By Alex Myers
With a second marquee win of the PGA Tour season at the Northern Trust on Sunday, Bryson DeChambeau took a big step toward making the U.S. Ryder Cup team next month. He also joined quite an exclusive club, as noted by PGATour.com’s Sean Martin:
The only players to win an NCAA Championship, U.S. Amateur and at least three PGA TOUR events before their 25th birthday:
Bryson DeChambeau
Tiger Woods
Phil Mickelson
Jack NicklausThursday was the three-year anniversary of DeChambeau’s U.S. Amateur victory.
— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) August 26, 2018
Jack. Tiger. Phil. Bryson? Yep, pretty darn impressive.
DeChambeau cruised to a four-shot victory at Ridgewood Country Club to pick up PGA Tour title No. 3. He won the Memorial earlier this season after claiming the John Deere Classic in 2017.
A missed cut at the PGA Championship earlier this month, however, may have kept DeChambeau from automatically qualifying for his first Ryder Cup. He finished ninth in the team standings with the eighth and final spot going to Webb Simpson. After Sunday’s win, though, it’s going to be tough for U.S. captain Jim Furyk to not use one of his four picks on DeChambeau, who also climbed to a career-best No. 12 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
And if DeChambeau makes the squad, he’ll probably join two of the golfers in that aforementioned exclusive club, Woods and Mickelson. Woods, who is currently one of the team’s vice captains and is a frequent practice-round partner of DeChambeau, had this to say about the young star on Sunday.
“I think he would be a great Ryder Cup partner for anyone,” said Woods of DeChambeau, who turns 25 Sept. 16. “The guy is fiery. He’s competitive, and we want guys like that.”
Having one of the most impressive golf résumés of anyone under 25 ever doesn’t hurt, either.