ORLANDO, Florida: Another day, another “throw” by Bryson DeChambeau in the sixth hole of Bay Hill.
And again, the fans let him hear it.
It’s windy!
John Daly would go there!
Wow, Bryson!
Even DeChambeau’s rival, Jordan Spieth, joined the playful joke.
“That’s the only reason I played this week has been to see you hit her on the lake,” Spieth told DeChambeau.
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Scores Across the Field | Full coverage
But let DeChambeau explain, “The wind really went off to the left and in. It was really weird…. Hopefully, if it’s windy, constantly in the wind, and I feel comfortable in it, I will take it for the green. But today has not been an opportunity again. Everyone thinks so, but no matter what you say, you were not in this situation and you did not feel the wind. “
With a cold, nasty front coming into effect on Saturday, it seems less likely that DeChambeau will deliver on his promised commitment, no matter what. he he says. But don’t worry, DeChambeau’s traveling show is even more than capable of entertaining the masses, and the final act could see DeChambeau deliver in a different way: winning.
DeChambeau is down 6, just three shots from leader Corey Conners, halfway through the Arnold Palmer invitation. It followed its start from 5 to under 67 with a 71 fight on Friday that included several impressive tea balls.
He cut the corner at 381-yard 10th hole, leaving only 39 yards to the green.
He did the same in 460 Garden 15th and had only 106 yards.
And for the second day in a row, he led the field in strokes won: off the tee (+2,411) and driving distance (309.5 yards)
“I received the text on Tuesday with the couple and I thought: What better place to combine with it than here, with some of these holes?Spieth said. “What’s amazing to me obviously comes out of his pilot quickly, which makes for Rory [McIlroy] and Cam Champ (there are a number of guys who hit the ball and it just sounds a little different), but the control you have with its intensity is really impressive. I mean he drives the ball extremely well and straight.
“I mean, if I’m going to be shorter than him, I’d like to be straighter and I don’t think I was right these two days.”
Although DeChambeau continues to do his road finder marked with “The Kraken” still on vacation, he entered the interview tent with a slight defeat. The culprit: “The wedges were honestly some of the worst I’ve had in a long time,” he said.
Remember this unit at number 10? DeChambeau missed the green short and made the pair.
At number 15, he sank it to 35 feet and had to sink a foot from foot to save the pair.
Nor was the 139-yard 13-yard back bunker fantastic.
Even in the closing hole, DeChambeau had 161 yards to the flag, but hit a throwing wedge that came out of about 15 yards to the left of where he was aiming, the shot ended up on the edge at about 40 feet away. Another pair.
“For me, that’s pretty sad,” DeChambeau said. “I do not know why. I feel like there’s something weird about connecting the ball to my face with the speeds I’m producing. This week I had fresh slots and went to register them in the range that really turned less on the face. So, something very strange is happening. “
Still, despite his wedge problems, DeChambeau finds himself in the thick of things at Arnie’s Place. Its length remains a great advantage. On Friday, he observed three of Bay Hill’s long par-3s, holes of more than 200 yards where he hits the irons of 7 and 8. And with the rain waiting to soak up the already difficult design, this should play directly into the hands of DeChambeau.
I could keep him on the Conservative line at number 6.
But I could give him a red T-shirt.
“I’m back three shots,” DeChambeau said. “Now I will risk my chances.”