It’s the week of the US Open, and after the triumph at Winged Foot, defending champion Bryson Dechambeau fancies himself at Torrey Pines as well. Excerpts from an interview:
We saw pictures of some of the footage of you returning the trophy. Talk about what that felt like but also what it has been like having it for almost a year.
Bryson Dechambeau: Almost a year. I wish I would have had it for a year. But I’m blessed to have won this championship, and I think that from my perspective, touring it around a little bit, taking it to fun places and having some fun with it was great. I was nice enough to bring it back in good shape, no dinks, no dents, so that’s what I was proud about. Hopefully, I can take it back again this week.
Having seen the course already a little bit this week, where do you plan to be aggressive, and what are your thoughts on the setup?
Bryson Dechambeau: That’s a great question. I try to be as aggressive as possible. I feel like it’s a little bit similar to Winged Foot, albeit the grass and the rough is a little thicker. It’s a different type of grass, so you can’t get through it as easily. For the most part, I’m going to be trying to bomb it as much as possible and try to gouge it out when I don’t hit it in the fairway.
Anything that stands out to you as you look back on that year with the trophy?
Bryson: So, I took it to Albany in the Bahamas for a little bit. We had some fun with it. It was in some interesting places, but places that were safe. Yeah, taking it on the beach was fun and just taking pictures of it. That was cool. Where else did we have it? It was mainly in the house. Took it over to a bunch of buddies’ houses. I had it in my hometown, which was cool. It was special to have it back there and just getting everybody to see it. I grew up not too far away from my high school and was able to kind of tote it around there.
How much more of a grind is a U.S. Open week compared to other Majors or even other weeks?
Bryson: In the beginning years, it was a big grind trying to understand the golf course, what could I do. As the past couple years have come about, the game plan has really simplified my course preparation a lot, and so I haven’t really been able to — I don’t really need to go out as much, I don’t think, and try and get comfortable with all the golf holes. That’s one of the things that people don’t realize is you just get more comfortable over the years, so you don’t have to work as hard, which is nice.
I played with Akshay Bhatia, and he was going to go play 18 and practice a lot. I’m like, look, even I find it tough to relax on one of these weeks because you want to do so well, but he was working really hard, and I just said, look, you’ve got to take time off and rest and get your body ready for Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. It’s a long grind.
Obviously, the situation with Woods coming in, now you’re on a bigger stage at a U.S. Open. He was asked a little while ago what he thought that does or doesn’t do for golf. What’s your thoughts on that?
Bryson: No, I think it’s fun. There’s a point where it’s great banter. I personally love it. I think that, as time goes on, I hope on the weekend we can play against each other and compete. I think it would be fun and would be great for the game.
What are your memories of Tiger Woods winning here in 2008 and your thoughts on what he achieved?
Bryson: I would say the putt on 18 was very memorable. Obviously, him chipping in on 17, I think it was a Saturday, and making a couple eagles on 13, those are cool. But 18, making that putt knowing he had to make it, and there was nothing more to it. You just had to make it, and he was able to do it.
I’d say the times that human being has willed golf balls into a hole, it goes beyond conscious comprehension. It is beyond miraculous what he can do with the golf ball and what he can do for the game of golf in general. That’s what — I wish he was here, but I think that we’re all keeping him in good spirits and pumping him up when we can. His memory, his thought — my thought of him out here will keep pushing me forward to play my best.
Phil Mickelson was asked about you asking him about his flop shot. Can you talk about what went on there?
Bryson: It’s funny you say that. I didn’t realize there would be that much talk about him just describing his flop shot and how he does it. Chris was very interested — my coach Chris is super interested in trying to understand what’s going on, like how he hits that high spinner. I think that was a big question he’s had for a long time. How does Phil, how does Tiger, how do these guys do that shot? He just wanted to know, and we were asking him questions. There was a super slo-mo video on it, and he saw it, and he was like, man, it’s cool to actually see that in action. I know I do it, but to actually see it, it’s pretty cool.
It was a fun back-and-forth interaction. Phil is a great guy. He means really well for the sport. What he did at the PGA Championship was great for the game of golf. I hope he plays well here and competes and contends. Hopefully, I’ll have something to say about that, but we’ll see. Any time you get a little information from a veteran out here, it’s pretty useful. He’s done a lot.
What are the challenges of winning at Torrey Pines maybe in comparison to winning at Winged Foot?
Bryson Dechambeau: Personally, I’d say the rough is a little different, so it’s not going to be as easy to get through, I think, with the wedge out here at Torrey Pines compared to Winged Foot. But having said that, I think it’s going to be the same sort of strategy. If I can keep hitting it to the front of the greens, two-putting when I get into trouble, I’m going to give myself a great chance this week. When I hit it in the fairway, I have to take advantage of those holes, have to take advantage of the par-5s out here. If I can do those two things, I feel like I’ll have a great chance at contending.
Do you think your advantage is similar to what it was at Winged Foot or maybe Bay Hill?
Bryson Dechambeau: I think so. If I have over 190 mile-an-hour ball speed, it’s going to be tremendous out here covering bunkers and what not. But again, sometimes the bunkers are good to be in out here, though, I will say that. They’re in really great condition, and the rough lies can be treacherous sometimes. It really depends what type of lie you get.
I really don’t know if bunkers or rough is better, but for sure just getting it as close as I can to the green is going to be a strategy of mine.
Text courtesy: USGA
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