DUBLIN, Ohio – Bryson DeChambeau knew he was in for a long climb back.
He hadn't played competitively since shooting a second-round 80 to miss the cut at the Masters, after which he underwent surgery on a fractured hamate bone in his left hand about 90 minutes southwest of Columbus on April 14. Not until this week, at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday at Muirfield Village, where he won in 2018, could he even play without pain.
The fact that he shot 76-77 to miss the cut? He was sort of expecting it.
“I hit it down the fairway,” he said of his first shot in competition in nearly two months. “I was, like, all right, cool. Still have my game somewhat. As the day went on, there were some mis-hits and shots that just didn't feel right. With my golf swing, hand felt great. No issues with that.
“But it just didn't feel like the old me of 2018 like I used to,” he added, “and so there's a lot of work I have to do to get back to top form and climb that mountain again. I'm excited to do so.”