Bryson DeChambeau has been irritated by all the criticism he’s received over his pace of play and is defending himself.
DeChambeau’s slow play became an issue this week after video circulated of him taking two minutes to hit an 8-foot putt at The Northern Trust in Jersey City, New Jersey on Friday. Justin Thomas, who was paired with DeChambeau for the first two rounds of the event, called DeChambeau a “slow golfer” and said he needs to be faster.
“I should have just said something to him in person. I didn’t say anything on social media,” Thomas said, via Golf Channel. “I like Bryson as a person but he’s a slow golfer. A lot of people I like that are just slow. They need to play faster.”
DeChambeau’s slow play has been a topic all year. In January, Brooks Koepka said he didn’t understand why DeChambeau takes so long on some of his shots. DeChambeau and Koepka ended up talking Sunday morning to sort things out:
Was standing on the putting green with Koepka's caddie earlier when an irritated Bryson DeChambeau walked up & told him to tell his boss to make any comment about slow play "to my face". Brooks arrived soon after, got the message & ambled over for a chat with the scientist.
— Eamon Lynch (@eamonlynch) August 11, 2019
Golf Digest posted a photo and quote on Instagram Sunday about the talk between DeChambeau and Koepka. A fan asked DeChambeau in the comments section of the post whether he was “going to play faster or not?”
DeChambeau wrote back, saying “already play fast enough. Some situations take longer than others. That putt on 8 was way too long I agree!”
Well, that is some progress. He acknowledged he took too long on that particular putt, though he doesn’t believe he poses a problem otherwise. Several golfers feel differently.
