Bryson DeChambeauhas issued a response to the fellow golf professionals and fans who have criticised his slow play, with the world No 8 saying “screw all you haters” in a video posted on social media.
The American is one of a number of golfers who are under growing pressure to speed up their game, with the likes of Ian Poulter and Eddie Pepperell calling them out following a series of high-profile incidents.
World No 1 Brooks Koepka expressed his frustration with playing partner JB Holmes following the final day’s play at The Open last month, while Pepperell labelled DeChambeau a “single-minded twit” in response to a video of his painstaking approach to an eight-foot putt at last week’s Northern Trust tournament.
DeChambeau initially appeared keen to address the issue, saying that he is “committed to being part of the solution, not the problem”, but he has since posted a short video on social media to respond to the criticism in a nonchalant manner.
Appearing in a live video on friend Dominic Lobocki’s Snapchat account, DeChambeau spoke ahead of the first day of the BMW Championship at Medinah to hit back at his critics.
“Bryson here on Dom’s Snapchat,” he said. “Ya’ll wanna say whatever you want, that’s ok. But you know what? I’m out here doing the right thing having a great time with the Pro-Am guys killing it, and honestly, we’re on these guys’ asses all the time.
“Last week I played under [the] time par, this week I’ll do the same thing. Never on the clock last week, ya’ll can say whatever you want but we’re having a f****** awesome time. So screw all ya’ll haters, it’s no big deal. I still love you all even though you hate me.”
The PGA have vowed to crack down on slow play, with the tour’s chief of operations Tyler Dennis confirming that shot-tracking application ShotLink will be used to monitor all groups and their speed of play.
“We know that the individual habits of players when they are preparing to hit a shot can quickly become a focal point in today’s world,” Dennis said earlier this week. “Our players and fans are very passionate about this issue. We are asking ourselves, ‘Is there a better way to do it?’ Technology plays a key role.”
