Very few observers would have been surprised at Bryson DeChambeau’s win in the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio this week. The 24-year-old Californian has a thoroughly decent 2018, finishing second in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, third in RBC Heritage and also recording four more top 10 finishes. He is 4thin the FedEx Cup standings, 8thin the US Ryder Cup standings. Indeed, there are a lot of top players who would envy that kind of consistency going into the 2018 US Open (14th– 17thJune, Shinnecock Hills).
YouTube: Bryson DeChambeau’s highlights | Round 4 | the Memorial
It’s going to be intriguing to see if DeChambeau can bring his best game to New York next week. His record in Majors, albeit he has only played a handful, is quite poor. DeChambeau’s best finish was tied-15thin the 2016 US Open, which was his first Major after tuning pro. More recently, he had a decent finish inside the top 40 at the Masters 2018.
DeChambeau’s US Open odds cut after Memorial win
It’s safe to say, however, that some bookmakers are a little scared of DeChambeau after his heroics this week in Ohio. William Hill have put him in at 33/1 for the US Open, a similar price to the likes of Masters champion Patrick Reed or Henrik Stenson. Some are more reluctant to slash his odds though. Coral, for example, keep DeChambeau at a hefty 50/1 to triumph at Shinnecock Hills. Not bad, when you can get £30 coral free bet offers to use on golf.
The question for many will be centred around DeChambeau’s chances of joining the rest of golf’s young guns – Spieth, Thomas, Fowler, McIlroy – at the very elite level of the game. Spieth, of course, has been remarkably consistent in the Majors since bursting on to the screen in 2015, so you can see why he is as low as 10/1 with some bookmakers to win his second US Open.
Unfair to compare anyone to Spieth
Indeed, it is perhaps unfair to compare DeChambeau’s career to that of Spieth’s. Despite the fact they are both 24-years-old, the Texan has had such a fast start to his career that it should not really be held up in comparison to others. Jack Nicklaus said recently that he believes Tiger Woods can still break his record of Majors; it might be that Spieth is the more likely candidate.
While DeChambeau would likely be happy with Spieth’s haul of Majors by the end of his career, the Californian does have plenty of believers in his talents and many believe he will soon land one of the big prizes in golf. The golf world is intrigued with his unconventional swing and unusual clubs (his irons are all the cut the same length and he uses JumboMax Grips), but the crucial factor is that all seems to work well for DeChambeau.
This affable 24-year-old with a unique swing might take a bit more time to settle in among the top players of the game. However, don’t rule DeChambeau out of taking his game to the next level sooner rather than later. It could just be that Shinnecock Hills is the venue for one of 2018’s most consistent players to step out from the shadow of his other young peers.
