U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

June 15, 2023

Bryson DeChambeau

The Los Angeles Country Club

Flash Interview

Q. 3-under 67, nice golf today. How did the course compare to what you thought going into the week?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Pretty much how I thought it would play. The greens were definitely receptive, which was nice. I think they're going to get a lot firmer. Obviously tomorrow afternoon is going to be firm. This afternoon is going to be firm, and the wind is picking up, so it's not going to be too easy. Hopefully the wind isn't present tomorrow. That'll be a huge advantage for us in the early wave.

But you had to get after it today. If you didn't, you're going to be behind the 8-ball. Lucky enough to shoot a good score today.

Q. A lot of talk going into the week how anyone would approach No. 6. Can you talk about what you thought you were going to do and what you did today?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, certainly there's the idea of laying up and having a nice wedge in there, but if you miss your wedge you're in the stuff.

I think personally just being in the stuff right off the tee and chipping it up there hopefully close on the green and giving yourself a 20-footer for birdie, worst case scenario, is the best thing you can do every day.

I've been going for it, and hopefully it pays off.

Q. Would you consider this course a cerebral course, and if so, how does that obviously play to your strengths?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: A cerebral course? I think every golf course has its own unique strategy that you've got to apply to it. Winged Foot had its own strategy and I was able to exploit it a little bit.

This golf course you've got to be a great putter. You've got to have great iron play into the greens. You've got to be disciplined. It teases you wanting to go for certain shots in certain places, and you've got to be a great driver of the ball. Everybody thinks the fairways are wide. No, no, no. If you pull it or push it it's rolling out of the fairway. That's how firm and fast they are and how much slope there is. You can say they're wide fairways but realistically they're like 25-yard fairways at best in some areas.

Cerebral, sure. You've got to apply unique strategy to it. For me, G-Bo and I have come up with a great game plan that's allowed me to limit my mistakes, give myself the best opportunity for birdie on all the drivable holes. Even 12 is a great example.

I'm pumping it up there every day. Hopefully the wind is downwind one day so I can get it up there by the green, but it's better to be up there in the rough hitting it on the green than 150, 160 yards back in a tighter area of the fairway in the rough or even in the fairway. It's not as easy.

For me, again, it's just fairways and greens, and cerebral, sure.

Q. You keep bringing up like 2018 saying you're working through some stuff in your swing. How close do you think you are to that level of --

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I feel like I'm very close to getting it because I had it at the PGA for the first two days and then it kind of faltered a little bit. But I was still able to play really good solid golf, score well.

Then I didn't have it at D.C., over in Trump D.C. there. I just struggled to get back to what I was doing at the PGA for some odd reason. I have no idea what. So we're trying to figure out what that is, whether that's forces -- I know it's stability in the hands. Like I don't get that stability. Like on 9 I pulled it and like, whoa, didn't feel like I did that.

So working through why when I apply a certain amount of force, a lot of force, it just sometimes feels different through impact and trying to hone that in.

If I have what I had at the PGA I'll be contending for sure.

Q. As far as you know at this point, is it business as usual with LIV? And to that point, are you still working on building your team and doing all the things that you would have been doing before?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah. Yes to both. We're looking to hire someone here shortly for the GM position, and very excited about that.

Q. Did you hit more balls on the range yesterday than you normally would the day before?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yes.

Q. Is that part of what --

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: I've been hitting more golf balls than I would like to ever. It's just, again, I'm trying to figure out what I did in 2018 that made it so repeatable, and I'm very close to figuring it out.

Just going to a take a little bit more time, little bit more grinding, a little more thought. Got to come up with something unique that allows me to be super stable through impact like I was.

Q. You mentioned the PGA, but you also had a top 10 at St Andrews last year. Do you feel like you're a little bit overlooked coming into these majors right now given you have had some positive form in them recently?

BRYSON DECHAMBEAU: Yeah, playing well at the right time for sure helps. I feel like I put a little bit -- I don't try to put more emphasis on it. I just feel like I prepare a little differently for the major championships, and I feel like my length has a big advantage in these events. Even at the Open last year, I feel like just being able to have a 230-yard 6-iron is super helpful on any golf course.

You put everybody on a really difficult golf course or a testing golf course, I feel like someone that can hit it far has an advantage if they're able to somewhat keep it in play.

You could say overlooked. I'm not going to say that. But I'm just trying to win a major championship, and that is what it is.