This year’s U.S. Open course in New York was a tough one, to say the least. Golfers, even the ones that were at the top of the leaderboard, struggled to get their drives on the fairway, and on the last day, nerves were clearly affecting them a bit more. There was a litany of missed easy puts, double bogeys and balls buried in bunkers. The only person who managed to remain steady was the tournament winner Bryson DeChambeau, who stuck around, trailing early leader Matt Wolff for most of the three days, then shooting a 67 on one of the toughest major courses out there. DeChambeau used a science-based approach where he relied on the statistically best approach to his game. “It’s a lot of validation through science, just making sure that the numbers are what they are and the result is accurate,” he said. “I know I’ve done everything I can in my brain to make my perception reality.”
DeChambeau is now the third player to win an NCAA amateur championship, a junior U.S. Open championship and the pro-U.S. Open joining Tiger Woods and Jack Nickalaus. Pretty good company.
While DeChambeau thrived on day four, Wolff floundered. Wolff was the leader heading into the last day and the 21-year-old clearly felt the pressure heading down the stretch who shot a 75 on the last day. DeChambeau has now set his sights on winning a green jacket at the Master’s next year and is looking to bring his science-based approach to the game.
