U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau may need a nap before he tackles this week’s LIV Golf Nashville event.
The Crushers GC captain said Wednesday that he has had “maybe 12 hours of sleep” total in the past three days.
His thrilling one-stroke victory Sunday against Rory McIlroy in Pinehurst, N.C., led to multiple late-night and early-morning television appearances.
“The last three days have been wild,” DeChambeau said during his media session at The Grove. “Overwhelming gratitude, just a lot of thanks from everybody. The support and the care that everybody has shown me and brought to me and the love that they’ve shown me has been inspiring. It’s what keeps me going.”
When DeChambeau arrived at the clubhouse in Nashville on Tuesday following his second U.S. Open win, the other LIV Golf players and staff members greeted him with cheers and applause.
“The support is awesome,” he said. “You know, it’s funny, everybody talks about LIV Golf and the team aspect and we have our own pods and whatnot. It’s exactly stuff like that. This isn’t just about team golf and having our own teams or doing our own things. We truly care about what we’re trying to provide for the game of golf. We’re moving. It’s moving in a really positive direction.
“Having the support of everybody there, all the staff and the volunteers, the clubhouse employees, you name it, just everybody, the support, the full-blown support, walking out of that car and raising the trophy, it’s truly for LIV and what they’ve done for me, the chance they took on me, the chance I took on you guys. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship that I think has just been awesome.”
DeChambeau, 30, was asked how it felt to be referred to as “the people’s champ.”
“I’m humbled, very humbled by it,” he said.
“When I was younger, I felt like I was called to do something in the game, and getting to this point in my life where I’ve had struggles, I’ve done some things I shouldn’t have done, said some things I shouldn’t have said and messing up and learning from those mistakes and learning patience, resilience, determination, continuing to grow in that capacity and then getting to a place where I finally get to showcase my true self and show others what this great game means to me, it’s given me so much. It’s time for me to give back.”
DeChambeau’s win at Pinehurst followed a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship and a T6 at The Masters. His best finish on the LIV Golf circuit this season was a fourth-place showing at LIV Golf Jeddah in early March.
“I’ve got to recover and get ready for Friday, which I should be ready to do,” he said. ” But certainly it’s been a whirlwind for me, and a lot of adrenaline going through my body the past few days. There’s going to be a dump, adrenaline dump here in the next day probably, and I’ve got to get myself back up and ready for Friday.”
–Field Level Media