LIV Golf star Phil Mickelson has admitted that he always learns new things when he watches or plays with Bryson Dechambeau. DeChambeau, 30, is still celebrating his recent US Open triumph, which saw him chase down Rory McIlroy, who was leading by two shots at Pinehurst with five holes to play.
McIlroy's horrendous conclusion to the final round saw him make three bogeys in the final four holes to allow the California native back in. DeChambeau showed his excellence with a fantastic 50-yard escape from a bunker - that he described as "the shot of my life" - which was soon followed up with a magnificent four-foot putt. It allowed DeChambeau to overhaul McIlroy and win the US Open for the second time in his career.
Mickelson, who has won six majors over the course of his career, has been in awe of DeChambeau's form over the last few months. So much so that he finds himself learning all sorts of new things when he is in the same company as the two-time major winner.
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“So, I played terrible and I went back home and watched it and it was riveting,” Mickelson said in an interview with LIV Golf when asked about his thoughts on the US Open. “I think Bryson is the most charismatic and fun player to watch in the game today.
“He comes at the game in such a different way. He’s exciting because he hits it so far, but he’s also exciting because he connects with the fans and he has this great energy and I’ve always seen this in him and enjoyed being around him. I learn a lot when I’m with him. So watching him play and come down the stretch and seeing the way he attacked that golf course and dominated it was really impressive.”
While DeChambeau was magnificent, Mickelson struggled at Pinehurst. The golf legend carded a round that was filled with bogeys at the start of the major. His Friday performance was not much better as he recorded a birdie-free round that was made up of another four bogeys and a double bogey on the 18th hole.
His scorecard meant he missed the cut at the major championship for just the seventh time in his career. When he looks back on his recent display at Pinehurst and what DeChambeau has been able to do, Mickelson said that his thoughts on the sport are expanded.
When the interviewer said to him that DeChambeau is doing exactly what Mickelson did in his early career years, the 54-year-old said: “I’ve come at the game in a different way as well. But not as scientific as Bryson.
“I learn a lot when I talk to him and I really enjoy listening to him. As a player you have to decide, ‘Does this apply to my game or not?’ There’s a lot of ways to be successful, there’s a lot of ways as long as you’re going north and as long as you’re working forward, there’s a lot of paths to get there.
“What you don’t want to do is keep going sideways like, ‘Oh, I’ll try this and I’ll try that’. You want to stay on your path and go that way. So my path was always a little bit different, but I stayed on it and had success.
“Bryson’s path is very different and he’s staying on it. He’s having tremendous success and there are a lot of paths that will get you there. But you need to stay on your own personal path. He’s so exciting because it’s so different and unique from everybody else in the game."
