Bryson DeChambeau adjusting to 4 rounds with LIV Golf, but still plays with 3 round mentality
Jason Butler
Bryson DeChambeau finished the first round at LIV Golf Singapore tied for the lead. The fact there are three more to go is something the two-time U.S. Open champion is still getting used to.
LIV’s biggest star was not immediately a fan of the change the 54-hole league made to its format ahead of this season after four years playing three-round tournaments. In February, DeChambeau told Today’s Golfer: “Is it what we ultimately signed up for? No. So I think we’re supposed to be different, so I’m a little indifferent to it right now.”
This week’s tournament at Sentosa G.C. in Singapore is LIV’s fourth event of the year, where DeChambeau shot a 67 to finish Day 1 at four under par alongside last week’s LIV Hong Kong winner, Jon Rahm, as well as Lee Westwood and Richard Lee.
“Yeah, I actually do,” DeChambeau said Thursday when asked if he had to adjust his mindset to four rounds. “It's an interesting topic, for numerous reasons. I think both have their advantages and disadvantages, as well.
“I think from my perspective, when we were playing three rounds, it was a sprint, so you had to go for everything and have the best game possible, and if you made a bogey or double, you were putting yourself quite a bit behind the 8-ball. Now with it being four days, that doesn't matter as much. It's just a different sort of mindset for a lot of people.”
In fact, DeChambeau still approaches LIV events the same way given he attributes some credit to the 54-hole format for his sublime form in the majors the past few years. In 2024, he defeated Rory McIlroy at Pinehurst for a second U.S. Open title, while at the PGA Championship DeChambeau has enjoyed a T-4, 2, T-2 run during the past three editions.
At the Masters, the Californian has finished in the top six the past two years, including briefly taking the lead at Augusta National last year while in the final group alongside eventual winner McIlroy. DeChambeau posted three top 10s at last year’s majors.
“For me, I still try to act like a sprint because I want to feel that way going into majors,” DeChambeau said. “I want to feel ready to go from Hole 1, and those three days help me get into that mindset, which is a benefit to me. But I'm still trying to keep that same mindset from the three-day tournaments last year. You have to full-court press and be conservative where you have to be conservative. That's really helped me in majors in the past.”
With 28 days until the Masters, DeChambeau said the benefit of playing 72-hole events was knowing a bogey or worse wouldn’t totally derail his hopes at each event. Basically, remembering that golf tournaments were a marathon, not a sprint.
“But it is a different mindset for some people because you can hit a couple bad shots here and there and have one super low round and be right back in the mix of it,” he said. “I think in three days, each shot matters a little more, and four days it tests your overall resiliency. It's just two different ways to play the game, I think, but the lowest score is going to win no matter what.”