Keegan Bradley vowed to pick the best 12 golfers for the next Ryder Cup. He won’t look at the allegiance; be it the PGA Tour or LIV Golf, only the performance matters. Last year, only one LIV golfer, Brooks Koepka, was selected. Others, like Bryson DeChambeau, lamented not receiving even a call from former captain Zach Johnson.
While Bradley’s impartiality promise has raised hopes for DeChambeau, some doubt if the LIV golfer would be the right choice for team dynamics. Actually, there is ample evidence that DeChambeau, in his current form, will be a tremendous addition to the US team. The latest one just came on the heels of an agonizing LIV Golf defeat.
Bryson DeChambeau has emerged as a leader
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On Sunday, Bryson DeChambeau and the Crushers were on the verge of celebrating. His teammate, Anirban Lahiri, needed to hole a 2-footer to be crowned the individual winner and take his Crushers to the podium as the team winner.
The short birdie putt lipped out. Eventually, in the playoff, Sergio Garcia walked away with his first LIV Golf title in his home country. While the camera captured that moment, DeChambeau divulged the subsequent events.
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Bryson DeChambeau took the first step to console his 37-year-old teammate. Not just a pep talk, but anecdotes from his setbacks followed. In the pre-Open Championship presser, DeChambeau recounted, “The only thing that I could say to him was that, Baan, you’ve improved so much as a player. You’ve gotten better since being on LIV, and the team that you have around you is here for you in full support. Don’t let this define you. This should only be a springboard platform for you to just continue to grow.”
In Ryder Cups, moments like these often become the deciding factor. How strongly a player can bounce back from a defeat often depends on how much support they get from their peers. Crushers had made a captain out of DeChambeau. While that takes care of one part, there is hardly any doubt about whether or not the two-time major champion enjoys the support of the public.
The crowd support at Bethpage will only push him forward
It was a strange scenario when Bryson DeChambeau was teeing off at Pinehurst No. 2. Rarely, if ever, has it happened that in the final round of a major, chants of ‘USA’ echoed in the gallery. But that’s exactly what happened whenever the Crushers captain made a clutch par-save or holed a clutch birdie putt.
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Compare that to the playoff between him and Patrick Cantlay in the 2021 BMW Championship. The stoic face of Bryson DeChambeau has given way to fist pumps and roars. The crowd, which has been his menace for the Crushers captain for a long time, has now become his biggest ally.
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Here is what he said a few days after his U.S. Open triumph: “When things don’t go my way, try to feed off the crowd a little bit to get me pumped up again, and if I hit a great shot, then interact with the fans as much as possible.” Undoubtedly, Bryson DeChambeau is ready for the Bethpage Black challenge.
But of course, he needs to keep the momentum going until the time comes for team selection. DeChambeau is also hungry; the 2023 Ryder Cup snub stung him to no end. Keegan Bradley won’t hesitate to dial his number, however. This time, it might be good news.
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