Ryder Cup rookie Bryson DeChambeau soaking up atmosphere in Paris
Bryson DeChambeau, making his first Ryder Cup appearance for Team USA this week in Paris, got some advice on how to handle the atmosphere from Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
If Bryson DeChambeau arrived in Paris with any doubt about what to expect in his first Ryder Cup, he found some good mentors.
DeChambeau, one of U.S. captain Jim Furyk’s four picks, played with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed in his practice round at Le Golf National on Wednesday. Woods and Mickelson have combined for 18 Ryder Cups. Reed, meanwhile, was the hero of the winning American team at Hazeltine in 2016, defeating Rory McIlroy in his singles match and earning the nickname “Captain America.”
The experience will be something new to DeChambeau. The 25-year-old California native is making his inaugural Ryder Cup appearance after a breakout year on the PGA Tour. He won three tournaments, including the first two events of the FedEx Cup playoffs, and finished third in the final cup standings.
DeChambeau got his first look at the raucous Ryder Cup atmosphere two years ago, when he watched from the gallery as the Americans defeated Team Europe at Hazeltine. Playing on enemy soil in Paris, however, brings a different challenge. DeChambeau admits he doesn’t know what awaits him when he tees off for the first time on Friday.
“I don’t necessarily know what to expect come Friday,” he said at his press conference, “but I know that if my game is on, I’ll be a little nervous but I’ll be comfortable. I’ll be able to perform and execute.”
Getting input from the veterans of the American team like Woods and Mickelson, he believes, will only help him and fellow rookies Tony Finau and Justin Thomas get over that initial uncertainly.
“It’s nice to have veterans out on the golf course, for my first time at least,” he said. “It’s just nice to be able to have people that are looking at me going, ‘hey dude, how do you feel?…It’s nice for them to say, hey in these situations this may happen, or that may happen.”
Despite the star power of the American team, which features 11 of the top 20 players in the world, the challenge of playing in Europe makes them feel like underdogs. Team USA hasn’t won the Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993.
The last impression European golf fans got of DeChambeau wasn’t a positive one. He had a meltdown on the practice range after the first round of the Open Championship in July, tossing clubs and covering his face in his hands as the “Mad Scientist” lost control of his game. The next week he led thru 54 holes of the Porsche European Open in Germany before a final-round 78 dropped him to 13th.
Next: Best NFL player from each state
DeChambeau, however, usually so methodical and scientific, feels like the passion he displayed at Carnoustie isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In the hostile environment of a Ryder Cup, he believes that emotion will only help him.
“When I get frustrated on the golf course, sometimes you don’t see it because I’m trying to be professional and I have to be professional,” he said. “But there’s a lot of fire in there. It could frustrate me at times, but it also could motivate me. And it motivates me most of the time in a very positive way, it fires me up in a good way. And that’s why I think I’ll be good for the Ryder Cup team.”
DeChambeau is sitting out the first foursome session, beginning at 8:10 a.m. local time (2:10 a.m. EST) on Friday. Groups for the afternoon will be announced when the morning session is finished.