those are kind of the things we look at.
One practice round is really all we need, especially if we’ve played the golf course before. I do have a different body, so it’s going to be a little different this year figuring out where to hit it and what to hit, but for the most part that’s kind of what we do.
Q. Do you have a strategy yet, and how many times are you going to hit driver, I guess? People always are wondering that.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, yeah, I don’t know how many times yet. Probably not as many. There’s a lot of cross bunkers and water that crosses the fairway and places where you kind of just have to hit it into a certain specific area. I would say, for the most part, driver will be taken out of play a numerous amount of times, but on the par-5s I’ll definitely be able to hit driver for the most part. Maybe not on 2, but definitely on 11, and I would say 16 I’ll be hitting driver for sure.
And then a lot of the par-4s I will be, too, but I can’t just bomb it out there yet. There’s a lot of, again, cross bunkers that are in the way.
Q. Do you happen to find the walk from the 16th green to the 17th tee somewhat daunting given its length? And if there are less people, does it make it any easier? In other words, people not cheering and yelling as you’re walking by.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I think if there’s less people, it definitely will be a little bit easier because there’s not that — for example, I’ll give you No. 6 last week, they were all egging me on to go for it on No. 6 and hit it over the water, go for the green. So, there was a little bit of pressure, added pressure there for sure. I know that that’s a reality and it’s a fact.
But if there’s a little less people — I still think people will be saying, Come on, come on, or whatever they say, egging us on to hit it close or whatnot on 17. But yeah, having less people will I think certainly be a benefit to some.
Q. Even though it’s a short iron, probably just a sand wedge or a pitching wedge, is it a tough shot? Is it an intimidating shot?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: If there’s wind at play, 100 percent it’s a very difficult shot. If there’s no wind, it’s relatively simple. But yes, the windier it gets, the more diabolical that hole gets because there’s not really room for error if you’re going for a flag, because they tuck the flag. You can miss it one way, but the other way it’s gone.
You’ve got to be very cautious and, for the most part, err to the center of the green.
Q. You have talked about holes you might consider driving or getting very close to the green on. Have you thought about how far you might be able to get on 10? Could you go over trees at 15?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: 10, if it’s downwind, yeah, you could. But there’s bunkers that kind of wrap the green and cut the fairway in half a little bit. You know, whether it’s worth it, I don’t know. It gets tighter up there, as well.
Yeah, it’s something we’re going to have to experience and sense off the tee when the wind is at play. We just don’t know. If there’s no wind, probably not many holes that we can get close to. I’d have to be hitting — having over 200 miles an hour ball speed for these greens to be feasible to reach. I’m just not there with the setup that I have right now.
But again, you never know. It’s downwind and it’s worth it, why not. We’ll see.
Q. Can you hit beyond trouble at 14?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: 14, yes, definitely.
Q. So that hole could become easier for you?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: A hundred percent, absolutely.
Q. In your two previous rounds here, what’s the shortest club you hit into 12 and hit the green with?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I think I hit 3-wood in was my shortest club on 12. That was last year.
Q. And given where you’ve progressed between now and then, if they gave you like a 315-yard tee at some point this week, what do you think you could hit the green with, given the right wind?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, the 315-yard, I could hit my 5-wood on the green. If it’s the right conditions, a little downwind, front edge would probably be 300, maybe a little less than that, and I could fly it 10 yards short, run it up with 5-wood.
Q. And then given the right wind conditions again, on No. 9, do you think you could get over that cross water?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: If it was — maybe. I don’t know. It would have to be downwind quite a bit to do it, but yeah, I think I could if I really went at one. Again, it just comes into how much am I really gaining off the tee by doing that. Where I could hit 3-wood off the tee and 5-iron in, compared to like 7-iron in, something like that. Maybe, maybe it’s a big deal, I don’t know. We’ll have to check it out.
Q. How much fun is it to think of these unconventional ways to approach holes?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I love it. I think it’s a cool aspect of the game that not many people have the opportunity to do, other than some of the long drive guys that are in the world today. For me it’s an intriguing aspect that I’m always trying to find a little advantage on. It’s pretty fun to do.