Bryson DeChambeau is at the team’s disposal. He will do what he’s told. He will be what they order. If he has to be a leader, he’s ready to step up. If he has to stay in the background, he wouldn’t have any problem with that either. In fact, he doesn’t even object to being left out of the first foursome session this Friday morning. “If I play, great. If they decide otherwise, I’ll support the team fully no matter what. I have no problem. I’m up for anything. I can play with anyone. I love all my teammates. The locker room is magnificent,” he says. The fact: he has played two foursomes and lost both. We’ll see what happens.
DeChambeau assures that his only obsession this week is to be a support for his teammates. “I want to support, be there for whatever anyone needs. If someone needs energy, I’ll be there. Support, support, and support. The only important thing is for the team to win. My dream was always to represent the United States in competition. I always did. As an amateur in the Walker Cup and then as a professional in the Ryder. I missed the Olympics due to Covid, but it’s what I love the most. I was disappointed to miss out on Rome and I’m excited to be here.”
That said, there is one indulgence he would like to have this week. It’s not small and will depend a lot on chance. It involves playing against Rory McIlroy at some point. “I think rivalries are good for golf and, although I have the utmost respect for Rory as a player, it’s going to be fun to compete against him this week, whether directly or in pairs. I think it’s going to be a fun challenge. Would I like to face him? Yes. It would be a lot of fun. Is it going to happen? It’s not the most likely. I mean, maybe once. You never know. I don’t know if there’s planning behind it or whatever. But look, he’s a fierce competitor, a great competitor, and I’d love to have the chance to play against him this week,” he explains.
It might be going too far, but if DeChambeau asserts so strongly that it’s unlikely he’ll face McIlroy, there are two options: either he’s only going to play three points or he’s going to be in the last pairs matches, as it’s assumed that Rory will be leading the field almost every day. We’ll see.
Finally, DeChambeau explained how he’s going to play hole 1. Obviously, he’s always going to hit the driver, although he doesn’t guarantee reaching the green. “It’s not easy. If there’s headwind or crosswind, you have to hit 200 miles of ball speed and with the course so soft, it would be very complicated. If there’s no wind, I do think I can reach, at least to leave it at the front of the green. Hopefully, I can put on a bit of a show for the crowd to get them going.” It’s very clear what Bryson’s role is in this Ryder.
