ORLANDO, Florida – Another day, another layup by Bryson DeChambeau on the sixth hole of Bay Hill.
And again, the fans let him hear.
He’s downwind!
John Daly would go ahead!
Come on, Bryson!
Even DeChambeau’s competitor, Jordan Spieth, joined in the fun.
“That’s the only reason I played this week was to see you go over the lake,” Spieth told DeChambeau.
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But let DeChambeau explain: “The wind actually shifted to the left and went in. It was really weird. … Hopefully, if I’m downwind, consistently downwind, and I’m comfortable with that, I’ll go up the green. But today was not an opportunity again. Everyone thinks it was, but no matter what they say, you weren’t in that situation and you couldn’t feel the wind ”.
With an unpleasant cold front taking effect on Saturday, it seems less likely that DeChambeau will give the promised tug – no matter what. he it says. But don’t worry, DeChambeau’s traveling show is still more than capable of entertaining the masses, and the final act could see DeChambeau deliver in a different way: winning.
DeChambeau is 6 under, just three shots from leader Corey Conners, in the middle of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He followed his first 5-under 67 with a tough 71 on Friday, which included several impressive tee balls.
He cut the corner at 381 yards 10º hole, leaving just 39 meters on the green.
He did the same at 460 yards 15º and it was only 106 yards.
And for the second day in a row, he led the field in strokes won: off the tee (+2,411) and driving distance (309.5 yards)
“I received the message on Tuesday with the pairing and thought: What better place to be paired with him than here, with some of those holes?Spieth said. “What is amazing to me is obviously getting out of his driver fast, what about Rory [McIlroy] and Cam Champ – there are a lot of guys who hit the ball and it sounds a little different like that – but the amount of control he has with how hard he is going is really impressive. I mean, he’s handling the ball extremely well and directly.
“I mean, if I’m going to be shorter than him, I would like to be straighter, and I don’t think I went in those two days.”
While DeChambeau continues to perfect his fairway finder with “The Kraken” still on vacation, he entered the interview booth looking a little defeated. The culprit: “The wedges were, honestly, some of the worst I’ve had in a long time,” he said.
Remember that ride at No. 10? DeChambeau missed the green shorts and hit the pair.
At No. 15, he jammed at 35 feet and had to sink 4 feet to save the pair.
The 139-yard entry in the rear bunker at No. 13 was also not great.
Even at the final hole, DeChambeau had 161 yards for the flag, but hit a launch wedge that came out of the rough 15 yards from where he was aiming, the shot ending at the edge about 12 meters away. Another pair.
“This is very sad for me,” said DeChambeau. “I don’t know why the reasons are. I feel that there is something strange about the connection of the ball to the face with the speeds that I am producing. I had new grooves this week and I went and recorded them on the track that they were actually spinning less off the face. So, something really strange is happening. “
However, despite his problems, DeChambeau is very involved with Arnie’s Place. Its length remains a great advantage. On Friday, he reached three of Bay Hill’s long par 3, holes over 200 yards where he hit 7 and 8 irons. And with the rain waiting to soak the already difficult layout, it must fall into the hands of DeChambeau.
This can only keep you on the conservative line in sixth place.
But that could get you a red cardigan.
“I’m three shots away,” said DeChambeau. “I’m taking my chances now.”