PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — There’s a theory that Bryson DeChambeau’s game, which is predicated so much on science rather than artistry, does not fit well with the unpredictability of links golf.
And therefore, he’s not expected to excel in British Opens.
DeChambeau would beg to differ.
“Yeah, you have to adapt very well,’’ he said Tuesday. “When I played the Walker Cup in 2015 at Royal Lytham St. Anne’s, I played really well. I shot 66 in the singles matches, and I played great golf. I felt comfortable coming over here in 2017, and then I just wasn’t prepared for the elements.
“The times I’ve been over here, for some reason, my golf swing hasn’t been where it needs to be. … Right now, it feels as good as it’s ever been. I’m hitting it far, hitting it straight as I can, and learning how to putt better on these greens in windy conditions and rain and all that.
“It’s just figuring it out. It’s just going to take time and something that I never really experienced growing up in California.’’
As a pro in the British Open, DeChambeau, who’s won the U.S. Open twice, has finished tied for 33rd in 2021, tied for eighth in 2022, tied for 60th in 2023 and he missed the cut last year at Troon.
Asked if the unpredictability of links, with good and bad breaks, bothers him, DeChambeau conceded, “It does bother me, but I also understand it. That’s the game we’re playing. You’re going to get bad breaks, I’m going to get good breaks. It’s just going to happen.
“Whether it’s fair or not, that’s such a subjective thing. It’s not really objective. At the end of the day, we’re all playing this game with the same relative conditions.’’
Spaniard Jon Rahm was asked on Tuesday if the Ryder Cup, to be played in late September at Bethpage Black, is on his mind.
“Yeah, it’s been on my mind,” Rahm said. “It’s been on my mind a year ago, and it will continue on my mind as long as I play golf in my career. The Ryder Cup is always there. Obviously, when I wake up in the morning here, I’m thinking about this [British Open], but the Ryder Cup will always be on my mind.”
Rahm, because he plays on the LIV Golf tour and doesn’t get Ryder Cup points for those events, is 20th on the points list and is almost certain to need to be a wild card by European captain Luke Donald to make the team.
There’s little chance Donald won’t select Rahm as one of his captain’s picks, considering that Rahm is clearly one of the best European players and much the heart of the team.
Tom McKibbin is one of four Irish players in the field this week, and at age 22, he’s the youngest. McKibbin is a native of Northern Ireland with a keen familiarity of Portrush, a home course.
“I’ve played here however many hundreds of times,’’ he said. “It’s somewhere I’ve come up and played since I was 10 years old. To play a major championship on this golf course is going to be pretty special, the biggest event I’ll ever have played in under that pressure and atmosphere. It’s something not many people get to say, that they’ve played an Open in their home country. To be here and be playing will be something that I’ll probably remember forever.”
McKibbin, who plays on LIV Golf and is a member of Rahm’s team, secured his place in the field through his 18th place in last year’s Race to Dubai before he joined LIV.
“Tom McKibbin should be really looking forward to this week, being a member here and being from Northern Ireland,’’ Rahm said. “He’s a fantastic young man. For a 22-year-old to be as calm and collected as he is, is quite phenomenal.
“He’s quiet by nature, but even in competition when things go wrong, he stays quite calm, and it’s just remarkable and an incredible gift to have for a young player. I don’t think I can relate to that whatsoever, so I’m a little bit jealous of that. I think it’s going to serve him very well in the long run.
“He’s a fantastic golfer in general. He’s got all the tools he needs to succeed in this game, and so far in his early career, he’s done so.’’
