Tag: TPC Summerlin

Check the yardage book: TPC Summerlin for the Shriners Children’s Open

Check out Puttview’s hole-by-hole maps of the Bobby Weed design in Las Vegas.

TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, site of this week’s Shriners Children’s Open on the PGA Tour, was designed by architect Bobby Weed with input from Fuzzy Zoeller and opened in 1991.

A desert course playing through arroyos and canyons, TPC Summerlin will play to 7,243 yards with a par of 72. The course ranks No. 4 on Golfweek’s Best list of private courses in Nevada.

Thanks to yardage books provided by Puttview – the maker of detailed yardage books for more than 30,000 courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges that players face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.

Shootout expected at TPC Summerlin in final-round of Shriners

Eighteen players are within five shots of the lead and another 11 are six shots back heading into Sunday’s final round at TPC Summerlin.

LAS VEGAS – Handicapping the final round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open is one tough assignment.

Eighteen players are within five shots of the lead and another 11 are six shots back heading into Sunday’s final round at TPC Summerlin, where par isn’t your friend and red numbers are aplenty.

Players have been tearing up TPC Summerlin from Thursday’s start and the cut was 7-under 135 – the lowest 36-hole cut in a 72-hole event in Tour history. With little wind expected for the final round, scoring binges should more than likely continue across this desert layout.

Which necessitates one mental approach, many players said after Saturday’s third round: You have to put the pedal to the metal on this track to emerge from the stampede at the finish line.

“By the time I tee off tomorrow I’m sure (the lead) will be more than 20 under, so it’s going to be the same mentality tomorrow. I’ll be aggressive when I hit the ball in the fairway and get a wedge in my hand, and other than that I’ll stay patient and try and shot a good round like I did the first three two days,” Patrick Cantlay said.

Patrick Cantlay during round three of the 2020 Shriners Hospitals For Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Cantlay, who won here in 2017 and finished runner-up in 2018 and 2019, and Martin Laird sit atop the crowded leaderboard at 20 under, with both shooting 6-under-par 65.

Four players sit two back at 18 under – Matthew Wolff (61), Wyndham Clark (65), Harman (67) and Austin Cook (67). Wolff, teeing off four hours before the leaders, made three eagles in a five-hole stretch and his 61 is the lowest round of the week.

“I put myself in a really good spot for the final day,” he said. “I’m pretty pleased with my ball striking and how everything has come together.”

At 17 under are Will Zalatoris (64) and Kevin Na (64), who is in a good spot to join Jim Furyk (1998-99) as the only players to win back-to-back Shriners.

“I figure 7 under, I got a chance to win,” Na said. “I need to make more putts. I made some good putts today, but I definitely left a few out there.”

Five players are at 16 under, including Adam Hadwin, who shot 62 on Saturday, and five more player are at 15 under.

And can you really dismiss reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and all his firepower? DeChambeau made two double-bogeys and two bogeys in his first six holes but salvaged a 71 with six birdies in his last 11 holes. He’ll start the final round seven shots behind but he shot 62 in Thursday’s first round.

“It was really weird. I don’t know. It’s golf, right?” DeChambeau said. “You’re never going to play your best all the time, right? So I just felt like a couple things got off a little bit. Didn’t really hit bad shots, just didn’t go where I wanted to.

“Went into some really bad places. But I think I did a decent job of holding my head high and plugging forward. Just one of those days.

“Tomorrow’s a new day. You just keep plugging along.”

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Changes paying off for Brandt Snedeker in Las Vegas

PGA Tour player Brandt Snedeker is succeeding at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open after adding an instructor and changing caddies.

LAS VEGAS – There are long odds in the world of gaming, like backing an 80-1 shot to win at the track. Drawing to an inside straight. Taking the 19-point underdog to win outright.

And betting Brandt Snedeker to win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at the outset of Saturday’s third round at TPC Summerlin.

The odds were stacked against Snedeker, who made the cut on the number with a birdie on his last hole in the second round. He was first off at 7:30 a.m. local time. And at the birdie festival that is the Shriners, he was seven shots behind the lead.

“Pedal to metal,” Snedeker said about his mindset at the start of the round. “I hit it close on one and missed it and felt like I was behind the eight ball already playing one hole not making a birdie. You feel like if I’m not make birdies here I’m losing ground. To be even par through six holes today, I was like, I got to do something.

“This is not going to work.”

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Then Snedeker got to work. He kick started his round with a chip-in eagle from 85 feet on the ninth, then ripped off five consecutive birdies starting on the 12th to grab the lead. In all, he had eight birdies and an eagle to offset two bogeys and signed for an 8-under-par 63 to move to 15 under.

Still, Snedeker knows the odds won’t be in his favor come Sunday’s final round. In fact, shortly after he finished speaking with the media, Snedeker’s lead was gone as Adam Hadwin took over the top spot on the leaderboard with a 62.

“The course is there for the taking, just like it has been the last two days. I’ll probably be three or four back going into tomorrow, but at least I gave myself a shot after where I started,” Snedeker said. “I’ll go watch some football, get some rest, and be ready to go tomorrow.”

And Snedeker knows he can leave Las Vegas feeling like a winner without having to take hold of the championship hardware.

He’s been in a funk since tying for third in the Farmers Insurance Open in January. In 14 starts since then, he missed eight cuts and finished tied for 41st or worse in four other starts.

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The stretch necessitated some changes and Snedeker brought on instructor Bradley Hughes and switched to longtime caddie Mike Hicks, who was on the bag when Payne Stewart won the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

The changes are paying off. He was in contention in last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship before a poor final round dropped him into a tie for 17th.

“Really excited about the team I got around me,” he said. “Hicks on the bag, who has been out here forever, is kind of a calming influence for me a little bit. And Bradley has really given me a lot of confidence in my swing and how I swing it and knowing what I need to do to miss it in certain spots and to let it go.

“I’m driving it way better, more consistent week to week, and feel like I can build off this. I’ve got a lot confidence. I had a lot of confidence last week. Even after I got done playing I knew that what I was doing was putting me on the right path and I felt like I was striking the ball way better and more consistently. Again this week driven it great and given myself lots of opportunities, so excited about tomorrow and seeing if I can improve on what I did last week.

“(Hughes) has given me confidence to let me release the club again. I’m obviously a very handsy player, a very feel player, but he’s given me a couple key things to let me know that if it I do one of these things well I can release it as far as I want to. And that’s comforting, especially under pressure and when you have tough shots, to know you release it and you can kind of get a one-way miss going.”

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Bryson DeChambeau refutes claim he’s making a mockery of the game

Matthew Fitzpatrick said Bryson DeChambeau is making a mockery of golf. DeChambeau took the high road in his response during the Shriners.

LAS VEGAS – Bryson DeChambeau was disappointed with a few shots he hit during Friday’s second round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

He appreciated, however, a shot from the other side of the pond fired his way by colleague Matt Fitzpatrick.

After grabbing a share of the lead in the BMW Championship in England, the flagship event of the European Tour, Fitzpatrick had a few choice words for what DeChambeau is doing to the game with his eye-popping power.

Fitzpatrick called on golf’s governing bodies to clamp down on the distance gains DeChambeau has achieved since he transformed his swing and body after adding nearly 50 pounds of mass. Fitzpatrick said DeChambeau is making a “mockery” of the game, that the only thing he can compete with DeChambeau is putting, and “that’s just ridiculous.”

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“It’s not a skill to hit the ball a long way in my opinion,” Fitzpatrick told reporters. “I could put on 40 pounds. I could go and see a bio-mechanist and I could gain 40 yards; that’s actually a fact.

“I could put another two inches on my driver. I could gain that, but the skill in my opinion is to hit the ball straight. That’s the skill, he’s just taking the skill out of it in my opinion. I’m sure lots will disagree. It’s just daft.”

After DeChambeau added a 4-under-par 67 on Friday at TPC Summerlin to his opening-round 62 to stand one shot out of the lead through 36 holes, he took the high road as he addressed Fitzpatrick’s comments.

“It’s a compliment to me honestly,” DeChambeau said after Fitzpatrick’s words were read to him. “A year ago I wasn’t hitting in anywhere near as far as I am today. It took a lot of work, a lot of hours to work through the night to figure out a lot of this stuff.

“I would say it actually takes more skill to do what I’m doing. I still believe I’m hitting it straighter than what I was last year with the distances that I was hitting back then. So I actually appreciate those comments.”

DeChambeau said he thinks Fitzpatrick is looking out for a certain set of players, but DeChambeau isn’t going to change his ways. In fact, he’s working to get longer and could add a 48-inch shafted driver to his bag for the Masters.

“My whole goal is to play the best golf I possibly can, and this game has given me the opportunity to showcase something pretty special,” he said. “I feel like I’ve started to go down a path that’s allowed me to have an advantage over everyone, and I think that is a skillset when you look at it.

“For me out there today, I was still able to hit a lot of fairways at 360 yards. That’s tough to do with drivers. If anything, it’s more difficult to hit more fairways the way I’m doing it with the rules the way it is today. It’s more built for players like Matthew Fitzpatrick and his distances and players like that.

“So from my perspective, I think it takes a little bit more skill to do what I’m doing, and that’s why there are only a few people doing it out here.”

And DeChambeau has other skills to call upon, too – he’s putting very well and he has improved his short-iron play. And DeChambeau is more than ready to lend a helping hand should Fitzpatrick seek it.

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“I would love to have a conversation with him about it and say, ‘Hey, man, I would love to help out. Why couldn’t you do it, too?’ You see Rory (McIlroy) and DJ (Dustin Johnson) doing the same thing, too. They’re seeing that distinct advantage, and I feel like it’s great for the game of golf.”

As for his own golf at the Shriners, DeChambeau got off to a dull start but was banging the ball again, sending 10 tee shots past the 300-yard mark, including seven of at least 350 yards.

In the first round, he became the first player to drive the green at the par-4 seventh when he hit his tee shot 361 yards to 14 feet and made the putt for eagle. In the second round, he drove the green again, this time hitting his tee shot 373 yards to 26 and making the putt for eagle.

His was impressive on the par-5 16th, too, as he hit a drive 367 yards and then a wedge from 152 yards to 10 feet and then made the putt for eagle.

He’s one shot back of Patrick Cantlay (65), Martin Laird (63), Brian Harman (63), Peter Malnati (62)  and Austin Cook (65).

“I definitely left some shots out there and I made a few great shots,” he said. “So can’t be too displeased with that and look forward to hitting a couple more shots better and making a few putts that I need to that I didn’t middle of the round. Clean that up tomorrow and hopefully I can keep going low.”

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No surprise here: Patrick Cantlay has the lead in the Shriners

In his three starts here, Cantlay won in 2017, finished runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau in 2018 and lost in a playoff to Kevin Na last year.

LAS VEGAS – Time and time again this gambling mecca proves there is no such thing as a lock.

Patrick Cantlay is putting that reality to the test.

Just as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, Cantlay is a certainty to contend in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. In his only three starts in the tournament, Cantlay won in 2017, finished runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau in 2018 and lost in a playoff to Kevin Na last year.

He’s back in a familiar spot again after Friday’s second round – atop the leaderboard. After opening with a 63, Cantlay shot a 6-under-par 65 to move to 14 under on a day where there was only a whisper of wind and plenty of sunshine.

“Obviously with the success I’ve had it’s easy to be confident around here,” Cantlay said. “I just like the golf course. I think that it sets up for a lot of draw tee shots, and if you play from the fairway you have a lot opportunities.”

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Joining Cantlay at 14 under was Martin Laird, who eagled the final hole to cap an inward 6-under 29 en route to his 63. Two shots back among the early leaders were James Hahn (66), Nate Lashley (67) and Sergio Garcia (64), who won last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship.

Cantlay is in position to join some select company. In the past 60 years, only four players have finished first or second in four consecutive years in a tournament – Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Gary Player.

“That’s a good list,” Cantlay said. “That would be great (to join them). Every time I come here I feel like I have a chance to win. It doesn’t surprise me because I really like the golf course, but obviously I have to execute.

“I have so far, so I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

Cantlay has now played 14 rounds in the tournament at TPC Summerlin and has failed to break par just once. His career scoring average on this desert track is 66.28. And his competitors better beware – Cantlay’s scoring average in the third round is even lower at 65.33.

The No. 13 in the world is seeking his third PGA Tour titles. He is a perfect fit for TPC Summerlin as he hits the ball long and straight, is highly accurate with his irons and is a solid putter.

He also has the ideal mindset for the course.

“Around here you need to make so many birdies, and I’m just used to it out here,” said Cantlay, who made four consecutive red numbers around the turn. “It never feels like I’m stressing because it feels like there are so many birdie holes. It actually allows me to be patient.

“I started the day today I was even par through the first six holes and it feels like you’re way behind because you need to make so many birdies. But I knew there were plenty of opportunities the rest of the way, and I was able to capitalize coming down the last three or four holes.

“I’m in a good spot come the weekend.”

No surprise there.

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James Hahn in healthy place playing on major-medical exemption

Hahn missed eight months with an elbow injury and began the season with 14 remaining on his major-medical exemption

LAS VEGAS – The good news?

James Hahn is healthy enough to be playing on a major-medical exemption.

The not-so-good news?

He has to deal with the pressure of playing on a major-medical exemption.

Hahn missed eight months in 2019 with an elbow injury and began the 2020-2021 season with 14 remaining on his major-medical exemption to retain his playing privileges.

He needed about 305 FedEx Cup points in those 14 starts. Doesn’t sound like much, right?

Well, you still have to produce and Hahn, who has won twice on the PGA Tour, has done just that so far with ties for ninth in the season-opener in the Safeway Open and sixth in the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Those two results earned him 165 points.

A three-way tie for third or better this week would give him enough points to retain his full playing privileges.

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“It’s still the weirdest feeling because I’ve never been in this position before,” Hahn said. “But if you read Bob Rotella books, how you’re supposed to go in every golf tournament should be same. You’re trying to win. You’re here to compete.

“That’s what I’m doing. I’m competing.

“I’m not looking at how many points I need to keep my medical.”

But Hahn kept up his fine form of late with a 7-under-par 64 in Thursday’s first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin. With six birdies and an eagle, Hahn sat in a tie for fourth, two shots behind pace-setter Bryson DeChambeau.

“Just enjoying life,” Hahn said after his round. “I feel like I’m happier. I’m eating healthier. Relationship with my family is really good; golf is really easy right now.

“I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it, but I feel like when I’m happy I’m playing some of my best golf. I’m really happy with how I played today. Didn’t hit a lot of the fairways, but maybe fix that tomorrow.”

James Hahn lines up his putt on the 18th hole during the first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open golf tournament at TPC Summerlin. Kelvin Kuo-USA TODAY Sports

As for his elbow – he had a partially torn triceps tendon – he’s back to feeling 100 percent and said there is zero pain.

“It’s really relieving to wake up in the morning and not feel any pain,” he said. “It just puts me in a better mood. Regardless of how I play, I feel healthy.”

Right now, Hahn isn’t thinking about the points he has to earn to get his card back. But it’s still in the back of his mind.

“I feel like when starts getting closer down to three, four, five starts, is when I’ll maybe start freaking out,” said Hahn, who added that would only happen if he hasn’t earned his playing privileges by then. “So if you want to talk to me a couple months from now.

“Right now I feel like I have 12 starts left. That should be plenty of starts for me to at least get off to a good start in this year’s FedEx Cup and put me in a good position to make the playoffs. Ultimately that’s what we’re all trying to do here is make the playoffs, make a run at the FedExCup, and try to win the big thing.”

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Harold Varner III isn’t just suited for TPC Summerlin, he’s suited for Las Vegas

HV# is Vegas in a nutshell: on top of the world one minute; wondering what’s gone wrong the next.

The last few months have been something of a thrill ride for Harold Varner III. The high moments have been among his highest on the PGA Tour. A top-20 finish in the first event back after the pandemic break. A share of the first-round lead and a T-7 finish at the Wyndham Invitational. A major milestone passed in topping $6 million in career earnings.

But the dips are still there, too. He failed to make either of the cuts in Columbus. He’s had more than his share of yips with the putter, finishing the recently completed 2019-20 season at 141st in Strokes Gained: Putting.

And although he keeps slowly climbing, he’s yet to crack into the Tour’s winner’s circle, and in fact, still doesn’t have a runner-up on his resume.

On top of the world one minute; wondering what’s gone wrong the next.

So … Vegas.

“I think Vegas fits my personality more than the golf course, but that’s nor here or there,” Varner joked after starting things off in style on Thursday with a 63, good enough to trail leader Bryson DeChambeau by a stroke at TPC Summerlin. “Yeah, I’ve played well here. I just would like to — like to just finish a tournament. It’s just good to get back in the swing of things. I love competition, so it was good to get back in it.

“I was a little nervous at the start, which is really weird, but it is what it is.”

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Varner, who was born in Akron, Ohio, but grew up in Gastonia, North Carolina, went all-in on the back nine, finishing with six birdies en route to a scintillating 31 after the turn at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He was by no means alone in posting a solid number — more than 20 players posted a round of 66 or lower — but Varner said he isn’t too concerned with how others are playing.

In fact, he said in terms of motivation, he doesn’t need to peek at the leaderboard.

“My foot is pretty far up my butt by the time I start, so we’re ready to go. What do I need to do? I play golf. If he plays good and I play good, I like my chances,” Varner said.

So will he be worried if he sees another group of low numbers as he tees off at 4:05 p.m. ET with Harris English and Henrik Norlander?

“If you tee off in the afternoon and you see that, you just know there is a lot of looks out there. So be patient and good things will happen. Not so much kick yourself in the rear end, but you got to make birdies,” Varner said.

“I don’t mind it. My rookie year I would overthink it for sure because you want to play well so bad. The best thing you can do when it’s this easy is just be patient. You never know when you’re going to rip five or six off.”

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Bryson DeChambeau keeps destroying golf courses, grabs Shriners lead

Coming off his U.S. Open win, Bryson DeChambeau has the early lead at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open after early tee times.

LAS VEGAS – Big bad Bryson DeChambeau continued his assault on golf courses the country over by bashing TPC Summerlin into submission in Thursday’s first round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

But he was far from the only one that battered the desert layout.

A day after he shot 59 on his own ball during the pro-am – and missed an 8-footer for a 58 on the last hole – DeChambeau putted for eagle five times, made a career-best five consecutive birdies and matched his lowest round on the PGA Tour with a bogey-free 9-under-par 62 to grab the lead among the early finishers.

It wasn’t a fair fight on a windless, sun-drenched day as DeChambeau, who won the U.S. Open at rugged Winged Foot in his last start, hit nine tee shots past the 300-yard barrier, including a 365-yard blast that reached the green on the par-4 7th. He is the first player in the ShotLink Era that began in 2003 to drive the green.

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The No. 6 player in the world also drove the 315-yard par-4 15th – with a 3-wood. The longest iron he used for an approach was a 6-iron – and that was for his second shot on the 583-yard par-5 13th. Seven of his nine birdies came from within six feet and he was equally satisfied with two 10-foot putts he made for par.

“There’s no wind out here for the most part and I feel like you can bomb it everywhere and hit wedges close,” DeChambeau said. “I didn’t hit it great today, but I still played really, really good. Just need to clean it up a little bitter. Just trying to hit it straighter.

“I just kept trying to keep myself in the flow like I was in the U.S. Open and just pounding forward, just keep making birdies, keep making birdies.”

Loads of birdies were to be had and the field was averaging 67.8 in the early going. Harold Varner III and Austin Cook each shot 63 to end one back of DeChambeau. Emiliano Grillo made six consecutive birdies en route to a 64, a score matched by Brian Stuard, Andrew Landry and Rob Oppenheim.

“You have to make birdies,” Varner said. “But you have to be patient. You can’t force it. You never know where you’re going to rip off five birdies in a row.”

DeChambeau, who won here in 2018, started his quest for a second Shriners title, his third title of 2020 and his eighth PGA Tour title alongside fellow bashers Cameron Champ (shot 67) and Matthew Wolff (68). The three combined to hit 28 tee shots that traveled at least 300 yards.

“It’s amazing to see the power that’s out here now,” DeChambeau said. “I think that’s a testament to the new generation that’s coming up and what it’s going to be like in the future.”

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Chesson Hadley had a ringside seat for DeChambeau’s 365-yard belt on the seventh hole. Hadley was told to back off his putt by his caddie, who saw DeChambeau’s launch come into the green. The ball landed in the rough just short of the green and bounced onto the putting surface. DeChambeau felt terribly about hitting into the group 365 yards away and apologized to the players.

But Hadley said all was good.

“The only thing that hurt was my ego,” Hadley said.

The feeling is mutual among many of his colleagues since DeChambeau, who led the PGA Tour in driving distance last season at 322.1 yards a pop, packed on nearly 50 pounds of mass and increased his ball and swing speed numbers. He’s having his way with most courses he’s playing.

“That’s five birdies right there and it makes the golf course a lot easier,” DeChambeau said of his five eagle attempts. “That lowers the par to 67 out here, and that’s just the number for me. If I shoot 69 or 70 I feel like I shot a couple over. And it can happen and that’s the advantage of power in this game now, that you can do those sorts of things.”

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Bryson DeChambeau hits cars behind the range at TPC Summerlin

Practicing at TPC Summerlin on Tuesday, Bryson DeChambeau hit several cars and trucks parked on a nearby street.

Every week at PGA Tour events, a convoy of vans and 18-wheelers descend upon the course where the tournament is being held. Filled with club heads, shafts, grips, balls and everything else players could need, they tend to park near the practice areas to make going back and forth easier. But next year when they come to TPC Summerlin, site of this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, maybe they should park farther away.

Players are encouraged to use different portions of the range each day at tournaments to let the maintenance staff repair divots, plant new seed and keep the turf in good condition.

On Tuesday, golfers used a forward position, and with the dry desert air warming into the 90s, the range couldn’t contain Bryson DeChambeau.

Fresh off his win at the 2020 U.S. Open, DeChambeau hit several drives over the range and onto Hillshire Drive, the street behind the range where the trucks were parked. DeChambeau was flying the ball nearly 360 yards.

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“Reps were calling me saying he was bombing it into their trucks,” said Ben Schomin, Cobra Golf’s director of tour operations. “I had him stop in the morning and had to move him back in the afternoon for safety reasons.”

Unfortunately for Aaron Dill, the PGA Tour rep for Titleist Vokey Design wedges, it was too late. One of DeChambeau’s drives hit his rented Infinity QX70’s back bumper and dented it. Other shots rattled near the equipment vans and pinballed here and there.

Bryson DeChambeau
A dent caused by one of Bryson DeChambeau’s practice drives at TPC Summerlin. (Aaron Dill)

“Better my rental than my body,” Dill wrote in a text.

“It was impressive (well, until he hit Aaron Dill’s rental),” writes J.J. Van Wezenbeeck, Titleist’s director of player promotions. “But to be fair, we have had it happen before. Wasn’t a first.”

That may be true, but Aaron Dill’s insurance company hopes TPC Summerlin builds a longer range or the vans are moved to another spot in 2021.

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Take cover, Bryson DeChambeau is hitting bombs in Las Vegas

It‘s no secret Bryson DeChambeau is the current distance king on the PGA Tour. He said ‘Happy Gilmore’ inspired him to hit longer.

LAS VEGAS – We’re going to need a bigger range.

Brawny Bryson DeChambeau is shaking up the golf world by knocking the cover off the ball since adding 40 pounds of mass to his already large frame and increasing his ball and clubhead speeds to ridiculous levels. Regularly cranking out drives in excess of 400 yards, DeChambeau has many in golf’s circles wondering if there’s a golf course that can contain him.

Well, in addition to possibly forcing golf clubs to add hundreds of yards of length to their existing layouts, DeChambeau might move the same clubs to make their driving ranges bigger.

On Tuesday afternoon at TPC Summerlin, home to this week’s Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, DeChambeau was clearing the fence at the back of the range nearly 360 yards away. And he wasn’t swinging full-bore. He put a dent in one car and forced officials to ask him to move back on the range. So he moved 40 yards back – nearly off the range completely – to be safe.

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In a city known for its headliners, DeChambeau might be the biggest name on the marquee this week. He’s playing for the first time since he bludgeoned venerable and rugged Winged Foot to win the U.S. Open by six shots. He’s the clear cut favorite. Won here in 2018. And he thinks he can drive multiple par-4s.

“I would say four holes out here that I think I can go for,” DeChambeau said Wednesday before the pro-am.

With his power, the No. 6-ranked player in the world with seven PGA Tour titles can turn the 7,255-yard course playing to a par of 71 into a putt-putt by hitting it longer than anybody and higher than anybody. He’ll easily reach the three par-5s in two – likely with short irons.

“There will be holes where I’m going to try and drive them, get it up as close to the green as possible,” DeChambeau said. “It’s just fun having a 7-iron go 220. That’s unique. And 4-iron, 265. There will be holes where I had to hit 3-wood and now I’m hitting 4-iron off the tees.

“Kind of like I would say Atlanta (for The Tour Championship) a little bit where I was hitting 3-woods in the past and now hitting 4-irons off the tee, and just hitting it as far as everybody else.”

Bryson DeChambeau after winning the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club. (Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports)

And he’s working as hard as he can to get even longer, inspired by another bomber who shook up the golf world and blasted golf courses into submission.

“I watched ‘Happy Gilmore’ a little while ago and just re-inspired me to try and hit it as far as possible,” DeChambeau said.

That means possibly introducing a 48-inch driver shaft – 2.5 inches longer than standard length. He’s been working with the longer clubs since the U.S. Open but said he won’t put it in play until possibly the Masters in November.

“I’m looking forward to trying to put in a 48-inch driver and see what that can do to the golf course and what opportunities it will present for me,” he said. “It’s going well. I think there is a lot of, I don’t know, I guess you could say advantages to having a 48-inch driver and being able to put it in play and keep it in play.

“Still need to get some things worked out, but so far it’s been pretty amazing.”

DeChambeau’s eye-opening length isn’t the part of the big show.

“People forget how good of a putter he is,” Shriners defending champion Kevin Na said. “People don’t give him enough credit for how good of a putter he is and how good he reads the greens.

“You can’t win golf tournaments without making putts. You got to realize that this guy makes a lot of putts. Not only does he hit bombs, he makes bombs.”

DeChambeau knows this all too well and will keep working on not only getting longer but getting better in every aspect of his game.

“At the same point in time it’s about putting, chipping, wedging,” he said. “You still got to do everything else really well. So if I play well, ball strike it well, and putt well, I think I’ll have a good chance again.

“Love this golf course.”

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