DeChambeau plays pantomime villain but survives cut
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[July 17, 2021]
By Ed Osmond
SANDWICH, England (Reuters) - Bryson DeChambeau was booed by the
British Open crowd at Royal St George's on Friday when he opted to
hit his tee shot at the first hole of his second round with an iron
rather than a driver.
The long-hitting American had apologised on Thursday for what he
described as "very unprofessional" comments he made about his Cobra
driver after a wayward opening 71.
DeChambeau assumed the role of pantomime villain as he stood on the
first tee, turning to acknowledge the spectators as they voiced
their disapproval at his decision not to use the most powerful club
in his bag.
The 2020 U.S. Open champion had the last laugh, however, when he
sent his iron shot on to the fairway and after a rollercoaster
level-par 70 he narrowly survived the halfway cut.
DeChambeau made steady pars on the first three holes but his
struggles resumed with a bogey at the fourth and another at the
fifth left him at three over.
The driver did come out at the par-five seventh hole and a 10-foot
putt earned DeChambeau his first birdie of the day but he completely
misread a putt on the eighth green, leaving it 15 feet short of the
flag, and another bogey duly followed.
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Bryson DeChambeau lines up a putt on the
sixth green during the second round of the Open Championship golf
tournament. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-USA TODAY Sports
The American played a delightful chip
into the ninth green en route to another birdie and although another
bogey came at the 10th, he conjured up birdies at the 15th and 16th
holes to move back to one over.
Nerveless putts at the last two holes completed DeChambeau's rescue
mission and he received warm applause from the galleries before
leaving the arena to prepare for the weekend.
A Cobra official described DeChambeau as behaving on Thursday like
"an 8-year-old that gets mad at you".
DeChambeau, who put on about 30 pounds of muscle to become the
longest hitter on the PGA Tour, said his driver "sucks" after he
found only four of 14 fairways in his opening round.
(Reporting by Ed Osmond, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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