It’s easy to figure out how Bryson DeChambeau feels at any given moment. The 24-year-old California native doesn’t hide his emotions with his facial expressions or body language. When he’s happy, you know it, like when he made the putt in the playoff to win at Memorial last month.
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And when he’s not, well you know that, too. Like his frustrating driving-range session during Thursday of Open Championship week.
You knew exactly, then, how frustrated DeChambeau was when he walked off the 18th hole on Sunday at the Porsche European Open, having blown his chance at victory with a series of stumbles over the last four holes. But did his emotions get the best of him when he interacted with tournament winner Richard McEvoy?
Suffice it to say, social media didn’t take too well to DeChambeau’s demeanor as he went from running hot after hitting a ball in the water on the 15th hole to overheating by the 18th hole, when he put two balls in the water and made a triple-bogey 8. Many specifically took umbrage with DeChambeau’s interaction at the end of play with McEvoy, who had just won his first European Tour title in 285 starts spanning 17 years. It was, indeed, a big win for McEvoy.
Check out this video compilation here from Golf Channel.
If you go to 4:15 mark, you see that it appears McEvoy and DeChambeau shake hands, but that DeChambeau quickly moves on as McEvoy emotionally begins to celebrate his career-altering victory. The question is did DeChambeau pay enough respect to McEvoy in the Englishman’s moment of glory? Or was he just trying to get off the stage as quickly as possible to allow McEvoy to enjoy the moment after DeChambeau’s implosion?
To get more perspective, watch the video again, only this time view it in its entirety. You’ll see exactly what happened to DeChambeau over the final few holes. DeChambeau had been the tournament leader or co-leader after each of the first three rounds, but was struggling on Sunday to make birdies. Still, he clung to a one-stroke lead over McEvoy as the pair got to the par-5 15th hole.
DeChambeau decided to play the hole aggressively, going for the green in two only to see his second shot leak to the right and find the water guarding the green. The commentators couldn’t hide their puzzlement at the strategy. The errant shot led to a bogey, while McEvoy made a birdie on the hole. Suddenly, the American was now trailing by a shot.
Things then got worse for DeChambeau. The video shows his drive on 16 going way right, en route to another bogey (McEvoy, however, bogeyed the 17th hole, keeping DeChambeau in the mix). And then on the 18th hole, DeChambeau puts his drive and his third shot in the water, then misses a shortish putt for his double bogey. McEvoy, meanwhile, kept his wits about him and when he rolled in a 20-footer for birdie on the 18th, he finally had his first Euro Tour win.
Does the entire four-hole sequence change your mind on whether DeChambeau handled the ending of the tournament well? We’ll let you be the judge.
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