Bryson DeChambeau hits his second shot Friday on the 18th hole at Pinehurst.
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PINEHURST, NC – Payne Stewart is everywhere here. There is also a statue of him, with his right arm raised and his right leg raised. There are memories of the time that inspired the monument. They started after June 1999, when, with a 15-footer on the 72nd hole, Stewart won the US Open.
There’s a hat, too.
This week, there is more emotion for all, as they play the US Open at Pinehurst for the third time since Stewart’s victory, and his death four months later. It’s been 25 years. For Bryson DeChambeau, Stewart was great. Growing up he was a fan. He even said he chose to go to Southern Methodist because that’s where Stewart went.
“When I went to SMU,” DeChambeau said Friday, “in the athletic department on the wall, I saw his picture on the wall, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my god, he went to SMU?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, didn’t you know?’ ‘I said no, I didn’t know you went here.’
“Maybe that’s when I decided to go to SMU.”
Then there is the cap. Stewart was wearing a hat described as a driver’s hat. Golfers may call it the Ben Hogan hat, as the legend once wore it. DeChambeau served Hogan and Stewart to wear one as a kid, and for a while as a pro.
This week, it hangs on the side of his bag.
“There’s me,” DeChambeau said after his second round, in which he shot a one-under 69 to put himself on course for his second US Open win. “And you make me think of him every time I go to these places.”
Whether you wear it on Sunday will be a question, yes. No matter how you put them in place. In Thursday’s first round, he shot a 67. Friday was a lot of fun. Four bogeys. But five birdies, including one on the 18th after a shot that went down to 15 inches.
“I felt like I really hit the driver today,” DeChambeau said. “The starting lines weren’t where I could see them coming out, and because of that they ended up in the traditional spot quite a few times, which cost me about three or four shots. Something I’m looking forward to fixing over the weekend.
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“But overall, I was very happy with how I held up, I gave myself good opportunities when it mattered, and I made a lot of clutch putts.”
Soon after the press conference, he was done. On Saturday, you will go out at night.
Friday afternoon and night?
“Maybe I’ll sit on my butt on the couch,” DeChambeau said, “and watch the mayhem on TV.”
“This golf course will not be easy this afternoon. I hope I can see a little bit of how it will be played tomorrow. I’ll try to get some insight into that. But get some treatment from my body, go for a little workout, work on my game for a little while, but come back and rest. I need to rest. I’ve had a few weeks and I need to recharge for the weekend.”
Do you watch the morning broadcast?
“Oh, yeah, I love it,” DeChambeau said. “It’s good understanding, good knowledge, see how things play out, where you shouldn’t be, where you should be. I like to sleep late and wake up late. So I won’t get up at 8:00 am or 5:30 am like this morning.
“I will be sleeping. I need to rest.”
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