1 Bryson DeChambeau practice round told us how the PGA should unfold

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There was no practice swing, just a ball teed up two inches off the ground and sent like a missile, trying to cut the corner. That’s how you’re supposed to play Quail Hollow’s 2nd hole when you hit it as long as Bryson DeChambeau. 

It was Tuesday afternoon, after the thunderstorms had come through and the sun came back out, that a handful of soaked-shoes spectators got to watch DeChambeau wallop that tee shot. He didn’t bother to watch it down to the ground. He saw it take a slight left turn, drawing on the exact line he wanted and turned away to grab his tee. Everyone else saw it clank into the tree at the corner and drop down into the rough. A few minutes later, DeChambeau stood under the tree, begging a volunteer spotter for info.

“Where did it hit the tree?” he asked. “No, how high up the tree did it hit?” 

The answer wasn’t clear. But DeChambeau didn’t seem to need confirmation. He was already convinced that, in the heat of the moment, he’ll have no problem covering it. Standing some 30 yards back of DeChambeau in the fairway was Russell Henley, minding his own business. Their approach shots both failed to crest the slope of the green where the hole was cut, and both rolled back to within inches of each other. For just a moment, it felt like this championship might be fair game for every type of player. 

But if you’ve been paying any attention to this PGA Championship, or any of the past tournaments played at Quail Hollow, the discourse has woven an obvious theme: this is a bomber’s paradise. And while at times it can be smart to zag away from everyone who can get their hands on a microphone, this week it’s going to be smart to just fall in line. This long and wet PGA Championship is bound to be won by one of the longest players in the field. Vegas likes DeChambeau for a reason.

You have to like DeChambeau, too. Especially if you were among those who kept watching him Tuesday. He peppered the fairway on No. 3 while Henley’s low, bullet drive cut too far into the right rough. From those shots, it was a mid-iron high into the sky for DeChambeau. For Henley, it was lumber out of thick stuff. Both bounded into the green and, again, ended in similar positions. Another win for the short guy! But straining for those wins exhausts a man over 72 holes. 

Henley is one of the 15 best golfers in the world but you wouldn’t pick him to win, show or even place in the top 10 this week. In his best showing at Quail Hollow, in 2023, he snagged a T10 finish from the jaws of physics, driving it shorter than almost everyone, scrambling like a genius and putting like a wizard. It will take his A-game to hang this week, given how far he hits the ball. He knows it, based on our short convo in the middle of the 5th fairway where, once again, his lack of length was on display.

Henley had hit two low, peeling cuts, both getting about 10 yards of roll on these sopping fairways. He’s putting stock in that T10 finish last year, partly because he has no choice. This course wasn’t set up for his game, and Mother Nature has made it even worse. Since the week began, the course has taken on more than an inch of rainfall, all in addition to multiple inches a week ago. 

Grounds crew members at Quail Hollow are doing their best to clear standing water from the fairways, hoping to avoid competition rounds getting marred by mud-balls. It’s entirely plausible the first round will be played under lift, clean and place conditions. So much rain has fallen that, according to one staffer, the discussion is not about how quickly the water would evaporate, but where can they just put it for now. The maintenance team mowed fairways on Tuesday afternoon when they didn’t need to, mostly just to move the water around and see if there is any more room for it to collect elsewhere.  

As Henley splashed through a long iron into the 449-yard, uphill 5th, DeChambeau waited, some 50 or 60 yards ahead of him, stress-free and in the center of the fairway. Since he began pursuing distance, DeChambeau has made Quail look tiny. His last two trips around this course (in 2018 and 2021) have produced two top 10s. He tossed a few balls into one of the bunkers and hit some sky-balls out of the sand that landed gently on the green. There was nothing formative to these swings, nor much to really be gained from their results. Just the ominous feeling that one of these men will have a much easier time playing golf this week.