Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau pounded shots along the front nine of Muirfield Village, a nine-hole practice round Wednesday that no doubt would have attracted a capacity crowd if spectators were allowed at the Memorial.
They are gobbling up most of the attention in golf, for entirely different reasons.
One of them because he’s Woods.
Tiger Woods hits out of a bunker on the 15th hole during a practice round for the Memorial golf tournament, Tuesday, July 14, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP PhotoDarron Cummings)
The other because he’s unlike anyone else in the game.
DeChambeau has everyone talking, whether it's his super-sized physique, how hard he swings the driver, how far he is hitting the golf ball or his beliefs — which can sound like boasts — that he's changing the way the game is played.
Even the tournament host is curious.
Bryson DeChambeau walks from the bunker in the practice area during a practice round for the Memorial golf tournament, Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP PhotoDarron Cummings)
“Bryson's golf swing is not a fluid golf swing,” Jack Nicklaus said. "Bryson's golf swing is pretty much pretty firm going back and firm coming through with a lot of body rotation. It’s a little different than a lot of guys. And can you believe the power he’s getting from that? I mean, it’s unbelievable.
“I, for one, I want to watch him play a little bit,” Nicklaus added. “I'd like to see what he does and how he’s actually doing that because he’s obviously doing something right. The ball is going a long way. And he’s playing well with it.”
DeChambeau faces a stacked field at the Memorial — nine of the top 10 in the world, 43 out of the top 50 — while coming off a victory two weeks ago when he pummeled Detroit Golf Club with his driver. He has seven straight top-10 finishes dating to March, before COVID-19 shut down the tour. Since its return, DeChambeau has hit 29 tee shots at 350 yards or longer.
Rory McIlroy hits in the practice area during a practice round for the Memorial golf tournament, Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP PhotoDarron Cummings)
Woods is 44 and still has plenty of pop.
“There was a couple holes he hit 320, 325,” said DeChambeau, 26. “I'm like, ‘That’s pretty good for his age.'"
Wednesday wasn't the first time they have practiced together. Woods is intrigued by a different way of playing, which is why a generation ago he used to practice early with Bubba Watson to see not just his length but the shape in his shots. DeChambeau brings an element of physics to his approach, such as air density and ground force.
Collin Morikawa tosses a ball after putting on the second green during a practice round for the Memorial golf tournament, Wednesday, July 15, 2020, in Dublin, Ohio. (AP PhotoDarron Cummings)
A year ago, they were playing together in the Memorial when DeChambeau was given a bad time for taking too long over a shot. He was furious, and later claimed the PGA Tour was going about it the wrong way. He said it should take into account how fast a player walks to the ball.
How quickly the conversation has changed. Now it's not about slow play as much as it is muscle mass, a ball speed approaching 200 mph and whether this is the way everyone should play.
Dustin Johnson, who won the last time he played at the Travelers Championship, has ample power. Asked what would happen if he swung as hard as DeChambeau, he replied: “I'd probably hurt something. And I would find half of them.”
He's not about to change.
“I hit it far enough,” Johnson said. “And until I feel like I need to hit it further to compete or beat these guys, then that's what I'll do. But for right now, I feel like if I'm playing my game, he can hit it as far as he wants to, and I don't think he's going to beat me.”
Woods has always been about power, and so much more. It's why he has won 82 times on the PGA Tour and has a chance at the Memorial — where he has won five times — to break the career victory record he shares with Sam Snead.
When he started, Woods and Daly were the biggest hitters. Technology has changed all that, starting with launch monitors that have led to sonar devices that allow players to optimize everything. What amazed Woods was not so much the distance but the accuracy that goes with it.
“Let's look at the fact that he’s hitting it as straight as he is,” Woods said. “That’s part of the most difficult thing to do. The further you hit it, the more the tangent goes more crooked. So the fact that he’s figured that out and has been able to rein in the foul balls to me has been equally as impressive as his gains off the tee.”
The next question is whether that will work at Muirfield Village, which figures to be the toughest test since golf resumed at shorter courses with minimal rough and softer greens. This is the second straight tournament at the course Nicklaus built. Greens are being replaced after this week, so there's no fear of getting them super slick to the point of dying. The rough is thicker. There are more hazards.
DeChambeau believes other players will figure out his equation soon enough — swinging it hard, hitting it straight. He still thinks future generations will copy his single-length shafts (each the length of a 7-iron) that he brought to the PGA Tour.
Rory McIlroy, who played with DeChambeau in the final round at Colonial, isn't about to devour protein shakes and put on 40 pounds of mass. But with no pun intended, he said of DeChambeau, “More power to him.”
“He’s making golf interesting, and he’s certainly getting people to talk about him,” McIlroy said. “He’s won already, and he’s played some good events and been in contention, so it’s working for him.”
SEATTLE (AP) — Shota Imanaga allowed one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings, Michael Busch homered in his third straight game and the Chicago Cubs beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1 on Saturday night.
Seiya Suzuki and Miguel Amaya also hit solo home runs for the Cubs. But the focus was on Imanaga (2-0) continuing the excellent start to his major league career, and some timely defense from third baseman Christopher Morel in the sixth to keep the Cubs in front.
Morel made consecutive outstanding plays with runners in scoring position, first diving to stop Mitch Garver’s hard grounder from getting down the left-field line and then leaping to snag Dylan Moore’s line drive.
“That changes the game right there. They may have the lead if that ball gets into the corner,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said of the first play Morel made. “That was a huge play. He made some really nice plays tonight. Overall it was definitely a really big defensive game for Christopher.”
The two plays by Morel helped get Chicago out of trouble after Imanaga walked the first two batters in the inning. The left-hander has gone 15 1/3 innings without giving up an earned run. He allowed five hits, struck out four and walked two.
“I want to thank him,” Imanaga said through a translator. “With his defense, we were able to win. So I want to congratulate him and thank him on that.”
Mark Leiter Jr., Yency Almonte, Hector Neris and Adbert Alzolay permitted just two baserunners in 3 2/3 innings of relief. Alzolay earned his second save.
Busch ran his home run streak to three games by hitting a solo shot off reliever Tyson Miller in the seventh.
“He's swinging it really good right now and he's driving it, most importantly,” Counsell said.
Suzuki’s homer came on the first pitch he saw from Seattle starter Emerson Hancock (1-2) with two outs in the third. Amaya homered off reliever Austin Voth in the eighth.
Hancock rebounded after getting knocked around in his last start. He allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four.
“Can't fault the starting pitching. Normally you don't lose games if you give up solo homers, but they got three of them tonight,” Seattle manager Scott Servais said.
Seattle got to Imanaga in the second inning after Mitch Haniger reached on an error by Busch at first base. Haniger scored on Luis Urías’ two-out double, but Imanaga stranded runners at second and third by striking out Seby Zavala.
Imanaga said Seattle's game plan was to lay off his splitter down in the zone, which made spotting his fastball for a strike more important. Imanaga threw 61 fastballs among his 90 pitches.
“The first two games that I pitched, my off speeds felt good as well as my fastball,” Imanaga said. “Today, I didn't really have the changeup and then as the game went on, my fastball command, the quality started to go down. So just kind of learning how do I need to make an adjustment, and moving from there.”
The stadium became smoky during the fifth inning after a car caught fire on a roadway outside the ballpark and the breeze pushed the smoke into the stadium.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Cubs: RHP Jameson Taillon (back) threw 3 2/3 innings and 68 pitches on Friday in a rehab outing with Triple-A Iowa. His next start is expected to come with the Cubs, Counsell said. Taillon plans to meet the team in Arizona on Monday, although it’s unclear when he will slot back into the rotation.
UP NEXT
Cubs: RHP Javier Assad (1-0, 1.64 ERA) allowed two runs over five innings in his last start against San Diego. He threw six shutout innings in his first start of the season.
Mariners: RHP Luis Castillo (0-3, 6.89) has allowed four earned runs in each of his first three starts. Castillo has yet to finish six innings and has lost three straight decisions for the first time since last June.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Chicago Cubs' Dansby Swanson, right, is congratulated by Mike Tauchman, left, after scoring during the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga reacts between pitches during the sixth inning of the team's baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Seattle Mariners' Luis Urias hits an RBI double off Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga during the second inning of a baseball game, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Seattle Mariners starter Emerson Hancock follows through on a pitch during the fifth inning of the team's baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Seattle Mariners' Mitch Haniger celebrates in the dugout after scoring during the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Chicago Cubs starter Shota Imanaga delivers a pitch during the fifth inning of the team's baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Chicago Cubs' Seiya Suzuki celebrates while running the bases on a solo home run off Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Emerson Hancock during the third inning of a baseball game Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)
Chicago Cubs starter Shota Imanaga delivers a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Saturday, April 13, 2024, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Stephen Brashear)