Confidence returning for methodical DeChambeau

Bryson DeChambeau feels his game is starting to peak again and suggests his trust in his own methods is reassuring him that he’s on the right track. The American had a purple patch on the PGA Tour between June and October last year, winning four times in 12 starts.

A dominant seven-shot win in the European Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic in January suggested 2019 was going to be a continuing upward trajectory for the 25-year-old, but things have stalled since. DeChambeau lurched from mid-February to mid-June as he went 11 events without managing a single top-10 finish.

He arrested that streak with tied-eighth spot in last week’s Travelers Championship, where he shot 64-68 on the weekend, enough to give the world number eight confidence again.

“I’m moving in the right direction with my game and very confident about what I’m doing in regards to executing shots, the strategy I’m applying on golf courses, and the putting that I have right now,” he said.

“I feel a lot more confident than I did a couple weeks ago. Played well at the US Open (tied 35th). Didn’t execute a couple of tee shots like I would have liked to and that cost me some positioning placements, and [at the Travelers] the same thing happened.

“I hit some shots that I wouldn’t normally have been able to hit for the longest time in the past year. Last year I was able to do it but for some reason this year, I wasn’t able to, and I’m starting to move in the right direction with that.

“So I’m getting pretty confident under some pressure situations to be able to execute and perform the way I want to, so getting better.”

DeChambeau will now hope to improve a record in the majors – that shows just one top-20 finish in 13 starts – at the Open Championship in Royal Portrush next month. DeChambeau is 34.00 to hoist the Claret Jug.