Can Bryson win on a 6,700-yard course? Time to find out

HONG KONG – Nine years ago, Bryson DeChambeau won for the first time as a pro. It was at the famed Canterbury Golf Club outside Cleveland, Ohio, The length of the course was 6,991 yards.

DeChambeau has won 12 more times since then, including two majors. The average yardage of those next 12 courses is 7,360 yards. Only one of those courses was less than 7,200 yards – The Old White at Greenbrier, which he demolished at the 2023 LIV Golf Greenbrier when he shot 61-58 on the weekend to claim his first LIV Golf title.

When DeChambeau won the U.S. Open last year at Pinehurst, the No. 2 course played to 7,548 yards. It was the longest course DeChambeau has ever won on, but it also played right into his wheelhouse. After all, when he goes full-throttle off the tee, he’s arguably the longest hitter of any professional touring pro. No course is too big for him.

But this week at LIV Golf Hong Kong, he’ll again compete on one of the shortest courses he’ll ever see, the 6,711-yard layout at the venerable Hong Kong Golf Club.

For shot-makers, it’s a delicious layout to play, requiring strategic course management while reducing – if not completely eliminating – the fear of feeling overwhelmed by the scorecard yardage.

For a heavy hitter such as DeChambeau, though, it might feel constraining. The course will rarely reward his power off the tee. He won’t be able to separate himself from the rest of the pack simply by sending rockets into the sky. He’ll have to think his way around Fanling. Not overpower it.

He won’t have a significant power advantage. In fact, he may be at a disadvantage.

“You wouldn’t think I’d play solid around here,” he admits.

That perspective only applies to the Bryson we once knew, the bulked-up one who sought maximum distance with each shot, a Crusher of the ball long before he became captain of Crushers GC. That’s the Bryson who might find kryptonite in a 6,700-yard layout.

Yet the current Bryson – the mature Bryson – does not fear short courses; he embraces them. That’s the Bryson who can win with his short game and his putting. That’s the Bryson whose signature shot at Pinehurst was not a mammoth drive but a demanding greenside bunker shot from 55 yards under intense pressure.

That’s the Bryson who will feel comfortable this week. And why not? A year ago in his first look at Hong Kong Golf Club, he tied for sixth. In his first two visits to less-than-7,000 yard Valderrama at LIV Golf Andalucia, he’s produced top-10 finishes. Five of his seven top-10 finishes on LIV Golf a year ago came on courses less than 7,100 yards.

DeChambeau, clearly, is not intimidated by short courses. At least not anymore.

“When I gained all that speed, I had to learn how to manage that,” he said Wednesday. “It’s taken me awhile to get back to hitting it somewhat straight with that speed.”

Hitting it straight off the tee is one thing. DeChambeau said the big difference in his ability to succeed on short courses is, well, his short game.

“I’ve just got to get my wedges a little more dialed in,” he said. “They aren’t dialed in as they need to be, and that’s where I think I’ll thrive on short courses is when I get my wedges better. I’m continuing to work on that. That’s my next goal, to get the wedges dialed in.”

In recent memory, the shorter course that has given him the most fits is the 7,111-yard El Camaleon, host venue for LIV Golf Mayakoba the last two years. In 2023, DeChambeau finished T23; a year ago, he finished T25.

Mayakoba is not on the schedule this year, giving way to Mexico City in 2025. Maybe that’s a good thing for DeChambeau.

Or maybe not.

“From where Bryson was three years ago with his body and his game to where he’s gotten now, I think he’d love to go back to Mayakoba and have some revenge because he’s hitting it so much better,” said Crushers teammate Anirban Lahiri.

Beyond the improved accuracy, DeChambeau is making more nuanced decisions with his strategic thinking. Consider the 288-yard par-4 fourth hole this week in Hong Kong.

The distance is a cake walk for someone with DeChambeau’s length – and indeed, he’s going for the green in every practice round. But starting with Friday’s first round, he’ll dial it down, opting to leave himself a wedge for his second shot.

“You want to be 2-under par for that,” Bryson said for the week. “The best way to do it is to hit it up short and chip it on, make birdie. You can hit a great drive and then get absolutely unrewarded over the green and to the left. Or if you overflare it to the right, you’re in the trees.

“It’s really not worth it. It’s a cool hole for a practice round, but I’ll definitely be laying up this week.”

It’s a sign of DeChambeau’s growth as a strategic golfer.

“He’s gotten more mature on the golf course, on the golf course, and in general,” Lahiri said. “I think that’s showing in how he’s approaching some of the most strategic courses, not trying to overpower every golf course. He knows that’s his strength, but he also knows that putting is a strength. He also knows that iron play is his strength.

“It’s nice to see a more balanced Bryson DeChambeau on the golf course.”

Another Crushers teammate, Charles Howell III, thinks DeChambeau is a good fit for short courses because of two “incredibly underrated” reasons that we don’t normally associate with his game.

1. “How straight he drives it for how far he does,” Howell said. “Anybody that plays with Bryson or sees him, they’re surprised at that.”

2. “He’s a phenomenal putter,” Howell said. “I remember when Bryson first came on the PGA Tour … He’ll tell you that he wasn’t a great putter.”

DeChambeau, listening to Howell, then interjected: “I was one of the worst.”

Howell continued: “He’s actually made himself from one of the worst to, in my opinion, arguably the best – and if not the best, he’s in the conversation of three.

“I think those are the two aspects and it doesn’t matter what golf course he goes to. Those two things serve him well.”

Will it serve him well enough this week? DeChambeau has never won a pro tournament on a course this short. Yet no one dares discount his chances in Hong Kong. The 6,700-yard layout may as well be 7,700 yards.

Welcome to Bryson’s new world, one that requires strategy, diplomacy and subtlety. A few dialed-in wedges helps, too.