Bryson Dechambeau says he would be “awesome” to play the Scottish Open next year as a warm up to getting a “Golden Ticket” at the 150th Open at St Andrews.
The big-hitting American signed off a disappointing and often fraught week at the Open with a five-under 65, and he thinks that he needs more learning in how to play links golf.
Hence he’s tempted to add the Scottish – likely to be back at The Renaissance in North Berwick – to his schedule in 2021.
‘I can have a better chance going into the Open’
A fantastic Final Round 65 for @b_dechambeau 👏 Ending the week with a bang #TheOpen
Follow the action 👉 https://t.co/xYY44zAFs3 pic.twitter.com/P9yorT7WRN
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 18, 2021
“This year was a little interesting,” he said. “I didn’t really know what to do with schedules.
“But hopefully I can come ( to the Scottish) next year, try and play and get acclimated earlier so I can have a better chance going into the Open. That would be awesome.
“I’ve never played St Andrews so I’m looking forward to see what I can do out there. If I can drive it really well, I think there’ll be a lot of opportunities.
“I’ve heard that. Hey, maybe next year is the Golden Ticket for me.”
The learning process into playing links golf is a long one and DeChambeau admitted that he didn’t know if he’ll ever get a handle on it. But a 65 on an Open Sunday is a good sign, he reasoned.
“Whenever you shoot 5 under at a major, it’s great,” he added. “Especially at the Open Championship when I’m not used to it and have played American golf my whole life.
“I’ve played over here a few times with not too much success. It’s great to get something under my belt ahead of next year.
“I felt like I understood a little bit more how to play Open-style golf. If I can get a little better on the greens, today I shoot 8, 9 under. It could have been a deep one today.
“I’m proud I shot 5-under. I’ll learn a lot for next year.”
‘It was cool to see how I navigated my way around’
He admitted it had taken him the first two days to figure where best to go at Royal St George’s.
“Trying to understand how to play to certain parts of the fairway to get to certain pins, mostly” he said. “I didn’t do that first two days, started to learn yesterday and today it felt pretty comfortable.
“It was cool to see how I navigated my way around the golf course and picked it apart.
“The weather was immaculate this week and I felt really comfortable with it all week. There were things that were a little tough and I didn’t practice on the range as much.”
DeChambeau had fun with the Open crowds all week, teasing them by pulling irons instead of his driver as they urged him to use his full power.
“It was great to see fans out here,” he said. “We all had a lot of fun, and it was fun getting booed out here.”