Nearly 72 hours after he was ridiculed and ripped apart on Twitter for his pace of play at the Northern Trust, and about 24 hours after the PGA Tour said it will review its policies on the issue, Bryson DeChambeau vowed that he will play faster.
“Slow play affects the quality of the game for both players and our fans and I’ve always had the utmost respect for my playing partners, including JT and Tommy,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m constantly trying to improve and I will do my very best to improve my pace. Golf is my passion and livelihood. It’s my responsibility to help improve the game to be more enjoyable for all. Pace of play has been an issue for golf at all levels for a long time, and I’m committed to being a part of the solution, not the problem. I want to be a good representative of the game and the @PGATour and I looking forward to working with the TOUR and fellow players to find a solution to slow play.”
FORWARD PRESS PODCAST: Episode 6 – Jason Day’s split with Steve Williams, slow play, Tiger Woods, preview the BMW and hot dogs
He’s right that pace of play has been an issue forever, and some fans pointed out DeChambeau was victimized by the masses only after two videos went viral from his round. More than 15,000 followers liked his Instagram post Monday, and DeChambeau added that he’d be meeting with PGA Tour officials this week at the BMW Championship.
Monday seemed like a day for walking back bold statements as Eddie Pepperell apologized for calling DeChambeau a “single minded twit” during the uproar. “That was unnecessary and something I shouldn’t have said,” Pepperell tweeted in his apology. He also announced he’d be taking a break from Twitter.
Perhaps time to reflect on the matter — and time to cool down — resulted in what seemed like a change of heart that was expressed on DeChambeau’s Instagram post. Because when asked about the issue of pace of play Saturday at Liberty National, DeChambeau made it clear he doesn’t think he has a problem.
“A lot of it’s the caddies. A lot of it’s the other players,” DeChambeau said. “They don’t care about walking fast. I play a different way out there. I take my 40 seconds that’s allotted, sometimes over, absolutely. Totally agree. It’s maybe 5 percent of the time. But I’ll tell you that it’s really kind of unfortunate the way it’s perceived because there’s a lot of other guys that take a lot of time. They don’t talk about this matter and for me personally, it is an attack and it is something that is not me whatsoever. People don’t realize the harm they are doing to the individuals.”
DeChambeau claimed he takes 30 seconds on average to hit a shot and that he often has to wait for other players because he walks quickly.
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