Bryson DeChambeau maintains counting marks in his yard book for his PGA Tour victories. When he pulled the book out on the 16th hole on Sunday, there were seven marks in the bottom left corner. Whoever sews that leather-bound book has work to do on Monday morning.
DeChambeau hit 71 on Sunday in the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational to finish 11th down and beat Lee Westwood by a stroke for DeChambeau’s eighth career win on the PGA Tour (third in his last 15 games worldwide). He did it with strength and subtlety – just as he did at the United States Open at Winged Foot last September – and again lit up a course that played a steady and fast course with a long bum.
All attention (for good reason!) Will be given to Bryson’s theatricality in par 5 6. He again drove it within 100 yards of the 565-yard hole, cutting through a large part of the lake in the left dogleg hole. Again, he made a birdie. This is instructive. While DeChambeau certainly performed well in other areas of his game throughout the week – you can’t perform poorly on them and win exclusively with your driver – he picked up almost 60% of his 12 strokes won on the field with the big stick ( about two (!) of those with what he did on Saturday and Sunday at No. 6 alone)
This is remarkable. DeChambeau’s power play allows him to breathe elsewhere. While a Jordan Spieth or even a Westwood has to perform well above average with putter or wedge play, Bryson can make some mistakes and get away with and still fight to win golf tournaments.
The whole thing is also an absolute show. DeChambeau pumping driver into any hole is now similar to when Manny Ramirez stepped on the plate at Fenway Park at its peak. Power and skill are outrageous and theatricality is almost as wild. There is also a suggestion of “I’m not sure how this is going to play out here.” DeChambeau in the race is among the most fun people in professional sports (not golf, sports).
Don’t let your 12 pars come home following the birdie at No. 6 fool you. Bay Hill played with an average of 75.4 on Sunday. The pars were moving you up (not down) on the leaderboard, and DeChambeau made many of them with a combination of punched drives and big strokes at the right time.
The story of Bryson’s transformation into one of the top five players in the world last year is twofold. The first is that his unadulterated power is giving him opportunities – both on the tee and in the rough – to not have to be perfect in other parts of the game. The other is that, as the other parts of his game are good (he was 9th in iron play and the first 30 in short game), he wins a lot.
Eight times on the PGA Tour this season (including a US Open) is a disgrace to riches. The continuation of this indefinitely in the future is not a guarantee, but his style and his clear (sometimes manic!) Drive to be the best in the world are reasons to believe nothing about what happened last year – 14 out of the top 10, including three victories since the beginning of 2020 – it will wear out in the near future. In fact, Bryson It is the future. And it is destroying in the present. Note: A +
Here is the rest of our notes for the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Jordan Spieth (T4): He returned. I said that, let me repeat. He returned. I don’t care about the result or what happened on Sunday. I care a lot about the fact that the fourth round at Bay Hill was the 13th time in its last 16 measured rounds that it was positive on strokes won on approaching shots. There is work to be done with the driver, and the club comes and goes, but he will always argue when the iron game is great, and has been world-class for a straight month. This matters a lot on the PGA Tour, and there are many reasons for optimism when he can guide the rest of the thing in an aquatic place like Bay Hill. Grade A
Rory McIlroy (T10): After a formidable put round on Thursday, it looked like Rory would light up this tournament and this golf course. But some dubious game with his irons over the next three days pushed him down the leaderboard, and he was finally completely taken from her when he put two in the water off the tee at No. 6 on Sunday (before making the best 7 of all the time later). There is another level in Rory’s game that he has not yet reached, and it became evident when he missed 2.5 strokes in his approach shots on Saturday, when he needed to make a move. The encouraging part for him is that he may peak at the Masters in April, but he is clearly not firing at all cylinders (for him!) A month before the start of the main season. Serie B-
Viktor Hovland (T50): The Norwegian ended his series of four consecutive submissions in the top six, after losing eight (!!) strokes to the field in the past two days. If you are looking for players, this can be a good thing. Hovland played very well in his first round last year, but his chances will be greater than a few days ago because of the bad weekend at Bay Hill. Believe in the tee-to-green game with him at TPC Sawgrass! Grade: C