Bryson DeChambeau has found the right formula for the best part of the PGA Tour season as he made it two wins from two at the Dell Technologies Championship.
Coming off a four-shot victory last week in New Jersey, the 24-year-old physics major known as the ‘Mad Scientist’ pulled away with three straight birdies to close out the front nine and kept his distance the rest of the way to win his second FedExCup playoff event.
DeChambeau closed with a four-under 67 for a two-shot victory on the TPC Boston, becoming only the second player in the 12 years of the lucrative FedExCup to win the opening two playoff events.
‘I wouldn’t have written it any better, to be honest with you,’ DeChambeau said.
‘I’ve been playing some great golf this whole year. And I knew it was a matter of time before something cool showed up.’
Vijay Singh did it in 2008 before the points system was changed to create more volatility. Singh effectively had the $10-million prize wrapped up before the finale.
DeChambeau, with his third victory this year, was assured of being the No 1 seed when he gets to the Tour Championship, no matter what happens next week at the third playoff event outside Philadelphia. He won 2,000 FedExCup points with the victory.
DeChambeau, who started the year at No 99 in the world, moved past Rory McIlroy to No 7. He finished at 16-under 268 and made $1,620,000 for the second straight week.
How much better can he get?
‘You can always get better,’ DeChambeau said. ‘How much? I would say it depends on what I can do in the restrictions of my biomechanics. So it’s all about error tolerances and being… less sensitive to error. So that when you do feel like you mess up, it’s not going to be that big of a mess-up.
‘But I can say there is another level.’
Cameron Smith of Australia tried to make a run at him with a pair of late birdies, but DeChambeau answered with a birdie on the 15th to keep his lead at two shots. Needing an eagle to catch him on the par-five 18th, Smith came up short and into the hazard and made a bogey.
Justin Rose birdied three of his last four holes for a 68 and wound up alone in second.
Ancer couldn’t keep pace, dropping three shots in the tough four-hole stretch early on the back nine. A birdie on the final hole would have given the 27-year-old Mexican a tie for third and a reasonable chance at going to the Tour Championship. He also came up short into the hazard and made a bogey. The small consolation for Ancer was moving from No 92 to No 56, which at least made him among the top 70 who advance to the BMW Championship at Aronimink next week.
A few others also were happy to have another week left in a long season.
Peter Uihlein, the former US Amateur champion in his first full season on the PGA Tour, birdied his last three holes for a 68. He played with Keith Mitchell, another PGA Tour rookie, who birdied his last two holes for a 69. Both moved into the top 70.
Matt Kuchar failed to advance beyond the second playoff event for the first time in 10 years.
Tiger Woods closed with a 71 and tied for 24th. Phil Mickelson made nine birdies on Monday in a closing round of 63.
Hideki Matsuyama made seven birdies in 10 holes before he cooled and shot 65, though it at least made it easier for the Japanese star to try to get to the Tour Championship. Jordan Spieth still has work to do. He was one shot out of the lead on the front nine until a bogey on the par-five 7th hole, and three more bogeys in five holes to start the back nine. He ended by missing a six-foot eagle putt and had to settle for a 70, moving him up to only No 27.
The top 30 make it to East Lake for the Tour Championship, where everyone has a mathematical chance at the $10-million prize.
It doesn’t take a degree in physics to figure out that DeChambeau will have the best odds of all.
Credit: PGA TOUR
