Why Does Everyone Hate Bryson DeChambeau?

The US Open champion is one of the most polarising figures in the game of golf

Why Does Everyone Hate Bryson DeChambeau?

Bryson DeChambeau won the US Open in sensational fashion in Winged Foot, but there were plenty of people unhappy to see him lifting the famed trophy.

On Saturday he was paired with Patrick Reed, with some coining that group as ‘the most hated’ in golf.

The 26-year-old is clearly one of the best golfers of his generation, having become just the third man in history to win an NCAA Division 1 title, a US Amateur and a US Open after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

He’s a unique character and has completely dedicated his life to becoming the best golfer he possibly can be.

We also got to see some raw emotion from him after his US Open win when chatting to his parents via video call and he spoke about inspiring the next generation.

“I hope I can inspire some people. My goal in playing golf and playing this game is to try and figure it out. I’m just trying to figure out this very complex, multivariable game, and multidimensional game as well. It’s very, very difficult. It’s a fun journey for me,” he said.

WATCH: Bryson DeChambeau’s winning press conference

“I hope that inspires people to say, hey, look, maybe there is a different way to do it. Not everybody has to do it my way. I’m not saying that. I’m just saying in general that there are different ways to do things. If you can find your own way, find your passion — like Arnie said, swing your swing. That’s what I do. That’s what Matthew Wolff does. That’s what Tiger does. That’s what Phil does. That’s what everybody does, and we’re all trying to play the best golf we can.

“Hopefully, my way inspires people. This is my seventh win PGA Tour, first Major, couldn’t be more proud. I hope that it does inspire a few people.”

So, where does all this controversy and criticism for Bryson stem from? Why does everyone hate Bryson DeChambeau?

Firstly, we must say that he is not hated by everyone and has plenty of admirers around the golfing world, although he is equally disliked by fans and some figures in the world of golf.

Ian Poulter said Bryson is not his cup of tea but congratulated him after his US Open win:

Tommy Fleetwood’s caddie Ian Finnis also said he isn’t a fan of Bryson’s:

He has had plenty of controversial moments through the years since turning pro in 2015 that haven’t endeared him to some.

In 2018 at the Porsche European Open after throwing away the tournament he did not congratulate winner Richard McEvoy and was widely criticised for his actions.

He didn’t even look at McEvoy when shaking his hand and quickly stormed off, and later apologised on his Instagram account, calling McEvoy “a class act”.

Bryson has also been heavily criticised for his slow play through the years, especially at the 2019 Dubai Desert Classic where a clip of him surfaced talking with his caddie about ‘air density.’

This prompted Brooks Koepka to call it “embarrassing.”

He was also at the centre of a slow play storm at the 2019 Northern Trust where he was lambasted for taking over 2 minutes 20 seconds to hit a putt.

It prompted the PGA Tour to review its slow play policy and Bryson released a statement saying that he is “committed to being a part of the solution” to slow play and “not the problem.”

During that controversy, Eddie Pepperell called DeChambeau a “single minded twit” on social media, although he did apologise and the pair have since played together and made up.

He was also criticised for playing slow during his US Open win.

Sky Sports Golf’s Nick Dougherty also criticised Bryson’s slow play during the 2020 US Open, whilst one Twitter user said he thought Andrew Coltart also wasn’t a fan of DeChambeau’s:

Further controversy came at the 2020 Memorial Tournament where he missed the cut after making a 10 during the second round.

He was criticised for pleading with a rules official that his ball was not out of bounds when it probably was.

DeChambeau could be heard saying “they’re giving me a garbage ruling like usual” after two officials confirmed his ball was out of bounds.

He also found controversy at the 2020 Rocket Mortgage Classic where he berated a camera man for filming him during a bad hole where he hit his club into a bunker in anger.

He said the camera man filming him during the bad moment was damaging his brand.

“He was literally watching me the whole entire way up after getting out of the bunker, walking up next to the green. And I just was like, ‘Sir, what is the need to watch me that long?’” DeChambeau said.

“I mean, I understand it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do.”

He was also seen damaging the course at the WGC-Mexico Championship in 2019, which again resulted in his brand being damaged.

DeChambeau is also polarising when it comes to science.

The US Open champion uses one length clubs, floats his golf balls in epsom salts and almost speaks a different language to golf fans.

He has also been heavily criticised on top of this for bulking up in late 2019 and during the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in him hitting the ball monumental distances.

Some may feel that Bryson is taking the game in the wrong direction, whilst many will also argue that he is doing absolutely nothing wrong in trying to maximise his potential.

Either way, when DeChambeau’s name is mentioned there’s always a differing of opinion.

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