Bryson DeChambeau Not Confident Ahead of PGA Championship

2020 US Open winner Bryson DeChambeau isn't extremely confident heading into this week’s PGA Championship, and he shouldn’t be.

In fact, you should instead take a look at some Europeans to find success at the event. WynnBET currently has DeChambeau’s odds of capturing his second major championship at +1700, but you wouldn't think that from his comments today.

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island is about as long of a course as you’ll see on the PGA Tour, measuring in at around 7,876 yards. Given how long DeChambeau can hit it off the tee, you would think that his style of play would fit perfectly at a course that plays this long.

So why is DeChambeau only “75% confident” heading into this week’s major championship?

One reason could be the wind. With Kiawah located along the oceanfront, there are reports that there will be wind gusts of over 20 mph this week which could make an errant drive by DeChambeau miss by that much more than someone who may play a shorter game off the tee.

The more pressing reason doesn’t have anything to do with his 320-plus yard drives or the wind, it has to do with the rough that’s at Kiawah.

Many people think that Bryson’s biggest advantage on the field is his driving distance, but it’s actually his ability to hit the ball out of deep rough. One facet of his game that some people forget about is that the length of all of his irons and wedges are the same. Because of that, his wedges are longer than anyone else's on Tour. Longer wedges means he can create more speed with his short approach shots. More wedge speed means you have a MUCH easier time getting the ball out of thick rough and up onto the green.

With Kiawah playing as a traditional links style course, there is virtually no deep rough to be found throughout the year. To help make a hard course even more difficult for the Championship, the PGA has added some “thick” rough in areas, but it’s not nearly as thick or as deep as it is at courses like Winged Foot, the location of DeChambeau’s 2020 US Open victory.

Hitting a golf ball a quarter mile is certainly fun to watch, and it’s hard to blame golf media for focusing on that part of DeChambeau’s game, but his true advantage is at courses with treacherous rough that would act almost like a hazard for the majority of golfers.

Make no mistake about it, Bryson is talented enough that he can still win this week, but it seems like he knows this course isn’t the best possible fit for his skill set despite the fact that it measures almost 7,900 yards.

Vegas seems to have more confidence in his ability to win this week than he does himself. DeChambeau’s odds of capturing his second major championship are behind just Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm.