JOHANNESBURG – It hasn’t been perfect, but it’s still been three better than anyone else.
Bryson DeChambeau, at on the first big eve of the yearhas ascended to the enviable place where something less than his best is still good enough to win.
That’s not to say the least about his 63-65-64 start. It’s more about acknowledging how DeChambeau has shown frustration about the many shots he’s fallen short, or the back-to-back days where he missed the easy par-3 17th green, or the sloppy putt he made Friday afternoon.
“That back nine just didn’t go my way on some of them,” DeChambeau said. “I made a big eagle on 10 and a big birdie on 18, but everything else was a bit sloppy.”
For the most part, DeChambeau has turned a long, stodgy property into something that feels a lot less. The 5,000-foot elevation makes his longer-than-anyone long game seem even longer. The 393-yard par-4 1st reaches a fairway, from which he dropped his approach on Friday. Ditto for the 364-yard driveable 5th. He has played these two holes six times and shot eight under between them.
“It’s the key to getting off to a good start,” said his chief follower, Jon Rahm. “Bryson has done a great job at that every day.” Rahm played those two holes in five under, really as well as anyone not named DeChambeau.
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Sean Zak
It would be the fifth LIV win of DeChambeau’s career and make him the first player since Talor Gooch in 2023 to win back-to-back LIV events. Now that the league gets world ranking points, it will also help DeChambeau climb back into the top 25, provided he gets the job done. And while he certainly has energy maddened mobs in Johannesburghe may find many of them rooting against him on Sunday morning.
Four shots back is South African Dean Burmester, who has been the clear fan favourite. So much so that he was in tears on the first Saturday morning. Two shots back is South African Branden Grace, who has been trailing DeChambeau for 72 hours now, playing the last two rounds with him. Event organizers have swapped the white, wooden fences that covered various holes for stronger steel fences that won’t buckle under the pressure of the crowd’s weight. This seems like a sign of the coming Sunday. So did the opening exchange of Grace’s press conference.
When asked, on behalf of South Africa’s famous wild animals, if it would have to be a bit of a cheetah, running to catch DeChambeau, Grace spun smartly.
“Listen, I think I should be a bit of a rhinoceros tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve got to be tough tomorrow. It’s going to be a battle. Listen, he’s playing phenomenal golf. I feel like I’m playing phenomenal golf, too. You just need a few things to go your way and then a couple of shots can result – it can change quickly.”
