DEEP STATE

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU’S PHYSIQUE AND RESULTING DISTANCE ADVANTAGE OFF THE TEE WILL BE A KEY NARRATIVE AT THE SAUDI INTERNATIONAL BUT THE AMERICAN IS SEARCHING FOR EVEN BIGGER GAINS ELSEWHERE

- Kent Gray

New year (thankfully), same old questions (inevitably). Mercifully, Bryson DeChambeau’s answers to repeated questions of distance, lengthy affairs in of themselves, never get tired. That’s because the reigning U.S. Open champion is still looking for more pop off the tee and articulates said pursuit of once unthinkable performance gains with such fascinating honesty. Romping to victory by six strokes at Winged Foot in September has not only served to embolden his plan for world dominance via scientifically verified brute force but given us more unique insights into the future of the game (like it or not) from the eminently quotable Californian.

“Exactly,” DeChambeau said when asked if his major breakthrough had reinforced the belief in the methods that were seen as madness not so long ago. “I’m not trying to prove my point, just showcasing it, in a sense, saying this is what I’m going to do and how I’m going to do it.”

DeChambeau’s reshaped physique and resulting distance gains were arguably the golf story of 2020, save for a pesky pandemic and the brief distraction of Dustin Johnson’s emotional Masters win. But it’s the second part of his bomb-and-gouge methodology where the 27-year-old has been equally focused recently, even if the media have mostly focused on his new bromance with world long drive champion Kyle Berkshire.