Bryson DeChambeau’s refusal to yell fore only brings the game’s best character down

Niall McIntyre

Bryson Dechambeau is ready to rock with the driver, he’s raring, he’s tearing, he’s like a lion sizing up a zebra and there’s a second as you sit there on the couch, when time stands still.

If there’s someone beside you, you’ll tell them to put the phone down, to get their head out of the paper, to watch out because this son of a gun is going to blast this thing a country mile. There’s something thrilling about that and it’s one of the many pulsating things about a man like Bryson Dechambeau, that you just have to stand back and admire.

Here’s another one.

The critics might not like to admit it but this is a man who, at 25, took a leap of faith that revolutionised one of the world’s oldest games. It made him a threat, it made him a target and you wouldn’t have had to listen to too many golfers to smell the jealousy and the envy when the scientist’s style won him the 2020 US Open.

What Bryson was doing was perfectly within the rules and God knows the rules have every base covered in golf, yet there were still calls for limitations to restrain this beast. That DeChambeau smirked his way through the storm was yet another reason to love this golfer in a game that is only crying out for characters. The Californian’s recent feud with Brooks Koepka only adds to the entertainment and the buzz of it all because when you see him in the background of his great rival’s interviews, jumping up and down like a child in a field, you’d want a face of stone not to smile at it all.

PGA Tour has the opportunity to pair Bryson DeChambeau & Brooks Koepka on Saturday at the US Open… #PGATour #USOpen
pic.twitter.com/DQSTP1ZFsK

— SportsGridRadio (@SportsGridRadio) June 19, 2021

And while all of these simple joys had us glossing over the fact that he’s one of the slowest golfers on tour, that he’s come across as petty and tempestuous during clashes with rules officials, and most notably with a camera-man at the back-end of 2020, it’s a relatively recent tendency that’s dragging this character down to the ground.

It all came to a head at this week’s US Open when on numerous occasions, DeChambeau’s tee-shots went right, left and straight down on top of the gallery without even the faintest hint of a ‘fore’ from the ball-striker. On Sky Sports, Nick Dougherty referred to it as “concerning,” and you’d have to agree with the Englishman because those balls are travelling fast and they’re travelling dangerously.

Frustration can be a overwhelming emotion, especially on the golf course but basic courtesy and manners should never be forsaken. In the footage below, frustration couldn’t even be blamed as DeChambeau seemed to be aiming off-line in the first place and after all that, you’d have to question his caddie Tim Tucker as to why he wasn’t making the call.

Bryson DeChambeau out here intentionally hitting into the gallery on the 4th hole and not caring to yell "fore" like everyone else would pic.twitter.com/SdkqxTfxzj

— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) June 19, 2021

It was the last straw for many of us when an innocent box full of Stella felt the full force of it on Sunday. Come on Bryson, all it is is one syllable.