Bryson DeChambeau is back to competing, preparing for US Open title defense after ‘fun side quests’

GAINESVILLE, Va. (AP) — As much as Bryson DeChambeau loves to practice and compete, the U.S. Open champion also appreciates the limited LIV Golf schedule that gives him time to pursue other interests.

DeChambeau arrived at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club for LIV Golf Virginia after a characteristically busy few days that included a round of golf with President Donald Trump and some short-game practice on the South Lawn of the White House.

Now the big-hitting YouTube star turns his attention to the 54-hole LIV event that starts Friday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. He said the thick rough and fast greens at RTJ would help prepare him for Oakmont, where he will try next week to win his third U.S. Open after triumphs last year at Pinehurst No. 2 and in 2020 at Winged Foot.

“I think LIV afforded me the opportunity to spend more time thinking, strategizing, getting my body healthy, ready for majors in a pretty unique way,” DeChambeau said Wednesday. “For me, it was a great thing. I thought there was an opportunity to do other things in life, and look, do I want to win every single tournament I show up to? 100%.”

The RTJ event is the eighth of 14 tournaments this year for the globetrotting, Saudi-funded LIV Golf League. Although PGA Tour players have more freedom to set their own schedules, they typically play more often. For top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, the U.S. Open will be the fourth of five events in a seven-week stretch.

DeChambeau hasn’t competed since last month’s PGA Championship, won by Scheffler. While DeChambeau was enjoying a friendly round with Trump and posting a YouTube short in which he hit golf balls from the top of a mountain and the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Scheffler was finishing off his third win of the past month at the Memorial.

“I’ve been doing some fun side quests, yes, there’s no doubt,” DeChambeau said.

When he does compete, nobody practices harder than DeChambeau. He hit 1,029 range balls — more than anyone else in the field — at the Masters, where he finished in a tie for fifth.

The 31-year-old DeChambeau said he developed his practice habits as a teenager, when other junior golfers in California were beating him even though they didn’t appear to try as hard.

“It stemmed from me not being as good as others and then realizing I can only be as good as how hard I work,” DeChambeau said. “So I just became obsessed with hitting crazy amounts of golf balls.”

Known for trying to optimize his swing and his equipment to produce a consistent ball flight — a long, high draw — DeChambeau also spends time practicing the unusual shots he needs to finish off tournaments.

“As much as I am a robot, and try to swing it as straight as possible and just stable as possible, I still do have to hit cuts and draws and hit weird shots every once in a while,” he said. “Giving myself those opportunities in the bunker, in the bush, whatever, has only aided in my golf career.”

Phil Mickelson nears the end

After he shocked the golf world four years ago by winning the PGA Championship at age 50, Phil Mickelson had a moment of honest self-assessment.

“It’s very possible that this is the last tournament I ever win. Like if I’m being realistic,” Mickelson said on that triumphant Sunday at Kiawah Island.

Mickelson hasn’t won since, and while he wasn’t eager to reflect Wednesday on a career that includes six major titles and just as many famous near-misses, he indicated his competitive future is limited.

He said he wants to help his teammates on LIV’s HyFlyers squad and would step away if he’s no longer doing that.

“I’m also going to be 55 in a couple weeks, so I want to be realistic there, too. I want this team to succeed. I don’t want to hold it back,” Mickelson said. “If I’m holding it back, then it’s time for me to move on and get somebody else in here.”

Mickelson also acknowledged the possibility that Oakmont will be his last U.S. Open. He has a record six runner-up finishes at the national championship, the only major he hasn’t won.

“There’s a high likelihood that it will be,” Mickelson said, “but I haven’t really thought about it too much.”

The USGA gave Mickelson a special exemption to the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which he ultimately didn’t need because he won at Kiawah a month earlier. Nonetheless, the USGA historically does not grant more than one special exemption to non-U.S. Open champions. The only player to get more than one such invitation without having won the championship is Seve Ballesteros, who got two.

Mickelson has missed the past three U.S. Open cuts. He remains exempt for the other three majors as a past champion.

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