The Bryson DeChambeau show rolls on in Sandwich, England at the Open Championship this weekend. DeChambeau continues to steal the show and publicity but I still don’t believe it that it is deliberate. He imported his reported feud with Brooks Koepka into the event and let Koepka and others do the talking while I think he just behaves like the cat that swallowed the canary. He lets people pick their side of the “feud” with candor and without rancor so it comes off like Alfred E. Neuman’s (“What Me Worry”). Despite all the good golf that was played in the first round at Royal St. Georges’s yesterday, DeChambeau stole the headlines with comments about the construction of his Cobra driver. DeChambeau hit only 4 out of 14 fairways on his way to a one over par 71 and will have to play well on Friday to make the cut. We have all felt the way DeChambeau does about his driver but at the end of the day it’s the player not the equipment that determines the results.

Cobra executives were unhappy with DeChambeau’s remarks and replied to his posts with a bit of vitriol since they have completely supported DeChambeau’s cause in designing drivers to fit his power game. When confronted with Cobra’s response, DeChambeau apologized and acknowledged that the fault is not with the equipment. We all know that this is true and DeChambeau continues to display the fault of not really thinking before you speak publicly. DeChambeau is becoming quite a controversial and popular figure on the PGA Tour. He hasn’t been able to leverage his success on his US Open victory at Winged Foot in 2020 as it looked like he was going to dominate the PGA Tour with his power approach to the game. His huge drives have been terrific but his short game and putting haven’t been good enough to dominate and he seems to be struggling in getting all of the pieces of his game together.

I believe DeChambeau’s approach, his “feud” with Koepka, his struggles and successes are all very good for the game of golf. We have all suffered at our levels as to what DeChambeau’s is experiencing as a professional and I believe this is what attracts the fans to watching him play. I still hold out hope that he is paired with Koepka in the upcoming Ryder Cup matches in September. Perhaps the purported conflicts between the two will motivate and relax a US squad that usually fails to perform in the event despite the superiority of the players on the team. More on that subject down the line.  Hopefully DeChambeau makes the cut in the Open Championship and we get to see him on the weekend.