PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 20, 2021

Bryson DeChambeau

The Ocean Course at Kiawah Island

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We are joined by Bryson DeChambeau. Bryson opened with an even par 72 today. Bryson, quick start, then you hit a rough patch there. Maybe talk about the back nine, which was your first nine.

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, it was not easy out there. I wasn't swinging it my best. I was putting it well, and I made a couple birdies early on. Just misjudged the speed on 13. That was unfortunate. Then misread it coming back. Am I getting that right? No, no, no, 12. Is that right? I'm all out of sorts. It's a lot of wind out there and heat.

THE MODERATOR: It's right behind you if you need it on the scoreboard.

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: 13, right. Three-putted 13, then 14 kind of came about from just not making a good first shot. 15, hit two good shots, just misaligned the drive on 15, hit it too far left, didn't get it up and down. 16, misjudged the wind on the first shot, and there you go. It's a quick four bogeys and off and running after a good start.

For the most part, I stuck my head up high and kept it high and was able to finish strong on the front nine. Played really well.

Q. Bryson, how big of a test is that, not only physically and technically, but mentally?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Mentally, you have to show a lot of resolve out there. Mental fortitude to just push on when things aren't going well. Luck isn't going your way, and you aren't getting the best breaks. Hitting a lot of great shots, and things just aren't going your way. You have to be able to step up and say, you know what, it doesn't matter. I'm just going to execute the best shot I could right here. That's what I was able to do on the back nine. I got a couple of bad breaks. A couple putts that didn't go in that should have gone in. I went 4-over, and I could have been 4-under today.

Q. Hi, Bryson, you speak of that mental fortitude. Just how big is it to be able to finish off the front nine the way you did heading into tomorrow?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, it gives me a lot of momentum. I think that my front nine, which is the back nine, was not the way I was trying to finish it off and didn't really get anything going the way I wanted to on the back nine. Just the front nine, I was able to push through the first few holes and played a great 2nd hole, 7th hole really well, made a great birdie on 8, almost made a birdie on 9. A few holes I could have had birdies there as well. For the most part, I just kind of kept my head down, focused on hitting the middle of the greens and two-putting.

Q. Most people talk about your driving prowess, but really it's all about your ability to use the putter. Would you say that your driver let you down today, or was it your putter that let you down today?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Strokes gained would say that my putter let me down today, and my iron play wasn't terrific either. But I kept it in play with my driver for the most part on the front nine, my back nine for the day. Just didn't really take advantage of too much after I had pretty much a birdie-birdie start. I was 2-under through a few holes.

Hopefully I can correct those little mistakes on the tee box and on the fairway and hopefully I can play well and keep hitting it in the middle of the greens.

Q. The realization that you could have been 4-over or 4-under today, are you glad at least you got it back to a place where you're still in touch with people?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Absolutely. I think 3-under is leading right now. That's really nothing out here. Getting to 4-over is really nothing out here either. It's diabolical. You've got to be on point every single hole. Again, like I said, it's about mental fortitude and making sure you're missing it in the right places, if you can.

Q. Just wondering if you could elaborate on why you say you feel so out of sorts right now.

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: The wind just kicked my butt. It's heat, hot. Just grinding out there, it takes a lot out of you. Working really, really hard to hit every shot the exact way I want to, and then it doesn't happen, and you've got to be comfortable with it and going, okay, how do I get up-and-down. It's windy and you're over a 4-footer. Wind is blowing really hard, and you think it's going to break. When the wind stops, it's not going to break. It's all just a really difficult thing that you've got to control out there. It's a lot of work.

Q. How long will the range session be?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Hopefully not too long. I want to get out of here pretty quickly. Chris and I are going to work on some stuff, and hopefully we get something good for tomorrow.

Q. Bryson, how tough is it to gain any momentum or consistency out there with the wind and the difficult course conditions? And the wind is changing the complete opposite direction on certain holes.

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, you play nine holes downwind and nine holes into the wind, and sometimes it's very difficult to gain momentum with the pin locations where they were today. You barely miss it in the rough, and you've got no chance to get it onto the green. Some holes, where you just hit a bad shot, and it kind of comes off the slope with the rest of the hole. It's all up in the air right now, and whoever stays the most patient out there is going to do really well.

Q. Bryson, I actually wanted to follow up on something that Alex asked. Where are you physically? You said yesterday that you kind of reached your physical limitations. You've, obviously, been pushing yourself so hard in the gym over past year or so. Where do you feel fatigue-wise? Are you close to a point of exhaustion?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: No, I'm not like at wit's end or anything. This is stuff I do every week. I've worked way harder at different points in time during my career, but this golf course takes it out of you. This is the most difficult golf course that I've played on Tour, and that is a straight-up fact for me. That requires a lot of energy.

And I think just practice rounds, working hard on my golf swing, getting the putting right, trying to figure out how much the wind is affecting putts, all that, and then trying to work out after and not getting eight hours of sleep sometimes, it all adds up, for sure.