Weekend Wrap- - Beast Mode Edition

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend... I think we can all agree, that Bryson has become the Joey Chestnut of golf.

Kraken, Released - If you didn't see this coming, you must have been self-quarantining the last few weeks.  Amusingly, Bryson had taken some heat these few weeks over the absence of a win...  Yeah, they're a tough crowd:

Who cares how far his drives go? 

Who cares about his weight gain?

Who cares that he eats bacon and drinks six, seven, eight, nine, whatever protein shakes?

Bryson DeChambeau hasn’t won. He actually hasn’t won since November of 2018. Which was even before he embarked on his ambitious journey to become his own physics project – weight + force = a massive amount of wins. Starting last year, DeChambeau added upward of 40 pounds, he added near-PGA Tour-best distance to his drives, and he added to his bill at the nutrition store. All of it was essentially the equivalent of maybe a nice head cover on his driver, or maybe the sauce on his steak. He just looks better. He hasn’t won. Who cares?

Three whole weeks without a win?  That is damning indeed...

DeChambeau hadn’t won. Who cares? Now, who’s worried? The Bryson blueprint has a win. 

DeChambeau shot a 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club on Sunday to storm from three shots back entering the final round to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic by three shots over Matthew Wolff, the third-round leader. It’s DeChambeau’s sixth PGA Tour win and, yes, his first since the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

“This is a little emotional for me because I did do something a little different,” DeChambeau said. “I changed my body, changed my mindset in the game, and I was able to accomplish a win while playing a completely different style of golf. And it’s pretty amazing to see that, and I hope it’s an inspiration to a lot of people that if they set their mind to it, you can accomplish it.

Well, it certainly has our attention.  Inspiring?  Gawd, let's hope not...

 As always, beware the early call:

Bryson DeChambeau’s run of dominance, it seems, is just beginning

The 26-year-old’s pursuit of extreme distance paid off in victory at Detroit Golf Club,

and so well that it’s easy to imagine him neutering similar courses that we see all across the PGA Tour. Courses that test his peers at a significantly higher level than they currently test him. Detroit GC, with trees and rough being its best defense, simply laid down to Bryson’s 350-yard drives. There were 19 of them. 

That DeChambeau was below average approaching the green — an anomaly in victory on the Tour — simply didn’t matter. Distance, distance and more distance trumped all. Then the putter topped it off. DeChambeau finished the week first in strokes gained: off the tee and strokes gained: putting. This is his new template: Hit it a mile, use that distance to hit more lofted clubs, hold more greens as a result and if the putter is great, you will very likely win.

That strokes gained twofer is a first in the ShotLink era, and covers the show and dough portions of the game pretty well.  The missing link is approach shots, which for Bryson means wedge play.  Long ago I was tipped off to that weakness by Alan Shipnuck, who himself plays single-length irons.  Faldo was harping on his use of graphite shafts on his wedges, though to me the more obvious issue is that his wedges have longer shafts than is typical, and the greater dispersion seems a logical result.

Of course, Bryson being Bryson, you know he'll be obsessing over this weakness in his game and one would expect to see improvement there.  Quickly.

But what of the point made above about the courses the Tour has played to date in its restart?  I'd have said (heck, I'm pretty sure I did say) that all of these early venues (Colonial, Hilton head and Hartford) are uniquely ill-suited to the power game.  But Bryson has made me realize that we don't know Jack about these venues, because no one has ever taken these lines off of tees previously.  

Some more on this theme:

What could this remind you of? On driving statistics alone, DeChambeau’s advantage over most of the field was akin to Tiger Woods’ distance advantage at the 1997 Masters. Woods was the longest player in the field by 23 yards that week, and pretty much perfect for the final 63 holes. DeChambeau was 24 yards longer than the next longest player this week (Matthew Wolff) and putted about as well as he reasonably could. The template is hard to ignore. 

Would it succeed at the British Open? Maybe not. But all across the parkland Tour stops of America — Columbus, Ohio, Minneapolis, Memphis, etc. — most of Bryson’s advantages will go just as far as they did this week in Detroit. DeChambeau will take a break next week and return at the Memorial Tournament, where he won two years ago. On the horizon rests the PGA Championship, just four weeks away. Though TPC Harding Park will have shrunk its fairways and bolstered its rough, if he drives it well there, he will find contention at a major for the first time in his career. In the meantime, we will hash it out, praise DeChambeau and question him at the same time. We’ll ask: is it sustainable? A favorable lineup of courses and a clean bill of health make the answer seem obvious.

Shall we see how it looked to the Tour Confidential crew?

1. In just over a year, Bryson DeChambeau added 40 pounds and added distance across his bag because of it. Now that DeChambeau’s transformation has helped him add a trophy, it must be asked: Has Bryson cracked the code?

John Wood: Bryson seems to have broken the code for Bryson. And I think he has transferred what has been done at the long driving competitions for a while now to

highly competitive golf. I couldn’t be more impressed. I was watching today and thought how economical this type of game is to practice. You practice drivers, wedges, chips and putting. He won’t often have to hit mid-irons, ever. Maybe a couple a day to par-5s. But for the most part, playing the game like he is playing it, and how courses are allowing him to play it through setup, why would you spend the time on fairway woods and hybrids and long/mid-irons when they will be used so seldom. 

Sean Zak: I like what John said. Bryson found Bryson’s template — bomb it a mile, hit easier clubs into greens and if you putt well you’ll win. The difference between his template and other players’ is that his template works better at 80 percent of courses on Tour. That’s the bottom line. It makes it hard to imagine him missing the cut at a cookie-cutter Tour course. Does it work in Scotland? It’s hard to say right now, but across parkland America, he’s going to be dominating if he putts well.

Not to rain on Sean's parade, but Bryson is driving it pretty damn straight, and long and straight works just about everywhere.  But, per Kooch's bagman, we all caught that Par-5 where Bryson missed the fairway and might have seemingly been in trouble, yet threw an 8-iron on the green.  Did I mention it was a Par-5?

Unsurprisingly, Mike Bamberger makes an interesting point:

Michael Bamberger: John’s insights are valuable. If Bryson has broken the code, it’s only on certain types of courses. The most interesting golf of the past year was played at Royal Melbourne. What Bryson is doing would not be meaningful there, at the Old Course, at Cypress Point, at Olympic. But it’s good at a soft Colonial and a soft Detroit Golf Club. If Bryson and Matt Kuchar were going to play 10 matches in 10 days and you gave Mike Davis the assignment of picking the courses and Nick Price the assignment of setting them up, Matt would win seven or eight of the matches.

As we've discussed ad nauseum, we're at a juncture where #firmandfast is the only defense remaining.  Problem is, as per Mike's hypothetical, Messrs. Davis and Price would have to be awfully lucky with the weather to produce the desired conditions.  Heck, in about half the years we don't even get such conditions for the Open Championship.  That said, don't we think Mike (Bamberger, not Davis) is over-stating Kooch's advantage by some considerable degree?  

We will circle back to Bryson below, but first a couple more bits from our TC panel, including this on the Wolffman:

2. Matthew Wolff started the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a three-shot lead, quickly lost it, then rallied late. Wolff has been on golf fans’ radars for some time, but what did you learn about his game/approach this week that you didn’t know before?

Wood: Not a lot. Knew he was really really good before, and still know he’s really really good. 

Zak: Loved that he didn’t melt down today, and even when he wasn’t playing his best on the front nine, he absolutely striped it coming in and gave himself really great birdie chances. I think if this tournament went nine more holes, he catches Bryson because he’s just a little shorter than him.

Sens: I was impressed with his composure after that shaky start. He just needed a few more of those birdie putts to drop down the stretch (not to mention that eagle bid on 17 that hung on the edge), and we might have seen a playoff. 

Dethier: He’s got some swagger to him. Bryson stole all the long-drive hype, but holy hell, Wolff can smash it and seemed to relish chasing after the big bomber in the group in front of him. He hit a few drivers 350+ down the stretch (including a 367-yard nuke on 13 that nearly rolled into DeChambeau’s group) that seemed to really get him excited.

Bamberger: I learned that the kick-start hip turn gets faster when he gets more excited.

I knew the kid could send it, but I didn't know he was quite that long...But that front nine was a spot-on Tom Brady impression, no?  So interesting to see these guys lose it and struggle to find it.   I was glad to see him find it later in the day, and I'm thinking we'll be seeing a lot of him going forward.

I'll move on and just leave you this:

Matthew Wolff’s swing is even more fascinating in slow motion

I actually though t seemed more conventional in slow-mo, but perhaps that was because the video  didn't include that shake, rattle and roll trigger move.  That said, there's lots of room between the red and green lines for sure.

Saturday, Bloody Saturday -  So, no doubt we're impressed and a little awed by the man....  But, do we like him?  I would argue we've seen just enough, most notably that driving range meltdown a while back, to answer in the negative.  He's interesting for sure, but seemingly wired a little too tightly to be endearing...  But that dominating Sunday was, for me, overwhelmed by his petulant Saturday:

DeChambeau shot a 5-under 67 in the third round, and at 16 under he’s tied for second

place, three shots behind Matthew Wolff. But his round got off to a slow start, and things didn’t especially improve after a lackluster sand shot from a greenside bunker on No. 7.

DeChambeau fired his club angrily into the sand shortly after impact, and he ultimately made bogey. While he described his reaction to the shot as “dumb,” he took issue with the cameraman subsequently following him closely as he approached the green and marked his ball.

Bryson was running very hot at that point, and the CBS crew, despite their minimalist footprint, was all over it.   But where are all the Karens when we need them, as Bryson gets in the face of a mask-wearing cameraman.....without a mask of his own.  Bad Bryson!

But kudos to Golf Channel's Will Gray for asking the tough question, which elicited some pretty entitles and bizarre nonsense from the man:

“He was literally watching me the whole entire way up after getting out of the bunker, walking up next to the green. And I just was like, ‘Sir, what is the need to watch me that long?’” DeChambeau said. “I mean, I understand it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do.”

But hours later he still had issue with the incident on the seventh green, which he perceived as an effort to show him in a poor light after an angry on-course outburst that he believes showcased his passion for the game. 

“As much as we’re out here performing, I think it’s necessary that we have our times of privacy as well when things aren’t going our way. I mean, we’re in the spotlight, but if somebody else is in the spotlight they wouldn’t want that either,” DeChambeau said. “I feel like when you’re videoing someone and you catch Tiger (Woods) at a bad time, you show him accidentally doing something, or someone else, they’re just frustrated because they really care about the game. It could really hurt them if they catch you at a potentially vulnerable time.

Wow, that's a heaping plate of crazy, Bryson.

But let me first make sure we're clear.  You're playing in a professional golf tournament....  Wait, strike that.  You're playing in a TELEVISED professional golf tournament, and you arrived on Thursday with an expectation of privacy?  How's that working out for you, young man?  What part of the professional golf ecosystem confuses you?  You can play without those pesky cameramen, but you'll not be playing for seven-figure purses.

Now, here's another version of that bit, this timing using the all-important B-word:

“Look,” he said, “I feel like when you’re videoing someone and you catch Tiger [Woods] at a bad time, you show him accidentally doing something, or someone else, they’re just frustrated because they really care about the game. It could really hurt them if they catch you at a potentially vulnerable time. … For that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool.

How much do we love players referring to themselves as a brand?   Almost as good as when they refer to themselves in the third person....

I'm not one that over-reacts to shows of frustration on the golf course.  I actually like seeing a bit of it, because it makes them seem more human...  I also like seeing how they manage to release the frustration and then regroup before playing their next shot.  

But the passive construction gives away the game, as always.  To the extent that there was damage to the brand from that show of frustration in the bunker, he quite obviously need only look in a mirror to identify the source.  Ironically, the real damage to the brand was his words after the fact...

“We don’t mean anything by it, we just care a lot about the game. For that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool in the way we act because if you actually meet me in person, I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think.”

Well, we'll be the judge of that, son.  But good dudes don't get in the face of cameraman when they're embarrassed about their own behavior.   

You think the TC gang will agree with me?

3. DeChambeau got angry after a bunker shot during the third round of the Rocket Mortgage, then got angry that a cameraman would televise it. “I mean, I understand that it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do. Not that I was going to do anything bad. It’s just one of those things that I hope he respects my privacy.” Should broadcasts protect players from blowups?

Wood: I know Bryson likes to play percentages, so I would say 107 percent no. Want to be protected from blowups? Don’t have them. Blowups are interesting. They’re fun to watch when they’re not happening to you. I want to know someone is human in any sport and has the same frustrations all of us have at some point. If you’d like to see golf ratings go in the tank, then field 156 really boring, very silent golfers every week.

Zak: Bryson has often displayed a thorough misunderstanding of media, so this was sadly unsurprising. Players should not be protected from blow-ups at all. In fact, the opposite needs to happen. We need MORE blow-ups and high scores shown on broadcasts. It helps us realize these guys are human after all, despite their wanting to be robots between the ropes.

Sens: Sorry, Bryson, but such are the burdens of having one of the sweetest jobs on the planet. Consider it a teachable moment for him. Not for the cameraman, who did nothing wrong. 

Dethier: To Sean’s point, this feels like a media literacy issue. The Tour has set it up to protect these players’ “brands” as best they can, and it’s clear that Bryson has taken that to heart. But I think what he misunderstands is that he doesn’t have to be “perfect.” Fans respond to authenticity, even if that means a temper or a bad word on camera. What fans don’t like is the idea that a player is over-controlling his image and showing us something less than the truth. That’s much harder to come back from than a fiery reaction.

Bamberger: No. The broadcasts should try to reveal the players as they actually are. People watch golf for a lot of reasons and one of them is to see the players reveal themselves.

Well, the risk of Bamberger disagreeing was somewhere between 0 and 0%...

But, Dylan Dethier makes an important point.  If you think about how Ponte Vedra coddles the players, mots notably in not disclosing disciplinary actions and suspensions, you readily see why Bryson might expect to be protected.  

Am I being too hard on the lad?  Perhaps, but Eamon Lynch puts me to shame:

Credit DeChambeau’s optimism in thinking that being shown acting like a jerk would hurt his image rather than merely solidify it. 

The world No. 10 — a ranking he has reached thanks in part to his Flight Scope — was sufficiently upset to keep talking after the round without bothering to note the hour on his Rolex timepiece. “For that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool in the way we act because if you actually meet me in person, I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think,” he said. 

Seldom has the qualifier “too” been so freighted.

Please, Eamon, no marks above the neck.  But really, he's just warming up to the task:

Having cameras follow him is something DeChambeau appreciates. Just a few weeks ago, he posted to Instagram an intimate, 15-minute movie in which a camera caressed him as he ambled from his bedroom to breakfast, lingered over his form during workouts, and gazed adoringly at him as he cruised the neighborhood in his convertible. It was a love letter to himself, part Narcissus, part Pee-wee Herman, set in a hall of mirrors. 

DeChambeau paid for the cameras in his home, but not those at Detroit Golf Club. But he seems to believe any lens has the same function: to celebrate his brand of data-crunching and protein-shaking, to showcase his prodigious distance but never his astonishingly shallow depth. In short, to help him sling product. And you, dear viewer? Well, you’re just the mark. That’s what his comments Saturday told you.

And you guys think I can be harsh... 

He's Back -  His new day job is in remission, so be forewarned, the return of Bones is upon us:

Jim "Bones" Mackay is coming out of caddie retirement for a two-week stretch this month in Dublin, Ohio. 

Per Golf Digest, Mackay will loop for Matthew Fitzpatrick at the Workday Charity Open and then again the following week at the Memorial Tournament. Both events will be played at Muirfield Village Golf Club. 

Fitzpatrick's full-time caddie, Billy Foster, has opted to thus far remain in England during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Fitzpatrick to seek out temporary substitutes.

We all need to get out of the house...

Step Aside, Matthew Wolff - Wolff would have the weirdest swing in professional golf, were it not for Hosung Choi.  Amusingly, we have a Hosung Choi twofer for you folks...

Have you seen the log that Phil Mickelson has been rocking lately.  Yeah, it's the silhouette of the most famous 3-inch vertical leap in sports history, celebrating his 2004 Masters-winning putt.  Our hero Hosung has taken a page from Phil's book, and showed up rocking this great mask at a Korean tournament:

Here's a close-up in case you can't quite make it out:

That's pretty great, no?  But wait, there's more...

Yowser, I had to watch it a few times to understand what really happened.  The driver seems to make contact a good two feet behind the ball, though seemingly never made contact with the ball.  This guy had an explanation for us:

Choi was competing Saturday in the Korea Professional Golf Tour’s Busan Gyeongnam Open – and playing in the final grouping of the third round – when he whiffed on his tee shot on the final hole at Aramir Country Club in South Korea. The clubface of Choi’s driver hit the ground well behind the ball before whizzing just over the ball, the ball subsequently being blown off the tee.

I'll have to take your word for it...  I couldn't resist this screen grab of his finish pose:

Just straight down the target line...or not.

I've got more, but I'm thinking it's best to save it for tomorrow.... Stay cool.