Bryson DeChambeau's game hasn't translated across the ocean — yet

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Bryson DeChambeau has won the U.S. Open twice since 2020, but the Open on this side of the pond has been a Rubik's Cube he’s still struggling to solve. He’s missed the cut three times in seven previous appearances at the British Open, including at Royal Portrush in 2019 and last year at Royal Troon. Playing in the worst of the wind and rain in the opening round a year ago, he shot 76 and followed up with a 75 and said, “I can do it when it’s warm and not windy.” 

Well, chances are unlikely that will be the forecast this week at Portrush, where the waterproofs are expected to get a workout. DeChambeau’s game doesn’t seem built for the challenges unique to links golf.

“The high, really high ball flight, you don’t see him working his ball flight down as much,” said Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee. “I don’t see him hitting as many left-to-right shots when there’s hard right-to-left wind. If you can’t fight the crosswind, you’re very limited on what you can do coming into the green, especially if there’s a hole location on the windward side. It just requires a lot of nuance and savoir faire, just playing an Open Championship under windy conditions, and especially so, I would argue, at Portrush.”

DeChambeau, who grew up in Clovis, California, recalled getting his first taste of links golf at the 2015 Walker Cup at Royal Lytham. He played well, shooting 66 in a singles match. “I felt comfortable coming over here in 2017, and then I just wasn't prepared for the elements,” he recalled.

“Trying to ride the wind is something that's pretty simple to talk about but sometimes difficult to execute when it's a unique scenario, depending on where the hazards are and the bunkers are and trying to get a certain shot to a certain place, just being a little more strategic,” he added. “I just need more reps in a sense.”

Trying to understand the elements has always been a pet project of DeChambeau’s, and he shared that he is continuing to study how different types of wind affect the golf balls.

“It's going to take time to understand it,” he said. “Imagine a scenario where you've got a 400-yard tent, and you can just hit any type of shot with any wind with all the fans. That's what I imagine, like in a hangar or something like that in a big stadium. That would be cool to test.”

DeChambeau had just arrived from competing in the LIV Valderrama event and said it was good preparation for playing in the wind. He also noted the wind was challenging at Trump Doral near Miami earlier in the season. He was planning to test the elements and make the necessary adjustments. But despite some ball and club testing, he didn’t anticipate making any changes to his club setup this week and has returned to using the Avoda irons that he used to win the 2024 U.S. Open after switching to a set he designed for L.A. Golf at the U.S. Open this year.

“We just made the wall thickness a little different. Just for some reason, well, I know why, they were just coming off a little hotter. So we're working on building the new set to where it's the same wall thickness, and I'll put those other irons right back in play,” he said.

Nevertheless, DeChambeau expressed confidence that his game is in a better place this time for his latest attempt to solve the riddle of links golf.

“The times I've been over here, for some reason, my golf swing hasn't been where it needs to be. Right now, it feels as good as it's ever been. Hitting it far, hitting it straight as I can, and learning how to putt better on these greens in windy conditions and rain and all that,” he said. “It's just figuring it out. It's just going to take time and something that I never really experienced growing up in California.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Bryson DeChambeau hasn't shined in venues like Portrush