THE MODERATOR: Let's welcome the captain of Crushers GC and the current U.S. Open champion, Bryson DeChambeau.
Q. Bryson, now that you've had a minute, and I mean one minute, to take a breath, can you sum up what these last three days have been like for you?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: The last three days have been wild. Overwhelming gratitude, just a lot of thanks from everybody. The support and the care that everybody has shown me and brought to me and the love that they've shown me has been inspiring. It's what keeps me going. I've been running on probably a cumulative total in the past three days, like maybe 12 hours of sleep, maybe.
You guys are the reason why I keep going. It's been fantastic.
Just being on Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, the Pat McAfee Show and CNBC, just everything, it's been a wild transformation, and certainly blessed.
Q. That moment yesterday when you pulled up to the clubhouse and you had every single person from LIV Golf standing there cheering you on, what did that feel like?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: The support is awesome. You know, it's funny, everybody talks about LIV Golf and the team aspect and we have our own pods and whatnot. It's exactly stuff like that. This isn't just about team golf and having our own teams or doing our own things. We truly care about what we're trying to provide for the game of golf. We're moving. It's moving in a really positive direction.
Having the support of everybody there, all the staff and the volunteers, the clubhouse employees, you name it, just everybody, the support, the full-blown support, walking out of that car and raising the trophy, it's truly for LIV and what they've done for me, the chance they took on me, the chance I took on you guys. It's a mutually beneficial relationship that I think has just been awesome.
The thanks has just been out of this world. I couldn't imagine a more awesome scenario.
Q. People are now calling you "the people's champ." What do you make of that?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I'm humbled, very humbled by it.
When I was younger, I felt like I was called to do something in the game, and getting to this point in my life where I've had struggled, I've done some things I shouldn't have done, said some things I shouldn't have said and messing up and learning from those mistakes and learning patience, resilience, determination, continuing to grow in that capacity and then getting to a place where I finally get to showcase my true self and show others what this great game means to me, it's given me so much. It's time for me to give back.
That's what I love most. That's why this was so important for everyone to touch the trophy. I wanted everybody to experience it because it wasn't just for me, it was for the turnaround, everyone looking at me going, wow, that person is different than what I thought. It was for them, those people that saw who I now am, who I am. That's what I wanted people to feel is that involvement, that appreciation from me saying thank you. It meant a lot.
Q. I'm going to read you some stats. In the 24 hours since you won, your Google search went up by 250 percent. You've gained 150,000 new followers across your platforms. Your Stitch and Crushers collab sold out, and tickets for Nashville this week are nearly sold out. We are calling this "the Bryson effect." What do you make of that?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Can you keep giving me these stats? They're making me get emotional.
I haven't truly cried yet, and I don't want this to be the time I cry.
I've got to just say I'm humbled by all of it. I never would have thought that from a year and a half ago, things would be where they're at right now.
I can't tell you how much everybody means to me and the people that stuck around, the people that were there pushing me and giving me that motivation, Paul Casey, Charles Howell, Anirban, Cabul (phonetic), Ron, Brett and Connor, obviously, G-Bo, just everyone for pushing me, continuing to push, saying you've got this, man. Gosh, I'm trying to hold it in right now.
The support has been overwhelming. I don't know what else to say. It's with complete thanks and gratitude.
Q. You have had the best finishes in majors of any other player this year. You had a sixth-place finish in the Masters, a solo second at the PGA, and a U.S. Open win. There is lots of chatter asking if you are the best golfer in the world right now. Do you feel that you are the best golfer in the world right now?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: So what's funny is in 2018 when I won back-to-back FedExCup Playoff events, I felt like even though the OWGR didn't reflect me being No. 1, I felt like I was No. 1. I felt like I was playing good enough to where I could win this week, I could win again and I could win again. That was kind of the same thing that I sort of feel right now. I don't feel like the stats reflect purely what it shows exactly.
But being 10th I think I am, is what it says, is awesome. For only playing a few events, most of them being majors.
Am I the best player in the world? It's not for me to decide. I'm just going to go out there and play the best golf I possibly can and try to get that darned ball in the hole quicker than everybody else.
I'm not going to put a label or title on myself. That's not what I do. I'm here to go play the best golf I can and inspire others and give people some great entertainment.
Q. Has to feel good to be part of that conversation, though.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Definitely. Much respect. I really appreciate it.
Q. Mr. McAllister put together an amazing media guide this year, and he asked the question, what is your hardest golf shot. You answered it, the 60-yard bunker shot. It all came down to that. Even Jon and Tyrrell were up here just a minute ago talking about it was probably the best shot to win a major in the history of golf. What do you make of you saying that that is your hardest shot to make, and it all came down to that, and that's how you secured this win?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I mean, what do you say? I don't know. The best I can say is I practiced as a junior kid, just a little kid out there going and hitting balls in the weirdest places up in trees and bushes. I remember Tiger talking about that, how he'd just go place golf balls in random places, and I wanted to be like Tiger. What did I do? I went and threw golf balls in dirt and bad lies and bad bunker lies and long bunker shots, and I tried to do everything and anything to get that golf ball in the hole.
As much as I am a very mechanical, methodical person, there is an artistry to me that not too many people know but I hope they are starting to see, and that 60-yard bunker shot, whatever it was, when I got up there, the one thing that gave me a lot of comfort was G-Bo telling me, Bryson, I've seen you hit way more difficult shots than this. You've got this. I stepped in there and executed it.
I wanted a tap-in, but it got up to four feet, and I was ready to go nuts, and you could see me kind of get after it with G-Bo saying, "let's go." That was so big. But I knew I had a four-footer to make. It wasn't just a tap-in.
The 60-yard bunker shot, that was a good call, and for it to all come together like that is, I guess, some could say fate.
Q. Going off that, obviously LIV is attracting new fans to the sport. Can you just explain maybe in layman's terms why that shot is so difficult for not just you but for almost all professional golfers?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: From a technicality standpoint, you can't miss it a millimeter behind the ball or a millimeter too close to the ball. From 60 yards with an open face, it's an explosion shot, and if you catch it just a little thin, I'm hitting it into that clubhouse. There is no room for error. Very, very little room for error. For it to even go that far out of a bunker takes a pretty darned good amount of strength.
If I chunked it, too, it's short, hits the front edge and comes right back down. Now I'm trying to get up-and-down just to get into a playoff.
The difficulty was through the roof, and it's something that I never wish anyone to have, to have that experience. But in a U.S. Open, the toughest test in golf, you get presented that, you've just got to go full force into it and just embrace it and say, look, this is what the game of golf has given me, I've practiced this before. You've just got to execute it.
But the difficulty level was through the roof. I knew how precise I needed to be. I remember looking down at the bunker and seeing just a small sliver of shiny sand about an inch and a half behind the ball, and I was like, just go right through that area, and that's all I thought of.
I knew how much energy to give it based on how I was swinging it, and I hit it just flawlessly. When it came out, my eyes popped up, they widened, and I'm like, that's perfect, and it landed perfect, and it ran out, and I'm like, "let's go." That was big. It gives me chills thinking about that.
The difficulty was through the roof. I can't explain, unless somebody experiences that for themselves, I can't explain how difficult it truly was.
Q. Just in general, people know you or have known you for your distance off the tee. But your wedge play and your short game has incredible. Can you talk about the transformation of that or the evolution of that in terms of your short game and maybe people are just now starting to appreciate that aspect of your game?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I've always struggled with wedging growing up, and as I got on Tour, I got a lot better. That was a big fallout in my game, and I worked on it, continue to work on it, and subtly improved in certain areas, learned certain shot shapes with it. So for example, what I mean is Josh Gregory who was my coach at SMU for the first few years, he taught me a shot at Colonial, man, this is 2018 or something like that, 2019, may have been actually 2020 or something like that, but he taught me it, and it's where I hood the face and I don't let -- for into-the-green shots, I don't let the leading edge dig into the ground. I actually only use the toe of the club, so there's less surface area, so it can go right through very nicely into an into-the-green situation.
So there was a lot of times that I actually used that out at Pinehurst, where I turned and hooded it out and kind that punch bump-and-run like on 6 the last round. There was that huge upslope, hit it short of the green. I was really bummed; thought I hit a great shot into the green. I turned the face in, hooded it and hooked it into the hill and bounced it up perfectly to four feet. It's shots like that that I had learned over the course of time.
One other thing, too, is I learned what bounce works perfectly for me. I almost have no bounce on my wedge, but it has a wider sole, and that was a massive thing for me. I literally built it, I think, about less than a month ago, so my wedge game has just gotten really good recently because of that grind.
So it's an accumulation of numerous, a couple factors that has allowed me to have this wedge game where it was ready to go for Pinehurst.
Q. You're a numbers guy, obviously; how many people have touched the U.S. Open trophy since you won?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I'd estimate probably a couple thousand by now at least. Oh, yeah. And it's going to increase. It's going to be a lot of fun.
Q. Bryson, you talked about the mistakes, the adversity, even the obstacles that you've faced. How does it feel to win the U.S. Open, overcoming those things, but how do you keep yourself grinded within that high?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: For me, I have to thank God. I'm a religious person, and that's a big thing for me. Keeping myself grounded, that's one way for sure. Having a great team around me is another, great family.
Through the adversity and struggle, having the right people around you, that's the most important thing you can have. Whenever somebody is struggling, whoever it is, it could be someone in here today, if you're really struggling, you've just got to go say what's on your mind. Don't be afraid. To someone that you trust and you know is going to be there for you.
That's how I was able to get through a lot of that adversity is having the right people around me, and then staying grounded, it's a big macro vision. It's not just about me winning tournaments. This is about us -- I say us, it's LIV and everybody, really meaning and really trying to expand this game globally and grow the game.
There's 700 million potential golfers, and I think right now there's just over 100 million that are playing consistently, and we want to get that number closer to that 700 million. However we can do that, you're going to see some really cool changes over the next couple years in regards to LIV, and I'm not going to give too much away, but there's a really cool mission and belief that we have in what we're going to do and what we're going to accomplish for the game. Subtly, there's some awesome stuff coming.
That's how I keep myself grounded and focused on what the big picture is.
Q. I know you mentioned that it's frustrating that you're not going to get the Olympic opportunity, but could you explain specifically what frustrates you about that? What will you miss most about not having that chance?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, it's funny because in 2020 I was on the team, I got COVID the week before, and I couldn't go to the Olympics. That was frustrating. I have always loved representing Team USA, whether it's been the world team amateur, the Walker Cup, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup. It's been some of the greatest moments of my life. Anytime you get a chance to represent your country, I'm all for it.
Not being able to go in 2020 was unfortunate for sure. It was very disappointing. But I got sick, and we took the precautions and made the right decisions, and I got healthy from it, I recovered, I got my smell back. It's all good. But that's done.
This time around, it's disappointing, but I understand the decisions I made, and the way things have played out has not been necessarily perfectly according to plan. I've done my best up until now to give myself a chance according to the OWGR, but I realize and respect where the current situation of the game is, albeit it's frustrating and disappointing. Hopefully 2028 will be a little different situation, and it will make it that much sweeter.
Q. You mentioned you're disappointed. Did you think when you signed with LIV that by the Olympics rolled around you would maybe get yourself in shape to go, either there would be an agreement or you would find a way to get the points?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, either of those situations. That's kind of what I thought. It hasn't worked out that way, and again, I respect the decision that I made, and it is what it is. It hurts, but you know what, there's another one four years later.
Q. Nashville we're anticipating it will be one of the loudest and most rocking events of the year. How do you plan on contributing to that?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: More great shots. More exciting, thrilling, amazing shots.
I've got to recover and get ready for Friday, which I should be ready to do.
But certainly it's been a whirlwind for me, and a lot of adrenaline going through my body the past few days. There's going to be a dump, adrenaline dump here in the next day probably, and I've got to get myself back up and ready for Friday. I feel like I've done a pretty good job of controlling a lot of the uncontrollables that I didn't know was going to come from this, and we've just got to keep on the path and give the fans an exciting weekend. That's what I'm here for.
Q. Can you tell us how it makes you feel to be a player that is a favorite of some of the young crowds? Is that a real big part of your impact you want to have on golf?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: When I was 11, I was lucky enough to play in this charity golf tournament in Madera, California, called the SaveMart Shootout, and there was a bunch of pros that came there to support the Valley Children's Hospital and numerous other foundations. My dad was the general manager of that golf course at the time, and when I was 11, it was the first experience with professionals. I went out there and met Annika Sorenstam, Nancy Lopez, Arnold Palmer, Nick Watney, Jason Gore, Peter Jacobsen, Sign Boy. I met all these pros as the son of the general manager, the GM, and randomly for their clinic, I got thrown into hitting three drives in front of all those pros, and I was so nervous. I mean, you couldn't believe it. I was more nervous than the bunker shot last week.
I went up there, and I didn't know how to speak in front of people. I was mumbling and stuttering all the way through it, and Peter Jacobsen helped me through it, and Sign Boy was like, get it out, come on, get it out. He goes, okay, fine, just go hit a shot. I hit a shot, and he goes, oh, my gosh, that was awesome. Hit a second shot; that's right on top of each other; that's unbelievable. I hit the third one, and he's like you could throw a small handkerchief over those golf balls. There was so much support off hitting three drives perfect, under the gun, under a pressure situation as an 11 year old, and the support that I got from all those pros going up to me and saying we'll see you out there on tour in a few years, we'll see you out there, and the signing the autographs -- I still have the hat that has all the signatures from the SaveMart Shootout. That's what changed my life.
That's what made me want to be a professional golfer and give back to the game of golf. That inspired me and pushed me to this point to where it's my time to do that. It's my time to sign. It's my time to give back to those kids, to inspire a younger generation.
Q. When you were at the U.S. Open, you were signing autographs, and there was a kid who said, I love your content. I'm wondering, why do you make YouTube videos when you don't have to and it could come at a compromising risk with your time at becoming the top golfer in the world?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It was a risk a year and a half ago, but I knew it was a way for me to get my voice out there, inspire a younger generation. I saw what Mr. Beast did in 2016, all the way up to where he is now, over 200 million followers, a kid from Greenville, North Carolina. Just an entertainment character, not an athlete.
I said, why can't an athlete do something like that. Why is that not possible? He's inspiring millions of people. Why aren't we maximizing that? Why isn't there an opportunity to do that? I saw that light, and I said, look, I want to try this.
So it was in 2021 I think we produced our first video. It was a week-on-tour video, and it got a million views. That was with no production budget. We just went out there filming and then pumping it on YouTube. No paid ads, no media spins or anything like that. It just happened. Everybody loved it.
I said, wow, there is some potential here. How do I make this not only legitimate but how do I do it all the time and create great content that people want to see, so people can not only be entertained but see who I truly am. That was kind of the foundational buildup off of that, and it's grown into what it is today.
It does require some finagling in regards to how much time do I spend there and how much time do I focus on being the best golfer I can be, but what's nice is when I'm playing these challenges, it keeps me in that creative mindset. It keeps me focused on playing golf and how do I shoot the lowest score; how do I do the best in that moment.
So even though I'm filming, I'm still practicing and working.
So it's a symbiotic relationship that I have with YouTube that allows me to be the best that I am currently and give my best to the fans.
Q. It's 2024; if the LIV Golfers were presidential candidates, who would you trust to run the country?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Shoot, I don't think any of us are smart enough to do that. There's so much that goes on with that. I don't think any of us have the right to run the country.
I'd love to help in some capacity, but shoot, running it, there's so much that goes on -- we're just golfers.
Q. In the same vein, let's say you were stuck in the middle of the road in the middle of the night, 3:00 a.m., you need help. Which LIV Golfer are you calling first for help?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I'd have to say Phil because he's the most positive-minded person out there. When things are going bad, he is still -- everything is great. It's all good.
Oh, Charles Howell would be the best person to pick up the phone and call. He's going to answer, and he's going to give you every scenario in which to make it make sense and figure out how to get you out of there. Yes, absolutely, I got you, no problem. Yes, we're going to do this.
Q. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but the conversation about the method of testing your golf balls, the video of our conversation got over 100 million views across platforms, which is wild. Was that surprising to you that that particular method you're using became so popular among golf fans and non-golf fans?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I knew it eventually would hit, I just didn't know how it would hit. Clearly saying those two words kind of made it go viral in a sense. Thank you for that interpretation of it. I didn't want to talk about it that way, but you certainly did.
I will say we clean them off after, so they do get clean. They're not just always salty.
Q. I'm always deeply interested in your process and things you do. The one that really stuck out to me is you during your range process with the headphones in. Of course my mind churns and I can't help but wonder what you're listening to in those headphones. I have three guesses if you don't mind. First guess: The Lex Fridman podcast discussing quantum physics and the theory of the universe?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: That would be a good one, but I don't. That's close.
Q. The extended audio version is of Sun Tzu's "Art of War?"
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: You know what, I might actually listen to that.
Q. Taylor Swift "Shake It Off" on repeat because we know the haters are going to hate, hate, hate? Please tell us.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: None of those are in my headphones, but "The Art of War" is a good one. I think that would be like an inspirational -- it's always motivational. Whatever it is, I'm trying to try to inspire creativity and whatnot.
A lot of it's not really words, it's more of -- it's just audio. It's literally -- it's called chill step. It's a weird one. People are probably like, what is that. It's more upbeat inspirational euphoric music.
I grew up listening to cold play. Cold play is my favorite artist, one of my favorite artists. Kings of Leon is great, Ben Bohmer. Have you heard of Ben Bohmer? So that type of music is what I listen to. It's more upbeat, positive, motivational. That's the type of music I listen to, then every once in a while Katy Perry.
Q. Just curious if you'd ever being willing to share the playlist so we can all follow along and get in the zone like Bryson when we're at home training ourselves.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It depends on the mood. If I'm speed training I'll go on some hard-core funk music. It's funk music. It's pretty heavy, upbeat, intense music for speed training.
Then when I'm playing a round of golf, it's more of motivational, relaxing but positive music like Ben Bohmer. Cold play even sometimes, Kings of Leon. What else? There's probably artists you've never heard of, Attom or Jerro, those sorts of people, they definitely keep my mind in the right space. Definitely not heavy death metal.
Q. If I want to be like you, can you email me blueprints? How do I get those golf clubs you've got going on?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: They're one of one right now, and we're working on building a set for the mass consumers, but it takes a little bit of time to get everything in production in the right way. You're going to see some pretty interesting stuff coming out here soon within the next month with a driver that could be pretty unique for the market, and it'll help a lot of golfers out.
Q. I don't need my own 3D printer?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: No, we'll take care of that.
Q. Is the Payne Stewart hat ever going to make a return?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Great question. In the right setting, in the right moment, it probably will.
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