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Andrew Redington/ WME IMG/WME IMG via Getty Images
Bryson DeChambeau talks to the press prior on Tuesday ahead of the inaugural Saudi International at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City,
By Kent Gray
Bryson DeChambeau has vowed to play quicker but admits he won’t be delivering on that promise anytime soon. In fact, golf’s most interesting man hopes fans will cut him some slack by seeing his methodical, scientifically formulated pre-shot routine as part of the process of providing the “best entertainment” he can.
Fresh from his record-breaking Omega Dubai Desert Classic triumph on Sunday, DeChambeau waltzed into King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) for the new Saudi International – and smack bang into a brewing storm over his pace of play.
While the 25-year-old American’s shot making at Emirates Golf Club last week was lauded and even highly entertaining in its complexity, the time he took to execute led Golf Digest’s John Feinstein to call out DeChambeau in a feature urging golf’s tour’s to finally tackle the scourge of slow play.
“The latest example,” Feinstein wrote “came this past weekend at the Dubai Desert Classic, where the eventual winner, Bryson DeChambeau marched to a seven-stroke victory … one tedious step at a time. “
RELATED: Isn’t it time pro golf fixes its slow play problem?
Speaking to the media at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club, DeChambeau said he understood the frustration but was unapologetic about his system.
“It’s actually quite impressive that we’re able to get all that stuff done in 45 seconds. People don’t realise that it’s very difficult to do everything we do in 45 seconds,” he started.
“I think that anybody that has an issue with it, I understand, but we’re playing for our livelihoods out here, and this is what we want to do. If we want to provide the best entertainment for you, it’s part of our process. It’s part of my process, at least.”
DeChambeau will have a job convincing outsiders that his process, for all its recent success – four wins in his last nine starts – is good for the game long time. That didn’t stop the world No.5 from trying hard to do so on Tuesday.
“Some people don’t do what we do and they are successful, right? But they have got loads of experience that I haven’t really necessarily had, so I have to find another way to be just as consistent as them without the experience.
“So I have to kind of do that stuff initially, and down the road, it will keep getting quicker and quicker and quicker, because I’m certainly not a slow walker, I know that, but sometimes we get over it and yeah, we go through a process because there’s adjustments that we need to make.
“Look, when I’m just playing normal golf, back at home, I don’t do any of this, just because I want to have fun. And I certainly do have fun out here, I’m not saying that. But this is my job and I want to do it well.
“If I’m a guy that’s out here 15 years and they have seen the golf course before and they know it plays more uphill or whatever, they are going to make an adjustment. Maybe not to the precision level that we are doing but that’s kind of the way it is.”
DeChambeau admitted he was put on the clock during the Desert Classic – “shoot, we’re almost put on the clock every week” – but insist it didn’t phase him.
“No. I’m used to it now. We try and speed up. Trust me, we do our due diligence to speed up and do our best. I’m not trying to slow anyone down. It’s just a part of the process and unfortunately The Rules of Golf allow for a certain amount of time, and we’re using it to our fullest potential.”
Don’t expect the Californian to play any differently this week either.
“I haven’t seen the course yet but from what I’ve heard, it’s kind of like a bomber’s paradise a little bit. We have to hit some good iron shots in there on the right tiers. I think that’s going to be the challenge this week is hitting it to the right tiers of the greens, and so all the top guys in the world right now are great ball strikers, and you know, the end of the day, it’s going to be difficult, but it’s going to be a great test that I’m looking forward to.”
DeChambeau said it was an honour to play in the European Tour’s newest stop, an event where exposing golf to Saudis is as important as exposing KAEC and the wider Kingdom to the golf world.
So what do young Saudi’s need to do to make it to the big time?
“What I have to say for kids, growing up or people that are aspiring to be professionals, is that you have to work as hard as you possibly can. You’ve got to realize that the earth is massive and there are people that are on the other side of the earth [that are], while you’re sleeping, working on their game.
“So at every moment, you need to be sleeping, breathing, drinking, thinking about the game of golf and if they can keep their minds on it and focus on getting better every single day in some small facet, then they are on the right step to becoming a professional.
“I pretty much gave up everything as a kid to be as good as I possibly could be. I didn’t go to social outings or anything. It was just me wanting to be the best.”
