DeChambeau still remains his own worst enemy
By Ken Love
For the Mirror
Few golfers have had as much negative press as PGA-star Bryson DeChambeau has had over the past few weeks.
First, there was the abrupt split with long-time caddie Tim Tucker last month on the eve of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Though details of the split have remained private, DeChambeau was forced to find a last-minute replacement and eventually missed the cut in a tournament he had actually won just one year ago.
Next was DeChambeau’s poor performance at the British Open and an unfortunate press conference that included remarks that DeChambeau would soon regret:
“If I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that’s great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks,” he said.
DeChambeau’s unflattering equipment remarks reverberated not only through golfing media circles but quickly swirled across the entire sports world.
I cannot remember reading so many opinion articles where an athlete was so universally criticized.
The criticism didn’t end with the media. In an extremely unusual turn, DeChambeau’s own equipment company representative issued a statement denouncing his remarks.
“Everybody is bending over backwards. We’ve got multiple guys in R&D who are CAD’ing (computer-aided design) this and CAD’ing that, trying to get this and that into the pipeline faster. (Bryson) knows it … It’s just really, really painful when he says something that stupid.”
DeChambeau quickly issued an apology on social media the following day, but the damage of his initial remarks was already done. If all that wasn’t enough, DeChambeau’s long-awaited quest for an Olympic gold medal was dashed earlier this week when he tested positive for COVID-19.
It’s definitely been a tough few weeks for him.
SUBHD: Olympic curiosity
Winning an Olympic medal often results in fame.
In some cases, the result is even fortune.
For athletes from South Korea, however, there can be another unusual consequence. Military service (of at least 18 months) is mandatory for all adult South Korean men, and every male citizen is required to sign up by age 28.
Since the 1970s, however, the South Korean government has offered exemptions to mandatory military service for anyone who wins an Olympic medal.
During this year’s Tokyo Games, South Korea has two young men, Sungjae Im (23 years old) and Si Woo Kim (26), competing in the Olympic golf competition.
Both golfers are current members of the PGA tour and have yet to serve their military term.
Each is also eligible to have their military requirement revoked if they finish within the top three in the Olympic final this weekend.
If not, the golfers will eventually be required to temporarily halt their PGA tour career in order to fulfill their country’s 18-month military requirement.
SUBHD: Amazing 58
With the 28th annual Summit Invitational set for this weekend, I just want to say a few words about last year’s event.
The 2020 Summit tournament featured one of the most amazing performances in the history of area two-ball events.
After an opening round of 68 last year, the dominant local team of Artie Fink Jr. and Anthony DeGol needed a strong closing round in order to come out on top.
They were definitely up to the challenge.
Both Fink and DeGol played lights out on Sunday, scoring 10 birdies and two eagles for an unbelievable 14-under par score of 58.
I find it hard to believe a score like that will ever be beaten.
Ken Love covers local golf for the Mirror. He can be reached at gltr777@atlanticbb.net.
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