AUGUSTA, Ga. – Bryson DeChambeau says he told Asterisk Talley there’s more to golf.
He said she could sign autographs and that she could inspire.
He said she had an opportunity to show who she was.
And that was it DeChambeau’s message for Talley Saturday afternoon after she struggled for a long time Augusta Women’s National Amateur the final round. The two-time men’s US Open winner had come out to support one of the top women’s amateurs in the world, whom he had known for a while and was ANWA’s leader for two days. But disaster struck. Talley bogeyed the 11th hole. She two-shotted the 12th and made four-bogey. She carded a three-over 75 and tied for fourth.
DeChambeau then met with him. On Tuesday, two days before it started in Mastersspoke a little about what he told her.
What happened, he said, would not define Talley.
“Yeah, again, knowing her and seeing her practice around me a lot when she was younger,” DeChambeau said, “I felt like it was a great opportunity to come out and support her, knowing where she was and that she was playing really well. Also, if she won, there to support her. If she lost, there to help her.
“I felt like it was an opportunity that I could show her a different side of golf. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and the losses can be really tough. But it’s not what defines you. That was the message I gave her. It’s not going to define you. If nothing, it’s almost going to give you an opportunity to show who you really are.”
DeChambeau said he tried to give Talley some perspective after he had a similar result last year. At the 2025 Masters, he led after two holes in the final round of the tournament, then played four-over golf after that and tied for fifth.
“It’s more important to show who you really are in defeat than in victory,” DeChambeau said Tuesday. “If you have the ability to inspire the kids around you — I basically said look at all the people out there waiting for you to sign autographs. If you can get out there and sign those autographs, it’s more impactful than winning the tournament ever. I know that from experience.
“Although, it’s great to win and we all want to win, there’s more to the game. Don’t let that define you because you’re going to have an incredible career. This is the start of something special.
“Those are the words that I said to him. There was more that I said that I’m not going to talk about obviously, but that was the gist of it. I felt like it was the right time to do it. Again, it’s not like I’m — I mean, I’ve been focused on just helping him. I didn’t want anything out of this but to help him.”
