Former SMU golfer Bryson DeChambeau won the 2020 U.S. Open today, his first major championship and ninth professional win.
The tournament was played at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. The conditions of the course proved to be extremely challenging on the final day, as evidenced by the majority of the scores posted. However, looking at DeChambeau’s scorecard would give no indications of the difficulties the field faced. He posted a three-under, 67, and finished the tournament with four rounds at even-par or lower [69, 68, 70, 67 for a total of 274].
DeChambeau entered the day in second place by two strokes, trailing Matthew Wolff. Wolff finished the day with a five-over 75. DeChambeau was only a stroke ahead of Wolff as the two made the turn to the back nine, and the major looked to be set up for a thrilling finish in the same vein as the PGA Championship earlier this year.
That was not to be, however, as the 10th and 11th holes proved to be the game-changers. Wolff made bogey on ten and par on eleven, while DeChambeau birdied the 11th and never looked back.
DeChambeau has been at the head of the trend of hitting the ball further, bulking up during the last year after publicly stating he was going to focus on lengthening his driver.
This strategy looks to be paying off for DeChambeau. According to Golf Digest, his driving distance has increased 22.5 yards this year to 325 yards, which leads the PGA Tour. DeChambeau is employing a unique strategy in the world of golf, one that looks to be paying dividends thus far. All eyes will be on him at the Masters, which begins on November 12th.
