Bryson DeChambeau's No-Fear Strategy at the US Open Works

MAMARONECK, NY – Bryson DeChambeau, the PGA Tour pro who spent most of the 2020 season in open violation of many accepted golf principles has changed its iconoclasm at the United States Open and one of the most venerable golf courses.

On Friday, in the second round of the championship, DeChambeau continued with his favorite strategy of bombing mammoth drives off the tee without apparent fear of the impending rough along the narrow fairways at Winged Foot Golf Club. Since 1929, when the first of six US Opens at Winged Foot was contested, such reckless bravado has been considered reckless – not to mention a loser's gambit.

But DeChambeau, born 64 years after 1929, has ideas of his own.

"I'll keep it as far as I can," he said with a smiling swagger on Friday after a two-under-par 68 improved his score to three-under-par in two rounds. putting him one stroke behind second-round leader Patrick Reed.

Far further up the scoreboard was Tiger Woods, who missed the cut with a second round 77 that left him 10-over-par for the championship. Woods, 44, has not qualified for the last two rounds in three of the last four US Opens he has played.

DeChambeau & # 39; s brute force moves towards the ball – he gained 40 pounds through intense strength training over the winter – brought a sense of rollercoaster adventure to Friday's round; he had five bogeys, five birdies and an eagle.

What happened to par as a golfer's best friend in challenging Winged Foot?

DeChambeau, who has taken eight top-10 finishes this year, including a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July, has instead tried to befriend his inner wild child.

"My approach is to hit the ball as close to the green as possible – and as straight as possible," he said. "But if I miss the fairway and I'm in the rough, I feel good about that result.

" When the ball goes as far as usual, I feel comfortable in the rough because with a wedge or short iron I can still get it to the green or to the front of the green. That lowers the intimidation factor of the raw.

Although unconventional, DeChambeau & # 39; s approach is not supported by imprudence or imprudence. He studied physics in college and has tried to bring science-based theories into a sport more known for its nuances, feel, and a mantra known as the rub of the green – otherwise known as fate.

DeChambeau & # 39; s research, he said, supported the benefits of his power play, and Friday's round was one example. Yes, he usually made his bogeys when he missed the fairway, but he also made the most of his birdies, and an eagle on his last hole Friday, by propelling the ball much closer to the green than his contemporaries. With a shorter distance to the hole, DeChambeau was able to deliver nimble, accurate wedge and iron shots that shortened the length of his putts to holes. Then he sank a large number of those putts.

And it's not like he got off the tee that quirky. For the championship, drives have been landed in the tapered fairways 50 percent of the time. The average for the rest of the field is about 37 percent.

In fact, DeChambeau is so confident that his tactics are an advantage over the field at this year's Open that he hopes the course will get tougher in the last two rounds this weekend. He could fulfill his wish as the weather forecast calls for stormy, autumnal conditions, including cooler temperatures, in the low 60s.

"I want it to play as hard as possible," he said. “There are so many holes here that I can take advantage of some people not being able to do that. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to win or anything. You still have to execute, you still have to hit the driver upright.”

That was a sentiment that echoed Woods Friday as he blamed his inaccurate tee-shots for his high scores. A subdued Woods spoke of taking a break from golf for a few days after his round and then refocusing.

"There's one more major to go," said Woods, who will be the defending champion when the 2020 Masters Tournament is held in mid-November.

Reed, whose 66 in the first round gave him a hit the lead, played aggressively, even shooting par 70 with five birdies on Friday. Reed said Winged Foot played much harder in the second round than on Thursday, when 21 golfers were below par. ", Said Reed.

First round leader Justin Thomas followed Reed with two strokes. Thomas appeared to be recovering on Friday when he was five-over-par during his first 12 holes played. He gathered with two birdies and five pars in his last seven holes.

Harris English and Rafa Cabrera Bello were level with Thomas. Jason Kokrak was the only other golfer who was below par in the middle of the championship. Phil Mickelson, a sentimental favorite since finishing second when the US Open was last held at Winged Foot in 2006, shot 74 Friday and failed to make the cut with a two-day score of 13.