With his immensely popular YouTube channel, his prodigious tee shots, and his dynamic personality, Bryson DeChambeau is one of the country’s most beloved golfers.
Although his critics in the media believe that he’s a Ryder Cup liability because he’s a LIV golfer, his teammates are thrilled by the thought of DeChambeau teeing it up for Team USA when the competition begins Friday at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y.
Take it from the top, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who said, “I think Bryson is a tremendous competitor. He’s a great partner as well. I partnered with him in (the Ryder Cup in) 2021 at Whistling Straits and he was a tremendous guy to be out to be golf course with,” Scheffler said. “He’s a great guy and a good friend and he’s been great in our team room.
“He brings a lot of energy, the people love him, and I think he loves the opportunity to be able to represent his country. He’s a multiple-time U.S. Open winner, and that means a lot to him. Being an American I think means a lot to him as well.
“I’m excited to kind of unleash him this week.”
The 2021 Ryder Cup was a defining moment in Scheffler’s career. He was 2-0-1 in his matches, including a singles victory over then World No. 1 Jon Rahm. He won the first of his 19 PGA Tour titles in 2022 and went on to win three more times that year, including the Masters.
After having an impressive 2021 Ryder Cup of his own, highlighted by him driving the par-4 first green and sinking the eagle putt in his singles match against Sergio Garcia, DeChambeau didn’t earn enough points to qualify for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome.
Thanks to his six top-10 finishes in the past eight majors, including his second U.S. Open title at Pinehurst in 2024, he was sixth in points among American golfers to earn an automatic berth. And the response from captain Keegan Bradley and his 11 teammates has been exhilarating and motivating.
“The amount of calls I got when I was on the team from players was amazing, and the support, all the vice captains and every player texting me, calling me and welcoming me on the team was quite emotional for me,” DeChambeau said. “It made me more passionate about this team and excited to be a part of what we’re trying to accomplish this week. I’ve enjoyed every second of being in the team room. The guys have been incredible.
“The words really aren’t there right now to explain how passionate I am about this USA team and how good I think we are and how positive we are and how encouraging we are, inspiring we are, and what this captain has done to bring us together, to band us together like possibly no other captains have done.”
Bradley noted DeChambeau’s commitment to Team USA despite his obligations to the LIV tour and his YouTube videos, which garner millions of views. He said DeChambeau was at the season-ending Tour Championship and the Procore Championship in California.
“I think this is a tough thing for Bryson, to come into guys that he doesn’t see every day, full of PGA Tour players, but he’s done an exceptional job of making the extra effort, flying to Napa, flying to Atlanta, doing things that are really difficult with the schedule that he has,” Bradley said. “He’s made every effort possible and been incredible in the team room.”
Bradley’s players agree with his assessment.
“I was telling Keegan, I feel like Bryson could be like the difference for us in a strange way from the standpoint of feeding into these fans, the style of golf he plays,” Xander Schauffle said. “Like me, I’ll make a putt, and you won’t see too much of a reaction. That’s just who I am. But Bryson is like, this is his arena. If he views himself as a gladiator golfer, this is as good as it gets.
“He’s been awesome. He’s been awesome in the team room. I’m excited to sort of see what he can do, and hopefully get a lot of points up on the board because his points might hit harder than maybe my points, for example, just because of how he might celebrate and get these fans into this tournament quickly.”
Patrick Cantlay, who played with DeChambeau in the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup, said DeChambeau “is great in team events. I was watching him hit drivers on the range the other day, and I’m glad he’s on our side. He’s a showman out there. I think he’s going to get the crowd fired up. It’s really great anytime he’s on these teams because he’s such a fantastic player.”
“Obviously a great player,” Russell Henley said. “Explosive is a great word for how he plays. I’ve just really enjoyed Bryson. Bryson, after Greensboro in 2021 maybe, I was leading the tournament, and I choked it away, and the next week or the two weeks after, I saw him in Baltimore at Caves Valley, and he walked up and said, he goes, ‘Hey, man, keep your head up, that happens to everybody, you’re playing some great golf,’ and just encouraged me. I’ll always remember that.
“I think what people don’t realize, he’s made a huge effort being a part of this team, flying to team dinners, showing up weeks that he’s playing on the LIV to where we are on the PGA Tour just to be a part of that team, and he’s done a great job,” reigning U.S. Open winner J.J. Spaun said. “He’s got his own thing going on, and it’s easy for us to get together because we’re all playing week in and week out together. I think he’s done a huge job of trying to insert himself on this team.
“Given his personality and his brand, he’s great with the fans. I think that’s going to be a huge attribute to the team this week.”
Cameron Young said he never got to spend much time with DeChambeau until they played practice rounds together with Justin Thomas and Ben Griffin this week.
“It’s been great,” Young said. “He’s a smart guy. He’s interesting to talk to. Obviously loves golf and has thought about golf maybe more than anybody out here throughout his career. I’m always picking his brain, asking him what he thinks about certain things, and it’s been fun for me to kind of watch him work.
“He’s a tremendously popular player. Obviously a huge talent. Big personality. The people love him, and I think he’s loving our team, as well.”
“Bryson is amazing,” Griffin said. “He’s been awesome to have on this team. He’s a huge asset for us. He’s got an incredible amount of talent.
“It’s been awesome to talk to him about his thoughts on equipment and his process and learn about kind of how he goes through his process. Because it’s a lot different than what all of us do, if you just look at it from an equipment side and green reading and everything like that. So it’s been cool, because these team events, you finally feel comfortable asking other competitors how they think about things, what they work on.
“When you’re playing in regular Tour events, no one wants to really share much. You kind of stick to your own stuff. So it’s really cool to kind of learn from other guys and how they think their way around golf courses. And yeah, Bryson is just an example of one that’s maybe a little bit more unique than the rest of the teammates.”
