Bryson

DeChambeauC

Born in Modesto, California, in September 1993, Bryson DeChambeau made his first blip on golf’s radar when he won the state junior championship in 2010 at the age of 16.

He attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and in June 2015 he won the prestigious NCAA Division 1 individual championship. Two months later he became only the fifth man to double up by adding the US Amateur title in the same year, emulating the likes of Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and Jack Nicklaus.

By this point, DeChambeau was competing in PGA Tour events as an amateur, and he finished joint second in the 2015 Australian Masters. The following spring, he was the top amateur at the Masters; he finished tied for 21st in what was to be his last tournament in the unpaid ranks.

Bryson DeChambeau recorded his first PGA Tour success with a one-stroke victory at the John Deere Classic in 2017, just over a year after he turned pro.

He followed that up with a stellar year in 2018, winning four Tour events and finishing the year ranked No.5 in the world. More success followed in early 2019 as he took the Dubai Desert Classic, his first victory on the European Tour.

DeChambeau was already renowned as one of the longest hitters in the game. But late in 2019 he took a deliberate decision to add muscle to his tall frame so that he could power the ball even further.

Over the next 12 months, he added about 40 pounds in weight and became the clear leader in driving distance. The extra length paid off handsomely at Winged Foot, the venue for the 2020 US Open, which had been lengthened to nearly 7,500 yards.

DeChambeau produced four rounds of par 70 or better, and was the only player under par for the week as he clinched a six-stroke victory and his first Major title.

Having joined the ranks of Major victors, Bryson DeChambeau slipped back in 2021. He suffered a series of injuries, and did not finish in the top 25 at any of the four big tournaments that help to define a golfer’s year, and career.

It was time for The Scientist to make himself the guinea pig for yet another experiment. DeChambeau lost virtually all the extra muscle he had added, saying: “I ate improperly for almost a year and a half and I was starting to feel weird.

“So I went completely healthy, went on a Whole 30 diet, got a nutritionist, did blood work, measured stuff in my gut biome. I was super-inflamed.”

The result was that he felt “a lot more at ease”, which manifested itself on the golf course with two victories in his first season as a LIV player.

In 2024, he returned to the winner’s circle at the Majors as he won his second US Open. The winning margin this time was much narrower; DeChambeau played an amazing 55-yard shot out of a bunker on the 18th to get up and down and win by a single shot from Rory McIlroy.

Victory was particularly emotional for DeChambeau. His dad Jon, who was not a golfer but who followed his son’s career avidly, had died in November 2022.

The US Open traditionally finishes on Father’s Day, and DeChambeau told reporters after his victory: “This one’s for him.”

Bryson DeChambeau is the captain of the Crushers GC at LIV Golf events, and it is a role he has performed with distinction.

DeChambeau recorded his first individual win in the series at The Greenbrier in 2023, where he followed up a 61 in the second round with a sensational 58 on the final day.

That card equalled the record lowest round in an elite men’s professional golf tournament, and DeChambeau lists it among the proudest moments of his career along with his US Amateur and US Open triumphs.

He tweeted after the event: “This is one of the best rounds of golf I have ever played in my life. I can’t thank my team enough and sticking with me through the process. Today may have been history, but this is just the beginning. Let’s keep it going.”

He duly followed up the next month by winning the LIV Golf event in Chicago, and Crushers GC finished the year in style by taking the 2023 team championship.

Although DeChambeau’s team were the best scorers through the season in 2024, they relinquished their team title. Their skipper finished eighth in the overall individual standings, with a consistent season that featured seven top-10 finishes including a tie for third at the Nashville event.

Bryson DeChambeau has an effervescent, outgoing personality, which makes him ideal for the world of social media.

Any subscriber tracker will tell you that more than 1.5 million people follow his YouTube channel, where DeChambeau uploads regular videos.

One of his most popular series is Break 50, where he and a golfing partner attempt to complete 18 holes off the red tees in under 50 strokes.

Almost six million people have viewed the episode where DeChambeau was accompanied by John Daly, another big-hitting, larger-than-life dual Major winner from a previous golfing era.

Another 2.5 million tuned in to watch him play a round with Paige Spiranac, the former pro golfer who is now a model and social media personality.

Even those numbers pale into insignificance, however, next to the 12 million and more who have seen the episode in which DeChambeau was joined by one of the most famous American amateur golfers, President Donald Trump.

With huge numbers of followers on all the other main social media channels, DeChambeau is one of the most visible and engaging sports personalities in the world today.

While Bryson DeChambeau is renowned for his social media expertise, he is also notorious for keeping his private life just that – private.

DeChambeau clearly enjoys life in Texas and has made his home in the Lone Star State, where he spent his student years. He lives in a beautiful mansion in Grapevine, Texas, on the outskirts of Dallas.

Nothing epitomizes Bryson DeChambeau’s scientific approach to the game of golf more than the extraordinary amount of work that has gone into providing him with a set of clubs ideally suited to his physique and swing.

When people ask the question “WITB? What’s In The Bag?” the answer in this case is deeply fascinating.

All of DeChambeau’s irons are the same length – unlike most golfers, whose three-iron is much longer than their pitching wedge. DeChambeau’s specially created set of irons are right for his height and all exactly 37.5 inches long – the length usually associated with a seven-iron.

On each club, the lie and bounce angle are the same. The only factor that differentiates one of his irons from another is the angle of loft.

DeChambeau has customized graphite shafts on all the clubs in his bag, even the putter. He also has the largest grips available, JumboMax Grips, to suit his big hands.

Of course, the club most associated with DeChambeau is the driver, the beast that enables him to pummel the ball for monster distances off the tee.

For many years, DeChambeau used the LTDx driver created by his long-time equipment provider Cobra. He caused some consternation with that sponsor by criticizing the driver he was using during The Open championship in 2022.

He later apologized for that outburst, but at the start of the following year he was using a TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus model. It was later in 2023, however, that he switched to the Krank Formula Fire LD driver.

This is the club that he used off the tee to great effect in ripping up The Greenbrier with his record-breaking 61-58 finish in 2023.  

When it comes to golfing apparel, DeChambeau now wears Stitch Golf gear. In his early career, he wore a flat cap on the course as a tribute to two of his favorite golfers of all time, Ben Hogan and Payne Stewart.

DeChambeau now wears a Crushers GC hat at tournaments, including the Majors, which inevitably makes Crushers GC hats a fan favorite at the LIV merch shop.

Bryson DeChambeau’s net worth has been enhanced considerably in recent seasons by his Major victories and by his lucrative LIV contract.

In mid-2024, Forbes magazine estimated his net worth at $44million, a figure that will rise rapidly in the next couple of years thanks to that LIV contract.

At this time, he was rated the sixth richest golfer in the world, and figured in the top 20 of sportspeople across the board.

DeChambeau played for many years with golf equipment supplied by Cobra Golf and Avoda Golf. The customized contents of his golf bag now mean he does not have a single supplier of his on-course kit.

Away from the fairway, DeChambeau can boast a long list of commercial backers who are eager to be associated with such a compelling and popular one-man brand.

Among the list of his sponsors are a slew of elite brands, household names including Rolex, Bridgestone, DraftKings, and NetJets.

As he moves into his golfing prime in his early thirties, it will be endlessly fascinating to watch how DeChambeau’s career progresses.

He, and his Crushers GC team-mates, will undoubtedly compete strongly throughout the LIV Golf calendar. DeChambeau himself is well placed to put in a powerful bid to add even more Majors and other illustrious titles to his list of honors.

This is the man who said in 2016: “I’m not really smart but I’m dedicated. I can be good at anything if I love it and dedicate myself…I love golf. I love learning. I love life. I love trying to be the best at anything and everything.”

You can be sure that the Scientist will continue to experiment to find the winning formula for himself and his colleagues.