Bryson DeChambeau is not shying away from the spectacle as golfâ€s matchplay carnival touches down on Americaâ€s toughest public course. On the eve of the Ryder Cup, the 32-year-old admitted he sees it as his responsibility, and his privilege, to feed off Bethpage Blackâ€s notoriously rowdy galleries and leverage their energy into a weapon.
“This week is an amazing opportunity,†he said on a soggy Thursday in Farmingdale. “New York fans are incredible. As rowdy and raucous as they get, they still love the game of golf. I couldnâ€t be more excited to hopefully get them riled up and excited for whatâ€s to come.â€
It is a role he believes he is far better prepared for than four years ago at Whistling Straits, when the United States ran roughshod over Europe 19–9 for their most lopsided Ryder Cup victory in history. Then, he was still navigating the fallout of a highly public feud with Brooks Koepka. His résumé at that point included a single major win, the 2020 US Open, and a reputation for tinkering and petulance. Now, after three years of reinvention – a high-profile jump to LIV Golf, a string of strong major finishes, his outsized success as a YouTuber and almost nuclear charm offensive – DeChambeau insists he is equipped to channel the noise, not be consumed by it. “Four years ago, I wouldnâ€t have been as open or ready,†he reflected. “The experience helps. Hopefully I can use that to the best of my ability and hit some great shots when it matters most.â€
Missing the last Ryder Cup in Rome remains a sore point. “It sucked,†he admitted on Thursday. “I wanted to be there. Didnâ€t play well enough in the majors. Knew what I was up against when I went to LIV … but seeing the guys lose really put a fire in my stomach. I wanted to make the team this time around.†He likened it to another painful absence: being forced out of the Tokyo Olympics after contracting Covid, which he called “a pretty big shot to the heartâ€. Those moments, he said, left him determined to treat a Ryder Cup return as “a passion projectâ€.
That determination paid off. Though LIV golfers have fewer routes to qualify, his results in the majors – including the kind of prodigious driving that makes him a tailor-made fit for Bethpageâ€s 7,352-yard brute – punched his ticket. “Making this team was A1,†he said. “It was the thing I wanted to do most, represent my country.â€
For a player once caricatured as golfâ€s mad scientist, more loner than teammate, DeChambeau has relished the camaraderie this time. “The amount of calls I got when I was on the team from players was amazing,†he said. “It made me more passionate and excited to be a part of what we can accomplish this week.†Ryder Cup rookie Ben Griffin, who played practice rounds with him on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, praised his energy and even teased that he managed to outdrive DeChambeau once. “Heâ€s been awesome to have on this team,†Griffin said. “Heâ€s unique, but a huge asset.â€
That duality – the eccentric technician who breaks out a protractor on the greens and the unlikely crowd-pleaser who engages in mid-round banter with the galleries – has come to define him. As recently as 2021, his online presence barely existed. He was a polarizing figure in the golf world even before going full heel by defecting to the Saudi-backed LIV tour. He publicly ripped his equipment manufacturer, made brazen proclamations of neutering Augusta and engaged in a petty feud with Koepka, all of which incrementally cost him fan support. Now, with more than 2.4 million YouTube subscribers, he has become a crossover figure who draws kids to the autograph line as readily as he impresses the diehards with ball speed. Teammate Harris English admitted being baffled by the digital world until DeChambeau gave him a crash course at the opening ceremony. “Thatâ€s his plan,†English said. “Growing the game as much as possible, relating to kids, bringing them into golf. I think thatâ€s really cool.â€
Not everyone is convinced. Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee has dismissed DeChambeau as “a captainâ€s nightmareâ€, questioning whether his online following – slingshotted into the stratosphere by a viral video of a round with Donald Trump – is authentic and suggesting he is more focused on content than competition. DeChambeau shrugged it off. “Any time people can throw stuff at me like that, I enjoy it. It spurs conversation. And if it creates more buzz for golf, thatâ€s great.â€
Trump himself will attend Fridayâ€s opening session, just days after he lashed out at European leaders in a UN broadside, becoming the first sitting president to appear at a Ryder Cup. DeChambeau, who remains a darling of the American right, sees that presence as another lever to stir the crowd. “I hope he will inspire us to victory,†he said. “Heâ€ll be a great force for us to get a lot of people on our side. Itâ€s going to be an electric environment.â€
That line will divide opinion, as the Ryder Cup often has. For decades, the event has mirrored politics and national moods: the chest-thumping War on the Shore in 1991, the Brookline celebrations of 1999, the confrontation between Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlayâ€s caddie in Rome two years ago. Bethpage Black, the Long Island track with its history of heckling and hostility, offers another combustible stage. This week, as America continues to reel from political violence at home, it offers a fleeting chance for unity with Republicans and Democrats each yearning for the same red numbers to fill the scoreboard.
DeChambeau knows he will be one of its central actors, not only because of his drives but because of his persona. His rivalry with McIlroy has turned into a subplot: McIlroy accusing him of seeking attention, DeChambeau threatening to “chirp†back. Yet he was careful on Thursday to stress respect. “Rivalries are good for the game,†he said. “I have the ultimate respect for Rory. Would I love to go up against him? Yeah. Heâ€s a fierce competitor, a great competitor.â€
Still, he frames himself less as lightning rod than support system. “Whether itâ€s emotionally or leadership, itâ€s more about pumping people up, giving good energy out there,†he said. “Helping people realize why we are playing this week is a top priority for me.â€
That blend – the entertainer signing autographs till the queues thinned in Thursdayâ€s drizzle, the math prodigy explaining single-length irons, the partisan cheerleader and champion of the Maga movement – makes DeChambeau the rare figure who seems as likely to rile as to inspire. In a competition defined by noise and jingoism, he is ready to meet the moment head-on. “I just want to be part of this team,†he said. “This has been a mission project for me. Hopefully I can provide some fun stuff this week and hopefully we can get that Cup back.â€
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