By STEVE REED AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bryson DeChambeau left Augusta National last month frustrated over his final-round meltdown at the Masters and perplexed by his poor iron play.
The burly 6-foot-1, 220-pound DeChambeau has put that disappointing loss behind him and feels he’s fixed the iron issue – or at least put a Band-Aid on it – heading into this week’s PGA Championship. He enters Quail Hollow confident after following up a second-place finish at the LIV Tour’s Mexico City event with a win two weeks ago in South Korea.
Now he looks to continue his recent run of success at major championships, where he has replaced Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm as LIV’s best chance to win.
In 2024, DeChambeau finished tied for sixth at the Masters, then second at the PGA Championship at Valhalla before winning his second U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Despite shooting a final-round 75 at this year’s Masters, he still finished tied for fifth, giving him six top-10 finishes in his past 10 majors.
“I feel like I’ve always had the capacity to play well in major championships and contend consistently,” DeChambeau said. “A lot of things have to go right in majors for you to play well. Your whole game has to be on. So I felt like at Valhalla, especially after Augusta last year, that was the second time (in a row) that I played well in a major, and it kind of gave me that confidence that I could just keep moving forward with that at every major and keep hammering down on majors.”
The second-place finish at Valhalla last year proved huge for his confidence.
“It was more of an assurance of saying, hey, I can do this, and I can do this for a long time, God-willing,” DeChambeau said. “Valhalla definitely gave me some confidence for the rest of the majors, last year and even this year.”
Now comes another test at Quail Hollow, a course where DeChambeau has limited experience compared to many PGA Tour players.
He’s only played here once in the past six years, finishing tied for eighth at the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship before leaving for the LIV Tour. His best finish at Wells Fargo was fourth in 2018. When Justin Thomas won the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, DeChambeau finished tied for 33rd.
The long course certainly plays to DeChambeau’s strength off the tee.
“I feel like I’m moving in the right direction with giving myself a lot of multiple chances to win these major championships,” he said.
Despite his success this past month on the LIV Tour, which included shooting 30 on the back nine of the final round at South Korea to win the tournament, DeChambeau still plans to switch irons once they have been produced and delivered.
As of Tuesday, he had not received them.
“My irons weren’t that great, but I played better in Mexico. My irons were really good in Korea. I feel like it’s moving in the right direction,” DeChambeau said. “Let’s hopefully keep it more of the same. If I can do that, I’ll give myself a good chance this week.”
And maybe, just maybe, have a chance to beat Rory McIlroy, who got the best of him in the final pairing at the Masters en route to winning the career Grand Slam.
Early on in the final round, it looked as if it might be DeChambeau’s day at Augusta National. But after grabbing sole possession of the lead after two holes, DeChambeau faded fast and shot 75, leaving him four shots behind McIlroy and Justin Rose.
“Hopefully we can have another go at it again like the Masters,” DeChambeau said of McIlroy.
JUSTIN THOMAS RETURNS TO SITE OF FIRST MAJOR WIN
Justin Thomas has positioned himself to turn back the clock at the PGA Championship.
The resurgent Thomas returns to Quail Hollow this week looking to recapture some of the magic from his first major victory at the 2017 PGA Championship when he posted a two-shot victory over Francesco Molinari, Louis Oosthuizen and Patrick Reed.
The 32-year-old Thomas finally appears to have his game back on track following a years-long slump.
He has finished tied for second or better in three of his last four tournaments with a combined score of 41-under par, including a playoff win last month over Andrew Novak at the RBC Heritage that snapped a three-year winless drought on the PGA Tour.
The only tournament he hasn’t been competitive in over the last month was the Masters. He finished tied for 36th.
Still, it is one of Thomas’ best stretches of golf since 2016-17 when he became the fourth player behind Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth to win five times in the same season, including a major, before his 25th birthday.
“I’m just more patient, I’d say,” Thomas said of his recent improved play. “I don’t feel like I’m forcing the issue as much. Just trying to trust my game and myself quite a bit more. I feel like some of the events maybe earlier this year or last year where I had a chance to win, I just felt like maybe I pressed a little too much.”
While the memory of celebrating his first major on the 18th green at Quail Hollow eight years ago with his father Mike, then a PGA Tour professional at Harmony Landing in Louisville, Kentucky, and a former member of the PGA’s board of directors, will forever be etched in his memory, Thomas admitted there’s probably not much carryover from that to help him this week.
That tournament was played during the summer on what he called a “completely different golf course” with Bermuda grass versus overseed.
This one comes in the spring, with a course that will have absorbed several inches of rain by the time golfers tee off on Thursday, likely meaning that an already long course will play even longer.
“As much as I’d like to say (it matters), I think that’s a bit of a stretch,” Thomas said.
However, Thomas said his knowledge of the course and the confidence of knowing he can handle Quail Hollow’s difficult three closing holes known as the “Green Mile” could pay dividends if he’s near the top of the leaderboard on Sunday.
“If I’m coming down the stretch and trying to win the tournament, I can tell myself I’ve literally done this before here,” Thomas said. “I’ve hit the shots. I’ve made the putts. I’ve handled all of that mentally on this exact golf course in this exact tournament.”
It’s helpful, too, that the weight of a losing streak has been lifted from his shoulders.
The win at Harbour Town last month – his first since the 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills – was something he called “the last thing I needed to do for my own well-being” and helped jettison him back into the top 10 in the world, while proving he’s capable of making big shots to close out a win.
He nearly pulled off another last week at the Truist Championship, but wound up tied for second after a late run at the leaders.
He’s in the right “head space,” and he appears set on reaching bigger goals ahead.
Thomas said watching McIlroy clinch the career Grand Slam last month has ignited some competitive jealousy within him. Although he’s never won a major other than the PGA Championship, Thomas feels like it’s something he’s capable of accomplishing in his career.
“I have a lot of faith and a lot of ability – or trust in my ability,” Thomas said. “I have confidence in, I feel like, what I can do. Obviously I knew I always wanted to win the Grand Slam, wanted to win all the majors. For some reason watching somebody do it firsthand, it reminded me almost of, damn, I forgot, I really do want to do that.”
DIVOTS
McIlroy is a four-time winner at Quail Hollow. The only other course where he has won four times is Emirates Golf Club for the Dubai Desert Classic. … McIlroy will try to become only the fifth player since 1960 to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam. The others were Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. … Spieth lacks the PGA Championship for the career Grand Slam, and this is his ninth try. … The field features 99 of the top 100 players in the world. Missing is Billy Horschel, who is out with hip surgery. … Quail Hollow has held a PGA Tour event since 2003 except for when it held the PGA Championship (2017, 2025) and the Presidents Cup (2022).
