PGA Tour

Bryson DeChambeau, days after PGA WD, attempting return next week at Colonial

May 21, 2022
1390101422

Andrew Redington

TULSA — Following an aborted comeback in Tulsa, Bryson DeChambeau will try again in Texas.

DeChambeau, who practiced this week at Southern Hills in hopes of competing for the first time at the PGA Championship after undergoing hand surgery last month, ultimately decided he was not ready for competition and dropped out of the tournament Wednesday afternoon. So it was a bit of a surprise to see the 2020 U.S. Open champ’s name in the Friday evening PGA Tour release of next week’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

DeChambeau underwent a procedure on his hamate bone in his left hand following the Masters last month, a surgery expected to keep him sidelined until the U.S. Open at Brookline. Prior to surgery, DeChambeau revealed at Augusta National that he suffered a torn left hip labrum and a hairline fracture in his left hand. According to DeChambeau, the hip injury originally happened when he began his distance odyssey two years ago. Last fall, he felt something “pop” in his hand after slipping on concrete. Both injuries were aggravated at the Saudi International during a ping-pong match against Sergio Garcia and Joaquin Niemann.

It’s been a forgettable season for DeChambeau, beginning the year with a distant T-25 in the limited-field Sentry Tournament of Champions and missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open. He was a mid-tournament WD from the Saudi following the injury, and despite doctors advising him to rest his injuries for four months he came back in two in hopes of a Masters run. However, he missed the cuts in his Augusta National prep in appearances at the WGC-Dell Match Play and Valero Texas Open, and had a quick out at the Masters as well.

DeChambeau said on Wednesday evening following his WD at Southern Hills that he would only return when he was “100 percent ready to compete at golf’s highest level.” Perhaps helping his decision to return is that next week is a home game, as DeChambeau lives in Dallas. He’s also played well at Colonial, finish T-3 at the event in 2020.

Other top-ranked players in next week’s Colonial field include World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa, and 36-hole PGA leader Will Zalatoris.