DUBAI // Move over Miguel, there is a new Most Interesting Guy in Golf.
Or so it was posited to Bryson DeChambeau at Emirates Golf Club Tuesday, when the American amateur breezed into his first professional-tournament press conference and spoke candidly and eloquently about his rapid rise to prominence.
But the Most Interesting Guy tag, the label usually reserved for cigar-chomping, live-life-to-the-max Miguel Angel Jimenez? Maybe that’s a stretch.
“I’m just a person,” DeChambeau said. “I just look at myself as, hey, I’m here to play some golf and do my best, whether that’s a win or a major championship, doesn’t matter. It’s about learning every single day.
“In regards to being the most interesting person in golf, look, I just like being different I guess, and if people say I’m that, then it’s fun. I guess it’s cool.”
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Being different is a significant part of the appeal. DeChambeau, 22, first hit the headlines last year, when he became only the fifth player to win the US Amateur Championship and the National Collegiate Athletic Association title in the same year.
Then there is the college major in physics, the soon-to-be trademark flat-cap and the not-yet-trademarked same-size irons. Rumour has it he is not short on offers.
“I can’t say too much about that yet,” DeChambeau said. “I’m still an amateur, obviously. But there is some work that we’re doing to try and figure out a fitting system, and we do have something in the works, but again, that’s down the road. When I turn professional I can talk more about that.”
The chatter has increased considerably these past few weeks. DeChambeau is on the final leg of the three-pronged Desert Swing, when on Thursday he debuts at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
He has already served notice of his talent among the professional ranks, finishing second at November's Australian Masters and then grabbing the first-round lead at last month's Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, his first regular European Tour event, before finishing tied-54th.
He struggled somewhat at a blustery Qatar Masters last time out, placing 67th, but DeChambeau is nonetheless fast filling column inches and airwaves on both sides of the Atlantic. Best just embrace it all, then.
“It’s been great. Everybody has been incredible and really nice through this whole process,” he said. “It’s a little different obviously.
“This time last year, I was kind of a nobody, and to be honest with you, I still think of myself as that. I try to be as humble as possible, and it’s difficult at some points in time, but I’m learning how to go through that process.
“And it’s a lot of fun, too. It’s a platform where you can speak your mind and say what you want for the world to hear. But I’m embracing it; I’m liking it; it’s enjoyable. It’s something I look forward to doing quite honestly for a long time.”
It is not long now until the Masters. DeChambeau qualifies for a place in the season’s opening major by dint of his 2015 amateur success and will drive down Magnolia Lane in April following appearances at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Georgia Cup, an event that pits against one another the reigning United States amateur and British amateur champions. From there, he plans to turn professional.
DeChambeau recently got a sneak peak at Augusta National, when he arrived at one of golf’s most famous courses and immediately set about recreating one of its best-known moments.
“Growing up watching it on TV, the most famous shot for me was 2006 when Tiger chipped in from back of the green on 16,” he said, although the shot he referred to from Woods was actually in 2005. “I went over and tried to replicate that shot a little bit, and just looking at it, going, ‘wow, this is where it is, that’s pretty cool’.
“In regards to the ‘wow’ factor, though, it’s already starting to taper off a little bit. I mean, it’s still amazing, and I’ll always have that ‘aura’ feeling around where Bobby Jones is still living there. I can definitely say that. It’s incredible.
“When you get there, you go down Magnolia Lane, you go around a little circle, you find the clubhouse and you see that huge trophy, and never realised how big that trophy really was until I got there. I mean, it’s legitimately almost two-and-a-half to three feet in diameter. It’s incredible. It’s silver and it’s just amazing.
“And some of the stories there were just unbelievable. We had a great guy named Charley, the assistant pro, that gave us a little tour around the place, and it was quite amazing. I was definitely wowed by that, but hopefully as time goes on, I play three or four more times, I’ll get that out. I’ll still be an amateur, but I think I’ll be more focused on how to play golf rather than just this experience.”
Once there, he can lean on some Grade-A know-how. Phil Mickelson, the three-time Masters champion, has already agreed to give DeChambeau a spot in his Tuesday game that week, although the latter is not going to rely on that until he gets to Augusta. That said, it would represent another pinch-yourself moment.
“At least that’s what he said, I don’t know if it’s true or not, I’ve got to be careful what I say in that regard,” DeChambeau said. “But he said that and hopefully we do that, and if not still, it’s fun. He was super nice to me and gave some helpful insight when I talked to him. But that’s all that we’ve set up so far from what I’ve heard from him.”
More pressing, though, is this week’s Dubai bow. DeChambeau got a first look at the Majlis on Tuesday afternoon, and then plays a practice round with Thorbjorn Olesen Wednesday, before getting his tournament up and running alongside Edoardo Molinari and Peter Uihlein, two fellow former US Amateur Champions, the following day. Despite a little research, DeChambeau is just learning as he goes, much like he has done these past few weeks.
“I know Ernie’s won it, Rory’s won it, Henrik’s won it,” he said. “There’s been a lot of great champions that have played here and done very well.
“So I’m looking forward to putting my game up against the best in the world and seeing where I fit in right now and from that experience, I’ll definitely learn where I am and where I need to be for the Masters. So it’s kind of a great preparation for the Masters, too.”
As has the entire UAE visit, to be fair.
“I’m learning and figuring out how to talk and what to say at the right time - it’s great,” DeChambeau said. “Again, regarding the past two weeks, it’s been fun. Learned a lot, messed up a couple times, but that’s how it goes as an intern.”
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