CHARLOTTE, North Carolina :Bryson DeChambeau hopes luck is on his side when the PGA Championship kicks off this week at Quail Hollow, after falling short at the major a year ago and letting the green jacket slip from his reach last month at the Masters.
The twice U.S. Open winner briefly held the lead in the final round at Augusta but his efforts were undermined by wobbly iron play and he could only watch on as his rival Rory McIlroy completed a career grand slam, as he finished tied for fifth.
The performance served as a reminder for DeChambeau, the runner-up by one shot to Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship a year ago, of the razor-thin line between triumph and defeat at golf’s majors.
“A little bit of luck and one or two shots going your way, you making a putt from seven, eight feet. There’s going to be numerous players that are playing well this week,” he told reporters in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Sometimes it’s just a little wind off the left or off the right that makes the ball go somewhere different or closer to the hole, or sometimes it’s a mis-hit shot that ends up close to the hole.
“A little bit of fortune but also paired with a lot of skill over 72 holes of golf. You have to combine all that together to have a chance to win.”
The longest hitter in the game used his red-hot driver to full effect to win in Korea on the LIV Golf circuit last week, an encouraging sign for the American who has been fine-tuning his iron game that he believes hurt him at the Masters.
“My irons were really good in Korea. I feel like it’s moving in the right direction,” said DeChambeau. “Let’s hopefully keep it more of the same. If I can do that, I’ll give myself a good chance this week.”
