Bryson DeChambeau’s style of play gets mixed reactions

Bryson DeChambeau’s dominating victory at the U.S. Open has ignited debate about where the game is headed and if that direction is a good idea.

DeChambeau dominated Winged Foot Golf Club, something no other player in the field could manage. Even the most penal rough that players face all year wasn’t a deterrent to his bomb and gouge style of play.

His approach to the game — hit the ball as far as you can, accuracy be damned — has some players and fans in awe and others alarmed.

“I hope I can inspire some people,” DeChambeau said after his six-shot victory Sunday. “I’m just trying to figure out this very complex, multivariable game and multidimensional game as well.”

Those are some big words for DeChambeau, who showed no complexity in his approach to Winged Foot. He hit just 23 of 56 fairways, a 41 percent mark that is by far the worst accuracy week a major championship winner has recorded.

His saving grace is a superb short game. It’s what sets him apart from past bombers such as John Daly, whose grip-it-and-rip-it style brought moments of brilliance wrapped around a lot of missed cuts.

DeChambeau’s approach is working for him, but it’s not embraced by all.

“Say what you want about Bryson DeChambeau,” wrote tour veteran Ian Poulter on Twitter on Sunday. “He might not be everyone’s cup of tea. He isn’t my cup of tea, but what he is is a major champion, and I have huge respect for winning the U.S. Open.”

As the spotlight gets brighter, this controversial style of play is just another issue DeChambeau must face. He’s already taken heat from fans and fellow players as one of the slowest players on the tour, and his temper has gotten the better of him at times.

Since the restart in June, DeChambeau has argued with rules officials several times and got into a beef with a cameraman who filmed him during and after a poor bunker shot, claiming the coverage was ruining his brand. He even demanded a free drop away from a few red ants, calling them a dangerous animal, a rule designed for courses where alligators and snakes are an issue.

DeChambeau most likely will be in Las Vegas in October for both PGA Tour events. He is a regular at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, an event he won in 2018, and is among the elite players invited to the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek, a limited field event that moved from South Korea to Las Vegas for 2020.

Further down the schedule is the Masters in November and a course perfect for big hitters such as DeChambeau because of the general lack of rough. Should he prevail there, expect the debate about rolling back distance to get even louder.

“I think he’s taken advantage of where the game is at the minute,” Rory McIlroy told the Golf Channel on Sunday. “Whether that’s good or bad, it’s just the way it is.”

Junior amateur

Jackson Parrish, Joanne Lee, Bradley Bourn and Haram Lee won titles last weekend at the Las Vegas City Junior Amateur at Las Vegas Golf Club.

Parrish, a senior at the Coral Academy of Science, won the boys 15-18 division at 5-under 139, one shot better than Nicholas Kilgore and Williams Moser. Parrish’s final-round 63 featured seven birdies and an eagle.

Joanne Lee, a sophomore at Coronado High, shot rounds of 73-71 to finish at par 144 and a two-stroke win over Lilly Denunzio in the girls 15-18 division.

Bourn, a freshman at the Doral Academy at Red Rock, ran away with the boys 13-14 division. He finished at 2-under 142, seven strokes better than Kyle Guloy.

Henderson’s Haram Lee shot consecutive 74s to win the girls 13-14 division at 4-over 148, besting Rivers Common by five shots. It was a reversal of the Nevada State Junior Amateur in June, when Lee finished second to Common.

Chip shots

— Kamden Ganir of Angel Park GC won the championship flight at the SNGA Tour event Friday at Coyote Springs GC using a Stableford scoring system. Other winners were Mike Calczynski (Net), Chris Whatley (Senior Gross), Brian Freymueller (Senior Net) and Patrick Woerner (Silver Gross and Silver Net).

— Las Vegas Golf Club is closed through Oct. 2 because of overseeding on the course, which began Sunday. The course will reopen Oct. 3, with cart-path only restrictions in place for most of the month.

Greg Robertson is a freelance reporter who covers golf for the Review-Journal. He can be reached at robertsongt@gmail.com.