Bryson DeChambeau defied a brutal course set-up to finish his first round of the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club four-under and with the clubhouse lead.
That contrasts with the struggles endured by the LIV Golf player in recent months, and he explained that a recent change of diet has offered him a new approach to the game. Much has been made of DeChambeau’s muscle-building efforts, although the accompanying diet is something he ditched last year after admitting bulking up had been a mistake.
Following his opening round, DeChambeau revealed the change is helping his body improve. He said: “Eating properly instead of eating stuff that inflames my body. I took a Zoomer peptide test, which essentially tells you what inflames your blood when you eat it.
“I was allergic to corn, wheat, gluten, dairy. Pretty much everything I liked, I couldn’t eat. I took that out. Started taking it out in August, and over the course of time I’ve lost all this inflammation, lost a lot of fat and slimmed down like crazy.”
DeChambeau also revealed the rapid difference that had made to his physique. He said: "I lost 18 pounds in 24 days. It was crazy. It wasn’t fat. It was all water weight. You know how I looked before. I was not skinny.”
As well as a diet change, DeChambeau admitted it had taken time to recover from a hand injury he sustained last year, while his swing also needed work. He said: "Obviously, having the hand injury was no fun and then learning to play golf again with a new hand. It’s been a while. So nice to come back and start to finally figure out what’s going on with my golf swing."
DeChambeau also revealed his struggle for a return to form had not been without some soul-searching. He said: “Look, I love the game, and I love being a part of helping inspire kids to play golf and grow the game whatever possible way I can. But I will say that there have been times where it’s like, man, I don’t know where this is worth all of it.”
Another element working in DeChambeau’s favour this week could be the course, which he admitted bears similarities with the scene of his sole Major win to date, the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot. He said: “It is, right, but it is more nuanced. I’ve said that a couple times now where you can’t just run it up every single green. There’s some forced carries, right? It’s different, a different test and a test that I’m willing take on.”
Still, DeChambeau refused to take anything for granted, saying: “If you’re driving it well and hitting your irons well, you can play out here, but it can get pretty nasty pretty quick if you’re not hitting it straight.”
On that subject, DeChambeau admitted his performance off the tee had been a pleasant surprise. He said: “Hitting the driver straight, finally. That’s been the most surprising part because I’m so used to hitting it everywhere.”
It wasn't all plain sailing on that score. During the round, DeChambeau hit fellow pro Kenny Pigman with a wayward drive, although thankfully without causing him an injury.
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