Waco-area native, Texas Open winner Bart Bryant dies in car accident

Bart Bryant, who claimed the Texas Open among his three PGA Tour victories, died in a car accident on Tuesday at the age of 59.

Bryant grew up in Gatesville, just outside of Waco. A two-time All-American as part of the New Mexico State University golf team, Bryant’s pro career was derailed early by injury, but he continued to grind and eventually — in his 187th start, after 18 years and six trips to Q-school — won in his home state of Texas.

Bryant shot a pair of 67s through the first two days at the 2004 Texas Open, then held at the Resort Course at La Cantera Golf Club. He followed with a spectacular third round, tying a record by shooting a 60 — only the fourth time in the history of that event such a score had been posted.

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In the final round, he shot another 67 to claim his first title.

He followed by winning the Memorial and the Tour Championship during the 2005 season.

In winning at Muirfield Village, Bryant topped a pair of PGA Tour heavyweights — Fred Couples and Tiger Woods — to earn the trophy. He later topped Woods again at the Tour Championship, this time by six strokes, to capture the crown at East Lake.

“The PGA Tour is saddened by the tragic passing of Bart Bryant and our hearts go out to his family and friends during this difficult time,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan. “The Bryants have been a part of the PGA Tour family for over four decades and we are grateful for the impact and legacy he made on our organization and countless communities. Bart will be dearly missed.”

All told, he had 19 top-10 finishes on Tour.

Bryant’s brother, Brad, was also a Tour player who won the Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic in 1995. The two are one of only a dozen winning brother combinations in PGA Tour history.

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The brothers also both had victories on the PGA Tour Champions. Bart won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open twice — in 2013 and 2018 — and Brad added four triumphs, including the 2007 U.S. Senior Open.

Bart Bryant was married to his first wife, Cathy, for 34 years until she died of brain cancer in 2017. He remarried and is survived by his wife, Donna, as well as daughters Kristen and Michelle and step-siblings.

Bryson DeChambeau says he’s a go

Bryson DeChambeau is a go. Finally.

And the former SMU star and Dallas-area resident thinks he can contend in this week’s Memorial at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

The 2020 U.S. Open champion and 2018 Memorial winner has not played since the Masters in April, where he shot his worst career tournament score at Augusta National — an 80 — in the second round to miss the cut. He withdrew from the PGA Championship two weeks ago and from the Charles Schwab Challenge last week due to swelling in his left hand following wrist surgery on the fracture hook of the hamate.

“It’s been a long time coming,” DeChambeau told the Golf Channel on Tuesday. “Look, do I know I can finish out the week? Yeah. Do I know that I can contend? Yes. Do I know that I can finally enjoy golf again? Yes.

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“That’s a big step for me and my health and my mental state.”

DeChambeau, the winner of eight PGA Tour titles, has fallen to No. 24 in the world. But he thinks the time away from the game will prove beneficial.

“Things have changed a lot for me,” he said. “I’ve learned so much about me as a person and my faith and whatnot through golf having been stripped away from me. It’s been a difficult time for me the past seven months not being able to play golf the way I really want to. It still is a little tough every once in a while in the hand to hit golf balls, but for the most part I can’t tell you how excited I am to be back out here. I’m very excited.”

The change in attitude came recently as he realized he can’t put “all of my marbles into one basket, which is golf.”

“There’s more to life than golf,” he said. “It’s been definitely eye-opening for me to have a close relationship with the Lord and just more importantly being happy with myself, too, and more importantly getting closer to Him. For me that’s something that’s changed in my life that I’m very, very happy with, and I’m going to continue to fight, continue to be my absolute best out here on the golf course and hopefully inspire some kids along the way and do my due diligence like He wants me to.”

U.S Women's Open prize is hefty

Stephanie Meadow finished third in her professional debut at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open on Pinehurst No. 2. She earned $285,102 for her efforts, a massive sum for a recent college graduate.

“I had a rough time in ’16 and ’17,” said Meadow of the years immediately following her father Robert’s death. “That money carried me through that.”

The U.S. Women’s Open purse has long had a life-changing impact, not just for winners, but for many like Meadow, who cash the biggest checks of their careers. Some, like her, won’t yet be tour members.

This week, that will likely happen more than ever with a historic $10 million purse on the table thanks in large part to the addition of ProMedica, the championship’s first presenting sponsor.

Brittany Lang echoes the thoughts of many of her peers when she says playing on the LPGA was never about the money. When she won this championship in 2016, she remembers walking in the parking lot with her mom and brother and asking, “What do you win for this? I don’t even know.”

It was always about the dream.

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“Now that I’m close to hanging it up,” said Lang, “and I have a daughter, and you start thinking about money and you play worse.”

Lang made $810,000 when she won the Open at CordeValle.

The winner of this week’s championship will earn $1.8 million. The player who finishes runner-up will earn $1,080,000. That’s more than last year’s winner, Yuka Saso, who earned $1 million.

“Honestly, the thought of a $10 million purse just absolutely blows my mind to be perfectly honest,” said former major champ Karen Stupples. “I don’t even know how to think about money in those terms and how — what it means going into your bank account, what the potential is there in one big chunk, even for like a 30th place or a 40th place.”

Even those who miss the cut this week will receive $8,000, double last year.

Tim Schmitt is the managing editor for Golfweek, golf coordinator for the USA Today Network and lives in Round Rock. Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols also contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bart Bryant, Texas Open winner, dies in car accident