Bryson DeChambeau commits to WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
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Written by Staff
Bryson DeChambeau’s comeback could begin next week. The eight-time TOUR winner is in the field for the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play, which begins Wednesday at Austin Country Club.
Injuries have kept DeChambeau off the PGA TOUR since he missed the cut Farmers Insurance Open in late January. He previously committed to both the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, where he was the defending champion, and last week’s THE PLAYERS before pulling out of the field because of lingering concerns about his wrist injury.
DeChambeau declared after withdrawing from Bay Hill that he was at 90% capacity.
“I don’t want to go out there and hurt myself even more and not be 100% ready for the rest of the season,” he said in a video posted to social media. “I don’t want to come back early and then have to take more time off, so it’s a hard decision I have to make right now.”
The TOUR’s lone match-play event could offer an ideal setting for a return, however. It’s just a short commute from his Dallas home and offers less stress because players do not have to sign a scorecard. Players are guaranteed at least three days of competition, but also the possibility of playing less than 18 holes each day. DeChambeau has competed in the tournament twice, failing to advance past pool play either time.
The 64-man field is divided into 16 four-man pods. Players play one match apiece against the other three players in their pod, and the player with the best head-to-head record advances to single-elimination starting Saturday. Two rounds apiece are played each weekend day before a champion is crowned.
One of the biggest triumphs of DeChambeau’s career came in match play. He won the 2015 U.S. Amateur to join Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Ryan Moore as the only players to win the U.S. Amateur and NCAA Championship in the same year. DeChambeau’s victory in the 2020 U.S. Open made him one of just three players – along with Nicklaus and Woods – to win the U.S. Amateur, NCAA Championship and U.S. Open.