The 2020 US Open champion talks about his hopes of leading his Crushers team to victory in the Team Championship of the LIV Golf League and adding to his tally of individual wins at the season’s penultimate LIV tournament at Royal Greens G&CC in Saudi Arabia
Q: The Team Championship rewards the top seeds with the chance to pick their opponents. How much do you enjoy that aspect and the strategy involved deciding who plays in the foursomes & other singles match?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: A lot of it was strategic. Last year, I picked the Stingers because they were injured, a lot of them were injured. And I wanted to pick out a couple of other teams but it just seemed like the most logical choice given the options we had. And ultimately we lost to them which was unfortunate. But a lot of strategies implied into it and trying to figure out stuff with the team in who’s going to fit best with certain players and certain teams. So I thoroughly enjoyed it and something I’m looking forward to this year.
Q. The Crushers won the season’s first team title in Mayakoba and are coming off a recent team win in Chicago. Does building momentum and winning at the right time play a role in how a team is feeling heading into the finale?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, absolutely. I think all of us are in shape. We’re moving in that right direction. I’m being the leader I should be, trying to. And I feel like my guys are supporting me really well and they’re playing some great golf, giving me good advice in certain situations, and feel like we’re just a cohesive team – sometimes, what’s difficult to get out here. You wouldn’t expect Bann [Anirban Lahiri], you wouldn’t expect Paul [Casey] nor Charles [Howell III] or myself to be good friends and we’re all really good friends – it’s the start of a good joke. But no, we certainly gel well together, and it’s fed well for us this year and we’ll continue to do so over the course of time.
Q. What do you remember about the experience of last year’s event – what did you enjoy about it – and what are your expectations for this year?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It’s how highlighted the teams are and that’s something I want to see more of through the course of LIV Golf, golf’s history and moving forward what it should be about. It should be about the teams, it should be about how we do each week and every week. And I don’t feel like it’s highlighted enough but we’re getting there. We’re getting to that place where the teams matter each and every week. And I think that’s the cool part about next week is it’s going to highlight it even more and hopefully feeds into next year in the same manner.
Q. One eye on next week at the team championships in Miami. Crushers are currently second in the standings. What would a podium finish in both the individual and team championship mean to you?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Oh, I mean, that would mean the world. That’s what we’ve all fought for. Charles started off really good this year, and he’s been consistent. Ban [Anirban Lahiri] has played incredibly well, and Paul is picking it up, and I’m excited for the team come Miami. We lost to the Stingers, and it was a big sting – no pun intended or pun intended I guess – but we want to change that narrative this next week.
Q. Bryson, what’s the mood in the team like going into this week, knowing that you guys can actually become the No. 1 team going to Miami?
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: The team mood is just having fun, enjoying what we’re doing out here, taking each shot, hitting it the best we possibly can, and letting my boys do their thing. They’re an incredible team. They’re great golfers. They’ve done a lot in the world of golf. I’m just going to let them go. That’s the way I try and coach and lead, I guess you could say, is be you. I was such a unique player — I am such a unique player, and for me to have any precedence over the way someone plays, it’s ridiculous. They have been successful their whole careers. I put wiser people around me for a reason. I wanted them to actually give me input to see how I could be a better leader, a better facilitator of good golf. Another thing, too, is my college golf coach, Josh Gregory, was good at leading us. He won two national championships with Augusta State, and luckily he was able to talk to me about his leadership, the way he ran his team, and it’s actually bled over in a positive way into how I run the team and how I try to facilitate good golf for them, and it’s just let them be. Add to it where you can and let them go, let them run.