PGA Tour opposites Bryson DeChambeau, William McGirt understand golf is just a game
Bryson DeChambeau and William McGirt both have won the Memorial Tournament. Both enjoy fishing. Both missed the cut Friday at Muirfield Village Golf Club. The similarities end there.
DeChambeau is instantly recognizable and McGirt is instantly … not.
DeChambeau has eight PGA Tour wins, including the 2020 U.S. Open and 2018 Memorial, and McGirt has won the 2016 Memorial and – checks bio – the 2007 Cabarrus Classic Championship on the eGolf Tour, which – checks Google – is played on grass and not the Web.
The 28-year-old DeChambeau, 6-foot-1, blonde and muscular, grew up in Modesto, California and lives in Dallas. The 42-year-old McGirt, 5-8 with curly ginger locks that resemble a mid-1970s perm, was born in tiny Fairmont, North Carolina, and lives 160 miles away in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
DeChambeau bombs his driver, averaging 317 off the tee. Only a few hit it longer. McGirt bunts it, averaging 286, which ranks 190th on tour.
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DeChambeau – “Brooksie!” – is famous for feuding with fellow pro, Brooks Koepka. McGirt feuds with his 9-year-old son, Mac, over the old man’s course statistics.
DeChambeau lists “physics” among his special interests. McGirt? “Watching TV.”
We could go on, but you get the picture. These two were not exactly separated at birth.
And yet both are searching for the same thing – their golf swings – even as both have found the secret to happiness. It’s called having perspective.
Golf will grind you into the dirt it is played upon. McGirt entered Friday’s second round two shots out of the lead and was still 2-under par with nine holes to play before shooting 41 to card a 78 and miss the cut by one.
That kind of collapse can leave scars, but ultimately golf remains just a game. It’s taken DeChambeau and McGirt time to realize that, but both finally have found the path to emotional freedom. It’s not a perfect path, by any means, because perfection is not possible. Not in golf. Not in life. But by sitting on the sidelines — DeChambeau has spent months rehabbing his wrist, McGirt missed nearly two years while recovering from hip surgeries — the two men appreciate that through time lost much was gained.
“I enjoy playing golf so much with (Mac), and I enjoy spending so much time at home with my family,” McGirt said. “I told my wife (Sarah), ‘It was a blessing and a curse being home for two years.' I got to teach my daughter (Caroline) how to ride a bike without training wheels. Home for teeth falling out. Dance recitals. All that stuff.
“There’s a lot more things that are more important than this stupid game we play.”
Lump in throat.
“I’ve really had a change of heart with all of that,” McGirt continued. “I used to live and die by every shot, and you drive yourself crazy. And now it’s like ‘So what?’ This is just a way for me to do the fun stuff that I want to do more than anything else right now.”
DeChambeau’s path to a new perspective is focused on faith more than family, but like McGirt his forced sabbatical showed him what he had been missing.
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“I never lost my faith, but I started idolizing a lot of other things that were not appropriate,” he said, adding how he is reorienting his life to better align with his Christian beliefs.
This is where it gets tricky. Listening to DeChambeau describe his dearly departed golf game in almost scientific detail, he shot 76-77 here, one might conclude he has made an idol of the golf swing that once worked magic for him.
“Just trying to find the mountaintop again, recreating what I had in 2018 and 2017 … where I felt like I was invincible; every day I could hit the same exact shot, no matter what,” he said.
My view is more charitable. An obsession is not necessarily an idol. DeChambeau does not idolize the swing that helped him win the 2018 Memorial, but he is obsessed with relocating it.
“I can’t find it. It’s crazy, golf is a weird game,” he said, adding in quintessential DeChambeauese that there is “a huge misconception between my perception and reality.”
He refutes any contention that bulking up in early 2020 threw off his more natural swing, but admitted his newfound muscle was not strong enough to withstand the emotional trials that included injuries, a reported dalliance with Saudi-backed LIV Golf and the Koepka kerfuffle.
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“I’ve had better times in my life,” he said. “I’m very grateful and appreciative of where I am. I would never complain one bit, but definitely, there are things that have been difficult for me.”
Life is challenging. What matters is how well you navigate the hardships. For too long, DeChambeau raged against the machine. For too long, McGirt found his identity in a game.
Both are increasingly at peace. Maybe they’re not so different after all?
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Bryson DeChambeau, William McGirt miss Memorial cut but find peace
