PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland :Bryson DeChambeau said he was ready to go home after a horror round of 78 at the British Open on Thursday but, after drawing on his dad’s mantra of never giving up, he roared back with a fabulous six-under par 65 on Friday to boost his hopes of making the cut.
DeChambeau resembled a high-handicap hacker at times on Thursday, on one occasion managing an air shot as he tried a baseball-style swing at a ball embedded in deep rough high on a bank.
By the end of the round, where he didn’t manage a single birdie, he looked as if he wanted to be anywhere but Royal Portrush, trudging off to sign for a seven-over card.
Asked what he was thinking at the time, the American said: “I want to go home.
“But I woke up this morning and I said, ‘I can’t give up’. My dad always told me never to give up, just got to keep going, and that’s what I did today. I was proud of the way I fought back.”
He was certainly a different player after his early start on Friday, finding seven birdies and one bogey to sit one-over, yet he said there were no major changes in his approach.
“I’ve played the same as I did yesterday. That’s links golf for you,” he said.
“I executed pretty much the same shots as I did yesterday. I didn’t feel like I played any different. Today they just kind of went more my way.”
DeChambeau, twice U.S. Open champion, has a wretched record at The Open, with a best finish of tied eighth in 2022 sitting alongside three missed cuts and a tied 33rd, tied 51st and tied 60th from his seven attempts.
“In order to be a complete golfer you’ve got to win over here. That’s something I’ve struggled to do,” he said.
“I’ve played well at times when it’s dry and greens are more consistent … But when it gets as chaotic as this, with the wind going every which way, flipping on 18 completely, you have to be a complete golfer that pivots on demand.”
DeChambeau, famous for his left-field club tinkering, revealed that he had been practising with a new ball that he feels could help with his control, but said it was too soon to put it into action.
“It’s coming; it’ll be here, worst case scenario September, but an iteration of it in the next couple weeks.
“I need a golf ball that on wedges can click on the face more consistently. I get a lot of slipping on the face just because of how vertical I am and how much loft I have … so getting something that comes off at a more consistent trajectory in adverse conditions is really the goal.”
