Bryson DeChambeau believes he is a “completely different person” since winning the US Open at Winged Foot four years ago.
DeChambeau said his life has changed “dramatically” since his equipment change last year. He adopted the Krank Formula Fire driver shortly before he shot a 58 in LIV Golf’s event at the Greenbrier. The fact the American plays in the LIV Golf League, and has done so since 2022 after leaving the PGA Tour, also constitutes significant change.
He also attributed his personal transition to the passing of his father Jon in November of that year when speaking at Pinehurst before the 2024 US Open, the 124th edition of America’s national championship.
“My life has changed dramatically. Still working on a house, so that’s fun. My brain just went completely sideways on that,” he said.
“What I will say is I have changed, definitely, in different ways. I still feel like I’m that same kid that came out here right at the start, but I feel like as a person I’m just different to interact with. Ever since I got the equipment change last year, my whole life dramatically changed.
“My dad passing gave me a great perspective on life. Just everything in general has changed. They say every five years somebody’s life changes and it couldn’t be more true. I’m a completely different person than I was back at Winged Foot.
“There’s remnants. I’ve still got a lot of the same cells, but I’m definitely different in the brain for sure.”
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Bryson DeChambeau: YouTube could see its first major champion at Pinehurst
His status as one of the world’s best players since winning his first major has remained consistent. Still, another new variable in DeChambeau’s life is his booming popularity on YouTube, having started his own channel which has done nothing but thrive since its first upload in April 2021.
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Playing with a rolled-back ball, trying to break 50 with Sergio Garcia and letting Siri (a voice feature on Apple iPhones) decide his club selections constitute just some of the videos he has recently published on his channel which now has 681,000 subscribers.
Of course, DeChambeau is not a traditional YouTuber. He isn’t one of the originals who has built their channel from scratch with no previous profile such as Rick Shiels, Peter Finch or NCG’s Hannah Holden in the UK. These figures have gained vast followings from the ground up with nothing like the body of work that DeChambeau previously had to get going.
Among his recent videos are collaborations with fellow YouTuber Grant Horvat, influencer Paige Spiranac and Long Drive champion Martin Borgmeier. He is currently juggling the LIV Golf schedule and the major championships with a YouTube page not far from 1 million subscriptions with graphics and colours that mirror the seasoned experts of the video-sharing platform.
It is no surprise that the 30-year-old has become the player he is. He was an outstanding amateur golfer and he built his pedigree by winning junior and collegiate titles, culminating in winning the US Amateur Championship in 2015. He won eight times on the PGA Tour before joining the Saudi-funded LIV League on which he has won twice.
There is a clear distinction between DeChambeau and professional golf vloggers. One is a world-class athlete and touring professional, whereas the others tend to be very good golfers (professionals sometimes) who look to grow their brand with their personalities and content ideas. But DeChambeau’s following and viewing figures rival many successful figures on YouTube and regardless of what anyone says, he is now one of them.
If DeChambeau was to lift the US Open trophy for the second time this week at Pinehurst No.2, you could say a vlogger had won a major, an unprecedented middle ground to a Venn diagram that no other YouTube star can claim.
(Headline image credit: USGA)
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Could we see another Bryson DeChambeau US Open win? How much of the Bryson DeChambeau YouTube channel do you consume, and what do you make of the Bryson DeChambeau YouTube empire? Tell us on X!
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