Bryson DeChambeau has a new nickname, in case you hadn’t heard: Bryson DeChambeau-flex.
We didn’t coin the phrase but it really seems to fit, what with his new linebacker physique and prodigious length off the tee.
DeChambeau leads the PGA Tour in driving distance with an average of 323.8 yards off the tee through the Charles Schwab Challenge. That’s three yards farther than the next guy on the list, Cameron Champ, who led the Tour in driving last season at 317.9.
Hank Kuehne in 2003 set the bar in PGA Tour driving distance when he averaged 321.4. DeChambeau is on pace to break that mark by two yards.
Over the course of four days at Colonial Country Club, DeChambeau flexed with 19 drives of 330 or more yards.
Longest drives this week for @B_DeChambeau:
367 yards
365 yards
361 yards
357 yards
355 yards
354 yards
354 yards
353 yards
349 yards
340 yards
340 yards
337 yards
335 yards
335 yards
334 yards
333 yards
330 yards
330 yards
330 yardsHe's 1 back of the lead @CSChallengeFW. pic.twitter.com/rylVNdm3Cd
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 14, 2020
DeChambeau certainly is holding nothing back off the tee, and he has increased his distance average this season by more than 20 yards over last season. He averaged 302.5 yards in 2018-19 (ranked 34th on Tour), 305.7 in 2017-18 (25th on Tour) and 299.4 in 2016-17 (45th on Tour).
The boosted distance hasn’t helped his accuracy as compared to last season. He has hit 60.24 percent of fairways this season, ranking 121st on Tour. In 2018-19 he hit 65.02 percent of fairways to rank 66th, in 2017-18 he hit 62.23 percent (92nd on Tour) and in 2016-17 he hit 58.34 percent (124th on Tour.)
The loss of accuracy isn’t too troubling, though, as measured by the Tour’s strokes gained off the tee metric. Typically favoring length over accuracy, the stat measures how many strokes a player gains against the field in a round just off the tee.
DeChambeau ranks second behind Sergio Garcia in strokes gained off the tee this season, gaining 1.119 strokes per round off the tee against the field. He averaged 0.421 strokes gained off the tee in the 2018-19 season, 0.586 in 2017-18 and 0.420 in 2016-17.
That means that during a four-round event, DeChambeau’s tee shots give him a 2.8-stroke advantage off the tee versus the 2018-19 version of himself.
He hit it how far?
The list of the 300-plus-yard drives from DeChambeau during the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club.
Thursday
353, 322, 354, 333, 336, 321, 316
Friday
340, 365, 310, 330, 334, 340, 349, 320, 335
Saturday
354, 303, 329, 356, 329, 333
Sunday
361, 328, 366, 354, 346, 334, 322, 321
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