Bryson DeChambeau willing to improve pace of play after harsh criticism at The Northern Trust

Ryan Young
·Staff writer
Updated

Bryson DeChambeau’s slow play was a major point of concern last week at The Northern Trust, and drew harsh criticism from fellow PGA Tour members.

After the backlash, however, the 25-year-old seems to have changed his tone.

In an Instagram post on Monday, DeChambeau said he’s ready to “do my very best” to improve his pace of play on the course.

“Golf is my passion and livelihood,” DeChambeau wrote on Instagram. “It’s my responsibility to help improve the game to be more enjoyable for all. Pace of play has been an issue for golf at all levels for a long time, and I’m committed to being a part of the solution, not the problem.”

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PGA Tour golfers light DeChambeau up at The Northern Trust

A pair of videos from The Northern Trust went viral on Friday, where DeChambeau took more than two minutes to pace out and read shots.

Many prominent golfers took to social media to criticize DeChambeau after the round, too, including Justin Rose, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Eddie Pepperell and even Justin Thomas, who was playing with DeChambeau on Friday.

DeChambeau doubled down on Saturday, too, defending his play at Liberty National Golf Club and slamming those who attacked him.

“I play a different way out there. I take my 40 seconds that’s been allotted, sometimes over, absolutely,” DeChambeau said, via Golf Digest. “Totally agree. It’s maybe 5 percent of the time. But I’ll tell you that it’s really kind of unfortunate the way it’s perceived because there’s a lot of other guys that take a lot of time. They don’t talk about this matter, and for me personally, it is an attack. … People don’t realize the harm they are doing to the individuals.”

DeChambeau finished in a tie for 24th at The Northern Trust on Sunday, nine shots behind winner Patrick Reed. He is set to tee off at the BMW Championship this week at the Medinah Country Club outside of Chicago, the second FedExCup Playoff stop of the PGA Tour season.

Koepka, others address the issue with DeChambeau

Pace of play has been an issue on Tour this season, especially in recent weeks, and it’s easy to understand why. Nobody likes watching golfers stand around waiting to play. Even Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka, two of the hottest players on Tour right now, slammed rules officials before The Northern Trust for not enforcing the time rule.

And in such a key point in the season, with just two playoff events to go, slow play isn’t a positive thing for the game.

Koepka even discussed the topic with DeChambeau ahead of the final round at Liberty National Golf Club on Sunday.

“I mentioned his name once. I don't think I've come at him. I just talked about slow play, and obviously he feels I'm talking about him every time,” Koepka said after their conversation, via the Golf Channel. “It was fine. No issues.”

Koepka, who is currently atop the FedExCup standings, knows he’s been critical about the topic in the past. However that route, he said, isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Everyone out here [is] probably a little bit more afraid of confrontation than in other sports. I think you see that,” Koepka said, via the Golf Channel. “There's always been some confrontation on a team. Sometimes it helps and you figure out what the root of the problem is, and start working on it.”

After he was slammed by Tour pros for slow play at Liberty National, Bryson DeChambeau has promised to work on improving his pace of play.
After he was slammed by Tour pros for slow play at Liberty National, Bryson DeChambeau has promised to work on improving his pace of play. (Rich Graessle/Getty Images)

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