The Loop

Bryson DeChambeau explains why he needed a towel guy as only Bryson DeChambeau can

February 21, 2020

Golf fans were intrigued, but certainly not shocked, when a screengrab of Bryson DeChambeau practicing his putting while someone held up a towel behind him made its way around Golf Twitter on Thursday. After all, this is a man who thinks of everything to the point that he has his range balls sprayed with water to simulate morning dew when he has an early tee time.

But there he was on the practice green at Club de Golf Chapultepec before his first round at the WGC-Mexico Championship being shielded by a towel. See for yourself:

Was he just looking for a little shade from the sun? LOL this is Bryson we're talking about. Obviously, the reason wound up being much (much) more complicated than that.

Turns out, DeChambeau attaches a laser to his putter to work on the path of his stroke. And sometimes, that laser is difficult to see in the sun. Here's the first question he was asked about it after Thursday's round of 68 that has him three shots behind leader Rory McIlroy:

Q. I saw you warming up with a teaching aid on the shaft of your putter. Tell me about that.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, shoot, I even forgot the name, but it's essentially just a laser, and I put it on a chalk line and I just stroke it and make sure my face path is proper.

And later, he was asked about the towel specifically:

Q. Also I noticed your assistant holding a towel --
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It's just to see the line. It's literally just to see the line. If not it's a little difficult to see in the light.

OK, it all makes sense now, right? Glad we got that sorted out. But wait! Then Bryson continued. . .

"It's an even more powerful laser but then it becomes illegal through federal law. Can't do that."

Um. . . say what?