Bryson DeChambeau Has Big Advantage in Treacherous Rough at US Open

The US Open is set to tee-off at Torrey Pines on Thursday, and there’s no shortage of stories to sink your teeth into.

The defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau, has the opportunity to win back-to-back US Opens, which was ironically last achieved by his newfound rival, Brooks Koepka, in 2017 and 2018.

DeChambeau ran away from the field at the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot, winning the event by six strokes while also being the only golfer to shoot under par. Don’t be shocked if you see a similar type of performance from DeChambeau this week.

WynnBET has DeChambeau’s odds to win his second straight US Open set at +1750. He’s fourth on the odds list behind Jon Rahm (+900), Xander Schauffele (+1500), and Dustin Johnson (+1700).

If there’s any of the four majors that fit his style the most, it has to be the US Open. The USGA, who determines the set up of the courses that host the event, loves to lengthen tracks while making the rough as deep and treacherous as possible.

This year is no different. The South Course at Torrey Pines has been slightly lengthened for the US Open, compared to its set up at the annual Farmers Insurance Open which it hosts in January. While normally playing as a par 72, it will be played as a par 71 for this week’s major championship.

Then there’s the rough. As is tradition, the USGA likes to grow the rough as thick as possible for US Opens. It’s become a yearly tradition for several videos to be put out on social media of people throwing various golf balls at the rough to watch it disappear.

While everyone is focused on DeChambeau’s length of the tee, as he averages 322.7 yards per drive which ranks first on the PGA Tour, it’s actually his play out of thick rough that gives him a significant advantage.

DeChambeau is the only golfer on the PGA Tour who has customized all of his irons and wedges to be the same size, roughly the size of a generic 7 iron. That means his wedges and short irons are significantly longer than anyone else's. Longer wedges means he can create high clubhead speed with his approach shots. Higher clubhead speed means he can get the ball out of thick rough a lot cleaner than people with generic sized wedges.

If I’ve confused you or made you fall asleep, let Rory McIlroy explain it instead. At this year’s Players Championship, he spoke about why he has been trying to mimic DeChambeau’s style of play.

“The one thing that people don’t appreciate is how good Bryson is out of the rough. Not only because of how upright he is, but because his short irons are longer than standard, so he can get a little bit more speed through the rough than other guys," McIlroy said.

So while you may think the deep rough will hurt a guy who favors distance over accuracy off the tee, that’s not necessarily the case, and last year’s US Open dominance at Winged Foot proved it.

We’ll see if DeChambeau can repeat that success at Torrey Pines this week.