Bryson DeChambeau’s playstyle has been touted as the reason he was unable to snatch a point on the final day of the Ryder Cup.
Heading into the 2025 Ryder Cup, DeChambeau was backed by many to be a standout star for Keegan Bradley’s Team USA at Bethpage Black. But the LIV Golf ace struggled as Europe won, with Rory McIlroy even taking a sly shot at his rival during the celebrations.
During Sunday singles, in which Viktor Hovland’s injury triggered the envelope rule, awarding both teams a half point, DeChambeau found himself trailing Matt Fitzpatrick by five shots through the first seven holes, facing what appeared to be a comprehensive defeat. But he admirably fought back.
DeChambeau mounted an admirable charge on the back nine, drawing level on the 17th hole before securing a tie on the 18th and clinching a crucial half point for his team. He energized the fans whenever possible and took pride in being the team’s source of inspiration.
However, speaking on The Smylie Show, pro player Smylie Kaufman suggested that the two-time US Open champion’s playing style may have ultimately cost him the chance to put a whole point on the board. Kaufman believes DeChambeau needed to play a better approach shot, which would have forced Fitzpatrick to putt first and show him the read.
“I had a chance to look at that lie from Bryson, it was a heavier lie in the grass,” Kaufman said. “It wasn’t sitting down in some hardpan, there was enough on it to where I felt like he could have done better with that in that moment.
“The way he hits golf shots, I feel like, sometimes, it hurts him in moments. And in a moment like that, I felt like if he would have had a normal length iron, a normal length wedge, he hit this thing to the moon, I would have thought that most players would have been able to bring that thing in low and get it to tumble all the way to that back pin.
“So it was really surprising that he tried to just swing through this heavier grass to hit it up in the air, instead of trying to get steep and get it chase back. He fought his tail off and got the half point, but I felt like he needed to putt before Matt because Matt hit such a poor wedge shot into the green.”
DeChambeau, who had not played in the Ryder Cup since 2021, went 1-3-1 in New York. While Scottie Scheffler praised DeChambeau for his fightback, the American was ultimately disappointed with his start.
“Today I didn’t get off to the best of starts, and Matt was playing really well,” DeChambeau told reporters. “It’s one of those situations where I didn’t play bad. I just didn’t have anything go my way. Three-putted 3 and just didn’t really get anything going until No. 8. Gave me a little glimmer of hope, and I took it.
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“You know, it was one of those situations where I just thought back to what Xander said, ‘It’s not over till the whistle blows.’ And I wasn’t willing to give up for this team. They have been so amazing to me this week, and for however long I’ve known myself to be on this team, they have just been incredible. I couldn’t give up for these guys.
“And so my thought process was to just keep swimming, just keep moving and keep fighting back. I fought my ass off today for this team, for this country, and we all fought hard today. You can see, it reflects in the leaderboard and what we did today.
“We’re not quitters. We’re not people that go down easy. So, so proud to be a part of this team, and it was great to get a half-point out of it. Wish I would have gotten a point, though.”
