Bryson DeChambeau Qualifies for 43rd Ryder Cup

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU

It feels like hard-swinging sensation Bryson DeChambeau has been on the professional golf scene for a long time, even though he qualified for his one and only Ryder Cup just three years ago when he was one of four picks made by U.S. Captain Jim Furyk.

Now, three years later, DeChambeau has easily qualified for Team USA and will enter these matches as an eight-time PGA TOUR winner who has captured his first major championship (the 2020 U.S. Open) and appears ready to contend in the game’s biggest events quite often over the next decade.

With plenty of leadership from other Cup veterans, there isn’t a need for DeChambeau to be overly vocal in the team room, but rest assured he will have plenty of opportunity to let his clubs do the talking across this and the likely many future Ryder Cups he’s likely to be a part of.

What Bryson brings to the team

Determination. Will. Competitive spirit. Must-see antics. Just to name a few traits.

DeChambeau is a polarizing figure within golf, but he is sure to have the home crowds at Whistling Straits cheering his every swing, which could ultimately throw some of the European contingent for a loop.

He will keep galleries captivated. He will attempt to drive par-4s that aren’t meant to be drivable. He’ll try to reach par-5s with driver, 8-iron and he will swing as hard as he can on almost every shot he hits over the three days in Wisconsin.

That alone, is worth having DeChambeau on this team.

But DeChambeau also loves the Ryder Cup. He received his first dose of the atmosphere when he attended the 2016 Ryder Cup in Hazeltine National on his own, as a spectator, and often was seen revving up the raucous galleries on the first tee box. DeChambeau is built for this stage and the type of energy that it helps create.

“No other words to describe it than awesome,” DeChambeau said about his rookie Ryder Cup playing experience in 2018. “Just to be a part of the team and the atmosphere, it’s certainly something special and something that I’ll never forget in my lifetime, that’s for sure.”

Ideal partnerships

DeChambeau has only played in two Ryder Cup matches with partners, one with Phil Mickelson and one with Tiger Woods (how about that for pressure?). He played one Presidents Cup match with Tony Finau in Australia two years ago.

So, for U.S. Captain Steve Stricker, the week will be “Operation Find Bryson a Partner.”

Finau is on the list, because of previous familiarity. Dustin Johnson needs more options for partners and DeChambeau is certainly a possibility in what could be a decent, although unlikely, duo.

Patrick Cantlay would be another fit with DeChambeau, mostly because he’s quiet, unassuming and could be a perfect sidekick. Patrick Reed is another big option. DeChambeau-Reed wouldn’t work as well if the matches were in Europe. In the States, it’ll make the galleries go crazy for the home team.

Past results

DeChambeau can’t wait to build on his experiences from three years ago, where he went 0-3-0 in France. He vaulted near the top of the U.S. Ryder Cup Rankings last September when he won the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot and has not faltered since, adding a victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year

Whistling Straits will be a big week for DeChambeau. His match play skills as an amateur were impressive, winning the 2015 U.S. Amateur and going 2-0-1 in the 2015 Walker Cup, so big things are expected from him now that he’s a seasoned, perennial top-10 player in the world. Still, he will be looking to prove himself once again, this time on home soil as one of the top-ranked Americans on the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
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