Big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau is gearing up for a challenging week at the testing Ocean Course in Kiawah Island where the PGA Championship tees off on Thursday.
With strong winds expected and Major-like conditions facing players right next to the Atlantic Ocean, DeChambeau’s approach will especially be in the spotlight.
The American surprised many when he won the US Open under similar circumstances at Winged Foot last year and he is set to face another layout that will push his ability to the very limit this week.
Many have suggested that this could be DeChambeau’s biggest challenge yet since he adopted the aggressive approach.
‘This golf course is a beast,’ DeChambeau told reporters in South Carolina.
‘Hopefully I can unleash the beast, but you never know. May hit it right or left, I don’t know. I’d say for the most part you have to hit it pretty straight out here, even though you hit it pretty far, or I’m hitting it pretty far.
‘I would say there are holes that you just can’t go after. No 4 is a great example. Hitting driver there, probably you could do it today because it’s so into the wind, but for most guys … I watched players hitting hybrids and 3-woods all day today, and that’s not easy.
‘I’m sure the tee boxes will be moved up in certain areas, but for most players out there, if you don’t hit it long, it’s going to be a tough week, especially hitting hybrid or 3-iron or 4-iron into these greens that are so penalising around the green complexes.
‘For me my length is an advantage, but if I can hit it straight this week in this wind and control the golf ball and control the flight of it, that’ll be my biggest advantage.’
DeChambeau will feature alongside defending champion Collin Morikawa and the 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama in one of the featured groups this week.
