SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau’s big hitting has been the talk of the golf world since the sport returned from its COVID-19 break, but the American showed at the PGA Championship on Saturday that he also had plenty of finesse by sinking a 95-foot putt.
DeChambeau, who added 20 pounds of muscle this year, is more used to blasting balls and his superb effort for a birdie on the 18th took the 26-year-old by surprise as he carded a third-round 66 to go six-under for the tournament.
“It’s the longest (putt) I’ve ever made in any competition, ever,” DeChambeau, who was tied seventh, told reporters.
At 95 ft 5 in, it was also the longest putt made on the PGA Tour since Nick Watney’s 95 ft 7 in effort in the 2017 RBC Canadian Open.
“I just said to myself, well, I think this line looks pretty good,” DeChambeau added.
“We’ve been doing a lot of speed testing so I knew I had to hit it like 130 ft relative to all of our stuff… I was able to start it on line and saw it kept going closer and closer to the hole and eventually dropped.
“Those moments, you just have to look back and laugh and appreciate what the game is, because that stuff happens at random points in time in life. This was a pretty good random moment to do it in.”
DeChambeau was three shots behind compatriot Dustin Johnson who held a one-stroke lead after the third round. [nL8N2FB00E]
“I’m proud of myself that I’ve been able to change my body and give myself a chance to win tomorrow,” DeChambeau added.
“That’s something that is difficult to do… there’s usually a little struggle with that. So I really am blessed and proud.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)
