PGA Championship Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Bryson Dechambeau Press Conference It's Demanding
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PGA Championship Wednesday, May 19, 2021 Kiawah Island, South Carolina, USA The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Bryson DeChambeau Press Conference It's demanding. You've got 14 straight into the wind, a little bit off the left, but it's 240 into the wind, and I watched Phil THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon. Welcome back to hit hybrid and he hit a great shot and then you've got Kevin the 2021 PGA Championship here at the Ocean Course in hitting 3-wood. It's not easy. It's definitely a difficult test at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. We are really happy to hand. I think that's what's so unique about this golf course have Bryson DeChambeau, 2020 U.S. Open champion. is that when the wind picks up, it is probably one of the hardest golf courses I've ever played. Bryson, welcome to what is your fifth career PGA Championship. I guess you could kind of call this long You can't miss it in certain areas, either. Like you can't bail course meets long hitter. But I'm curious, will this course out left or right. You've just got to have your ball-striking on require you just because of its extreme length, longest in the whole day, and if you don't, you're going to get major championship history, are you going to be hitting penalized. some different shots than you hit week to week on the Tour or any other major championship courses? Q. You're known as a player who likes to make data-driven decisions, take variables and guesswork BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, definitely. This golf out of play, but playing in wind like this there's always course is a beast. Hopefully I can unleash the beast, but a certain amount of guesswork. How comfortable are you never know. May hit it right or left, I don't know. But you guessing? I'd say for the most part you have to hit it pretty straight out here, even though you hit it pretty far, or I'm hitting it pretty BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: We try to make our best far. I would say there are holes that you just can't go after. educated guess, but it doesn't always work out. Like for No. 4 is a great example. Hitting driver there, probably you example, today I hit a perfect shot with a 53-degree wedge could do it today because it's so into the wind, but for most at 10:30 and on the device it says it went the right distance guys -- I watched players hitting hybrids and 3-woods in all and then we looked up and it landed five yards past the day today, and that's not easy. flag and went over the green just because of wind and something we couldn't feel or control. It just gusted right at I'm sure the tee boxes will be moved up in certain areas, that moment. A lot of it is going to be dependent on luck but for most players out there, if you don't hit it long, it's this week. I will say that. When it's dependent on luck you going to be a tough week, especially hitting hybrid or 3-iron have to be patient. You have to say either there's going to or 4-iron into these greens that are so penalizing around be good breaks, there's going to be bad breaks, but you the green complexes. have to be patient, wait for those opportunities to make birdies on the par-5s, on those short par-4s, and just hit it For me my length is an advantage, but if I can hit it straight in the middle of the green this week. That is my ultimate this week in this wind and control the golf ball and control goal is if I can hit as many greens as possible, I think I'll do the flight of it, that'll be my biggest advantage. okay. Q. What are some of the different questions that Q. Do you have any new or different strategies for Kiawah asks of you compared to other courses that taking any of that guesswork out of it in the wind? you've played? BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Not that I've come up with yet. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Well, I have not had hybrids or I mean, I wish. If there was a way to figure out the wind -- 4-irons into par-3s since I've gotten longer. That's a new man, you guys are going to eat this one up, but the laminar one. I think for other players it's 3-woods and hybrids in for flow of the wind and how it works -- I mean, look, there are them. certain times where over certain dune hills and stuff on greens and before the greens where the wind will flow 107554-1-1002 2021-05-19 19:39:00 GMT Page 1 of 5 down and up and over certain mounds, so that's going to driving and terrible in putting and never win. There's make it feel weird, play different, and it's just going to affect always about two categories you've got to be really good at how the ball goes. to win golf tournaments, and I think the most important ones are driving and putting, no doubt. Even on the putting green, I'd say that's the most important thing is putt on these greens knowing how the wind is Q. Following up on the putting, you say you're 75 going to affect your putt, man, you're way ahead of the percent this week -- game. Nobody has figured it out other than intuitively. You're over the putt and you go, oh, more gust and so you BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Confident. push a little bit more or whatever to account for that. Q. Where were you going into the U.S. Open? Q. Just curious, what's the longest drive you've hit this week on the course? BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: The U.S. Open I was like 90, 95. Yeah, it's just starting the ball on line. I'm not starting BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Well yesterday I had like 160 it on line like I would like. Hopefully I can work that out yards into 7, so whatever that is. today and be comfortable for tomorrow. Q. What's the shortest drive you've hit with your Q. I keep hearing talk that you're throttling it back. driver? What does that mean? BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I think it was on 15 -- 15 I just BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Well, it's just to control it a little pumped driver. It was like 187 ball speed, and I still had bit better. You can't let it loose out here. There's certain like a -- even 18 I had 6-iron in -- no, 15 I had 5-iron in, so I golf courses like last week I could kind of let it loose a little hit driver like 270 into the wind and it's blowing 30 miles an bit, but even at that I was still trying to control ball flight. hour and I hit it a little too high. I'm still trying to gain speed. It's not like I'm not. It's just I'm trying to find more efficient ways to do it. Sometimes Q. What's your comfort level on the greens? when you lock things down or make your golf swing more consistent, it doesn't always produce more speed. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: On the greens this week, I mean, I'm okay. I'm like 75 percent there. Last week was Especially the driver I'm using right now, it's not fully maxed like 50 percent. I'm a little bit better than where I was last out with everything, and there are reasons for that. Just week, but this week I'm probably 75 percent. Hopefully it trying to keep the head a lot longer rather than having it gets a little better over the week. But the wind really break every couple weeks. affects putts. That's the tough part. You have a perfect aim and you hit it and the wind gusts and moves it along. Q. Is this driver from the one you used at the Masters? You've got to be willing to adapt and adapt really quickly out here. BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: It's way different. It's three degrees more loft. It's different face design, different Q. I'm kind of curious, if I could guarantee that you weight. But it's the driver that I've always -- I drove it would lead like one statistical category on the PGA unbelievably well -- without distance I was No. 1 in driving TOUR for the next say five years, what category would in early 2018 and that's the best I had ever driven it in my that be? entire life and I felt like I was on auto pilot and it was this driver that worked really well, and then it unfortunately BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Driving for sure. broke after hitting it enough times and I had to get another driver and it wasn't the same after that. So I've been Q. How come? searching for that setup ever since, and it's tough to make it perfect. Nobody has found out how to do that.