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Has Dechambeau got what it takes to be a Major contender this year?

The world of golf’s obsession with Bryson DeChambeau shows no sign of relenting as the 26-year old American continues to achieve incredible driving gains in his game. The distances DeChambeau has been able to achieve, which has coincided with noticeable weight gain, has shook the game up over the last few months, as have the results he’s enjoyed, which included landing the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit in May. 

Currently ranked at World Number 7, DeChambeau heads the PGA ratings for driving distance, but is only ranked 105th for accuracy. Despite that, he is now second in the tour scoring averages, with only Rory McIlroy bettering him, and he has finished in the top ten in every tournament he has played in since February.

Before DeChambeau won and the Rocket Mortgage Classic, beating Matthew Wolff by three strokes, he had finished in a tie for sixth at the Travelers Championship, becoming the only player to achieve a top 10 place at each of the first three events since the PGA season resumed. 

This form, and DeChambeau’s distance-driving tactics, has caught the attention of many in the sport, and he is now among the favourites to win the PGA Championship in August and the US Open in September. 

Just the 423 drive which leads to birdie at the Memorial. As you do!

The recent results and performances of the Californian have arguably made him the best player of 2020 so far, with perhaps only Rory McIlroy, who has also been in sparkling form, able to claim to have been better.

Yet while McIlroy will head many lists as a potential Major winner later in the year, there are still some question marks hanging over DeChambeau’s chances. In Major tournaments to date, his best result has been 15th, which came in the 2016 US Open. 

In the same year, he achieved his best result in the PGA Championship, but this was only a tie for 21st place, and as recent as last year, DeChambeau was cut in two of the Majors, with his best performance being 29th in the Masters. 

However, this was all before the strides he has since made with his distance driving game and the Rocket Mortgage Classic was his first win on the PGA Tour for almost two years since winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in early 2019. 

Although form is obviously important when it comes to landing a Major, so too is experience. How he would handle a lead down the back nine and having to hold his nerve to secure a first Major victory is yet to be tested. But his talent is not in question and he can build on his recent form to throw down a challenge to the best players in the world at the upcoming Majors.