Bryson: ‘I will do my very best to improve my pace’

Bryson DeChambeau took to social media to vow that he would do his best to improve his pace of play

Bryson DeChambeau took to social media on Monday after slow play became the biggest talking point of The Northern Trust, and promised to do his ‘best to improve’ his pace of play. 

It comes after the PGA Tour announced they are reviewing their pace of play policy after outrage over a video of DeChambeau on Friday, where he took over two minutes to hit a single putt. 

DeChambeau felt singled out by the ‘attack’ and said on Saturday that he felt he wasn’t the one with a problem, stating not for the first time that he walks quickly between shots. 

“A lot of it’s the caddies. A lot of it’s the other players,” DeChambeau had said. “They don’t care about walking fast. I play a different way out there. I take my 40 seconds that’s allotted, sometimes over, absolutely. Totally agree. It’s maybe 5 percent of the time. But I’ll tell you that it’s really kind of unfortunate the way it’s perceived because there’s a lot of other guys that take a lot of time. They don’t talk about this matter and for me personally, it is an attack and it is something that is not me whatsoever. People don’t realize the harm they are doing to the individuals.”

He then took up issue with the Tour’s unofficial anti-slow play spokesperson Brooks Koepka before Sunday’s round, and while the two players cleared the air, the World No. 8 had more to say. 

“It was frustrating honestly,” DeChambeau said of the reaction on social media. “I’m just thinking to myself, man, this is golf. You look at all the guys on social media and saying, you need to pick it up, you need to pick it up. I’m just trying to explain to them, and say, hey, how about you look at the full story and see what actually happened during those instances.

“It’s like there’s more to it. We need to resolve some things. I think that walking out here is a bit of an issue. There’s a tradition in the game of walking and I understand that, but if we want to make the game faster, there are multiple ways that we can do it.”

DeChambeau had his manager time every shot of his on Sunday for proof that he isn’t as slow as people make out, and said that ‘on average, my shots into the green and off the tee was around 30 seconds’. 

But he did make it clear he is in favour of having more of a discussion internally with players and the Tour about slow play, something he reiterated with his post on Monday, where he also seemed to have a change of heart as he talked about improving his own pace. 

“Slow play affects the quality of the game for both players and our fans and I’ve always had the utmost respect for my playing partners, including JT and Tommy,” Bryson wrote on his instagram. 

“I’m constantly trying to improve and I will do my very best to improve my pace. Golf is my passion and livelihood. It’s my responsibility to help improve the game to be more enjoyable for all.

“Pace of play has been an issue for golf at all levels for a long time, and I’m committed to being a part of the solution, not the problem. I want to be a good representative of the game and the @PGATour and I looking forward to working with the TOUR and fellow players to find a solution to slow play.”