Browsing: linchpin

Having just completed a Tuesday-morning spin through Bethpage Black’s back nine, Bryson DeChambeau wasn’t done. He strutted from the 18th green to the adjacent first tee box, plopped down his launch monitor, and started swinging away alongside teammate Justin Thomas.

The goal? To drive the first green, like he did in singles four years ago at Whistling Straits, and it took seven mighty lashes before DeChambeau was satisfied. His caddie, Greg Bodine, told ESPN’s Paolo Uggetti that he thought one caught the front edge with a 360-yard poke over the right trees. Not that it mattered either way. To the throng of observers, many of whom had been following the American superstar the entire morning, just the spectacle of it all was both wildly entertaining and energizing. Keep in mind, it was only Tuesday.

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, may be the Americans’ best player.

And Thomas, the now savvy veteran, may be their emotional leader.

But DeChambeau, the popular-yet-polarizing LIV and YouTube poster boy, is arguably the U.S. linchpin.

Xander Schauffele shared as much with Keegan Bradley, telling his captain upon arriving on Long Island, “I feel like Bryson could be the difference for us.â€

“This is his arena,†Schauffele explained. “If he views himself as a gladiator golfer, this is as good as it gets. … I’m excited to sort of see what he can do, and hopefully [he can] get a lot of points up on the board because his points might hit harder than maybe my points, for example, just because of how he might celebrate and get these fans into this tournament quickly.â€

Bethpage is colloquially known as the People’s Country Club. The municipal has previously hosted U.S. Opens, a PGA and soon a Women’s PGA, along with numerous Met section and state tournaments, while still costing just $80 for New York residents to play on weekends.

Some may fancy DeChambeau the modern-day People’s Golfer, as he’s helped supercharge his fanbase by fully embracing social media; his YouTube following alone is nearly 2.5 million strong. And when he shows up to majors these days, the electricity in DeChambeau’s galleries is as palpable, if not more, than the crowds that follow Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and other PGA Tour heavyweights. This week, in what Thomas predicts to be the “biggest golf event ever,†expect the DeChambeau effect to be amplified.

“He’s a showman out there,†Patrick Cantlay said. “I think he’s going to get the crowd fired up.â€

There are still three more days until the 45th Ryder Cup officially begins, and DeChambeau is already heating up Bethpage’s burners. As he signed autographs on Tuesday, multiple security guards and tournament staff had to hold onto the metal railings to keep them from failing over as fans jostled to score signatures and photos. For those who couldn’t get close, they later resorted to sliding their flags and Sharpies through crevices between some mesh fencing and a brick walkway; DeChambeau, without hesitation, obliged, bending down to scribble his John Hancock on a few more items as he slowly made his way to the range. It was there that he incited more roars, beating ball after ball like a lead guitarist ending a song by strumming the final chord multiple times, each harder than the last.

Not every stage, of course, has been DeChambeau’s element. When DeChambeau made his Ryder Cup debut in Paris in 2018, he was a slender, oft-misunderstood scientist with a Hogan cap – and that week, he lost points alongside Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson before also dropping his singles match to end an 0-3 performance. Three years later, DeChambeau had not only transformed his body into a beefy, long-drive type, but he’d become a lightning rod, too, after beefs with Brooks Koepka, the media and galleries at nearly every Tour stop. He and Koepka would put their differences aside in a dominant U.S. victory in Wisconsin, but by the next summer, they were both off to LIV Golf, where, mostly free from weekly scrutiny, DeChambeau began to recraft his image.

While he’s become a force in majors (seven top-8s since joining LIV, including his 2024 U.S. Open triumph) and as a moonlighting golf influencer, DeChambeau’s popularity has followed a similar trajectory. If he hasn’t changed the minds of critics who still question the genuineness of this glow up, judging by the volume of his following, both outside the ropes and online, he’s won over just about everyone else, including his Ryder Cup teammates.

With DeChambeau banned from competing in PGA Tour events, he might’ve easily been excused from a team dinner ahead of the Procore Championship two weeks ago in Napa. And yet, DeChambeau showed up – and just days after he spent two days supporting the U.S. Walker Cup team at Cypress Point. That’s not the only time that he’s charmed Bradley, who applauded not only DeChambeau’s commitment but his feat of earning one of six automatic selections despite only being allowed to play the majors.

“He’s made every effort possible and been incredible in the team room,†Bradley said.

Scheffler called DeChambeau a “good friend.†Russell Henley recalled a story from 2021, when DeChambeau, amid all that Koepka drama, took the time to encourage Henley after a tough finish at the Wyndham Championship.

“I was leading the tournament, and I choked it away,†Henley said. “Two weeks later … he walked up and he goes, ‘Hey, man, keep your head up. That happens to everybody. You’re playing some great golf,’ and just encouraged me. I’ll always remember that.â€

FARMINGDALE, NY – SEPTEMBER 23: Bryson DeChambeau of Team United States signs autographs on the 18th hole on the Black Course during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. (Photo by Michael Reaves/PGA of America)

Michael Reaves/PGA of America/PGA

But all that’s not to completely absolve DeChambeau, who still possesses the ability to stir the pot and get under people’s skins. Case in point: McIlroy, whom DeChambeau has irked more than once since he sent McIlroy peeling rubber out of the Pinehurst parking lot last summer. After McIlroy exacted his revenge while paired with DeChambeau on Sunday at the Masters, DeChambeau told reporters that McIlroy “didn’t talk to me all day.†He then said to People magazine in July, referencing the Ryder Cup: “I’ll be chirping in [McIlroy’s] ear this time. Now, if we go up against each other, I mean, you can be sure of it.â€

The latter comments might’ve been harmless and playful, but McIlroy didn’t appear to be amused. In a recent interview with The Guardian, he said of DeChambeau, “I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people. That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie or others.â€

DeChambeau responded to McIlroy in an interview Monday with Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis.

“All I’m trying to do is inspire kids on YouTube, and we’ve amassed quite a big audience on YouTube,†DeChambeau said. “I’m continuing to focus on that train of thought. … I didn’t mean anything by [my comments about McIlroy] other than I’m excited. I hope we can have some good banter back and forth, and if not, if he wants to do what he’s doing, great, no problem. Crowd is going to be on our side. We’re going to have a fun time. But ultimately, my job is to get a kid out there who is looking at me hitting a golf ball smiling.â€

Asked if he saw a rivalry between he and McIlroy, DeChambeau answered: “There’s a rivalry between every one of us golfers. Is it heightened with Rory? Sure. You can make it that way. But look, anytime we go out in the arena, we’re trying to be the best we can possibly be, and if it helps the game of golf out, too, then great, so be it.â€

After listening to DeChambeau, Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee sounded off. Not only did Chamblee question DeChambeau’s YouTube metrics – “I have no doubt bots are generating a lot of those views†– but he wondered aloud if DeChambeau cared more about the Ryder Cup or his social channels.

Here’s how you can watch all of the action and get all the updates for the 45th Ryder Cup matches at Bethpage Black.

“That’s what he wants to talk about – not the team, not the Ryder Cup,†Chamblee said. “It’s one of the reasons why I think he’s going to be such a difficult person to get paired with. No doubt he’s one hell of a golfer. No doubt he has his moments of generosity with fans; I have heard about them. But he’s an odd duck when he’s trying to blend in with the team, and he has so many potential bulletin-board mistakes.

“I think he would be a captain’s nightmare.â€

One man’s opinion, but what say the captain?

“I think Bryson, just his golfing ability alone is an X-factor for our team,†Bradley said, “but also, he’s a really fiery player. When you come to a Ryder Cup, you don’t want guys to try to be something they’re not. We have a lot of calm, mellow guys, so we need the energy from Bryson, and he brings that every day in practice rounds, in the team room, and hopefully in the tournament competition, too.â€

DeChambeau is 2-3-1 in his two previous Ryder Cups, not exactly gangbusters. He’s 0-2 in foursomes, a small sample size but possibly a byproduct of his many golf idiosyncrasies. Can Bradley find enough partners for DeChambeau to play his Bambino all five sessions? Scheffler went 1-0-1 with DeChambeau in fourballs in Wisconsin, but no other American has experience alongside DeChambeau. That said, Cameron Young plays the same golf ball, the Titleist ProV1x Double Dot, and Bradley has already sent out DeChambeau three times with Young in practice. Same thing with Thomas, who would easily create enough fireworks alongside DeChambeau to blow the seams out of this Ryder Cup.

He’s already promised a tsunami of energy; now, it’s time for DeChambeau to deliver.

“I’m excited to kind of unleash him this week,†Scheffler said.

Whatever that entails, it will be crucial.