Bryson DeChambeau’s game off the tee in Thursday’s opening round of the British Open wasn’t pretty. His post-round comments got uglier and the response to those comments? Uglier still.
After DeChambeau blamed his stray driving – which drove his score up to a 1-over 71 at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England – on his feeling that “the driver sucks,” his equipment sponsor Cobra was not particularly happy.
“If I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that’s great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks,” DeChambeau said after a round in which he hit only four fairways. “It’s not a good face for me, and we’re still trying to figure out how to make it good on the mis-hits. I’m living on the razor’s edge, like I’ve told people for a long time.”
Hours later, DeChambeau had posted an apology on social media. It came after Ben Schomin, Cobra’s tour operations manager, spoke to Golfweek about how DeChambeau’s words stung considering how much work goes into manufacturing a club that fits DeChambeau’s wicked swing speed.
In the statement, which appeared on Instagram, DeChambeau acknowledged that his comments were unprofessional and driven by frustration and emotion.
“I sucked today, not my equipment,” DeChambeau wrote.
He also acknowledged that Cobra is like family after working with the company for more than five years and expressed deep regret at the words he had used.
The full statement is as follows:
After his opening round of 71, DeChambeau is tied for 74th.
.jpg?w=600)
