Bryson DeChambeau overpowered windy conditions and fast greens to clinch the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 7. After bogeying the first hole at Orlando’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, DeChambeau went through the final 17 without another. His 5-foot putt for par on the final hole gave him a one-shot victory over Lee Westwood.
The PGA Tour’s leader in driving distances this season, DeChambeau is known for his booming tee shots. On the par-5 sixth hole, he smashed a 377-yard drive over water, 168 yards farther that Westwood’s tee shot.
“I wanted to reintroduce myself when I got to the green,” Westwood joked later, “I thought he may have forgotten who I was.”
DeChambeau, 27, is the first player to have multiple victories this season, having won the U.S. Open in September. His win also helped him rise to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings. This is the eighth PGA Tour victory of his career.
Inspired by Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer
On Sunday morning, DeChambeau was surprised to receive an encouraging text message from Tiger Woods, who’s recovering from leg surgery after a car accident in California. Woods told him to keep fighting and, like Arnold Palmer, to play boldly.
“It was amazing that he was thinking of me during these tough times he’s going through right now,” DeChambeau says of Woods, an eight-time winner at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
After receiving the winner’s red cardigan alpaca sweater, modeled after Palmer’s always-dapper wardrobe, DeChambeau says winning the tournament was a tribute to both golfing legends: “I think this red cardigan is not only for Mr. Palmer, but I would say it’s a little bit for Tiger, as well.”
The win at Bay Hill is energizing DeChambeau as he moves on to future tournaments. “I feel like now I’m free flowing, and I can just go at it for the rest of the year.”
His investment in leveling up his health and fitness certainly seems to be paying off.
“A big part of my game improvement is working on my overall fitness and strength,” he said in a press release about his joint venture in Mark Wahlberg’s supplement company, Performance Inspired. “One of the reasons I recently joined Performance Inspired Nutrition was my need for performance nutrition to drive my workouts and recovery. I needed the best products to support my efforts.”
It’s nice to see the fruits of his labor on and off the green.
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