Yahoo Finance Bulked up Bryson DeChambeau continues post-hiatus hot streak with win at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Bryson DeChambeau’s new look has drawn plenty of attention since he returned from the PGA Tour’s coronavirus hiatus with 20 pounds of extra muscle.
Now, it’s earned him his first PGA Tour win in a year and a half.
DeChambeau was victorious on Sunday at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, finishing 23-under in Detroit. And he did it all despite having to deal with cameramen looking at him. That win had been preceded by three straight top-10 finishes at the Charles Schwab Challenge, RBC Heritage and Travelers Championship since the Tour returned to action.
Fellow Americans Matthew Wolff, Kevin Kisner and Ryan Armour rounded out the top 4, with Wolff hanging around until DeChambeau effectively sealed the win with this birdie put.
And just like that @b_dechambeau extends his lead ‼️
📺 |CBS pic.twitter.com/k27qYPFT7k— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) July 5, 2020
DeChambeau had surged to the lead early in Round 4 on Sunday despite missing the fairway on his first four holes. With the kind of distance DeChambeau was playing with, you don’t need much precision.
Bryson DeChambeau’s power blew away the field
Beyond his signature old-school cap, the Bryson DeChambeau that won on Sunday does not look much like the one we were seeing even late last year. As many now know, this DeChambeau has added 20 pounds of muscle with an absurd diet and workout regimen.
The result is a swing that looks something more out of a long-drive competition or Mike Trout at TopGolf than a competitive PGA Tour player.
Specifically, it looks like this.
Spoiler alert: Bryson crushed a drive.
196 MPH ball speed. 343-yard CARRY. 376 yards total. 😱 pic.twitter.com/YXSQ2FoeMm— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2020
196 mph, 343 yards of pure carry. With drives like that, it’s not surprising DeChambeau set a PGA Tour record for average driving distance in a win with 350.6 yards per swing, shattering Tiger Woods’ 341.5 mark at The Open in 2005.
You can compare what DeChambeau and his swing used to look like in the highlights from one of his PGA Tour wins in 2018:
Two wins, two very different drives. DeChambeau has always been known as idiosyncratic with his equal-length irons, but deliberately Hulking out so he can drive the green on Par 4s is quite a line of thinking. DeChambeau’s putter was also a major factor in his win, leading the field in shots gained in putting as well as off the tee.
DeChambeau’s next step will be to show his latest experiment can work in a more competitive field. You can bet he’ll have plenty of eyes on him when he tries.
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