DeChambeau's last two worldwide starts have seen him miss the cut in one and withdraw mid-tournament from the other due to injury; former US Open champion faces a race to be fit for The Players next week, live on Sky Sports' dedicated Players channel
Wednesday 2 March 2022 15:08, UK
Bryson DeChambeau's start to 2022 has been plagued by injury, but how concerned should the golfing world be about the former US Open champion's fitness struggles?
DeChambeau withdrew from this week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, live on Sky Sports, with the American still struggling with a left wrist injury that has hampered his early-season schedule.
The 28-year-old has teed it up just twice on the PGA Tour so far in 2022, posting a tied-25th finish at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and missing the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open while clearly experiencing discomfort during his early exit.
DeChambeau withdrew from the Sony Open between those two events and then had to pull out mid-tournament from the Saudi International on the Asian Tour in early February, where he said "speed training and whatnot" had taken "a toll on the muscular structure".
He posted on Instagram shortly afterwards to say that "everyone needs to chill" about his injury status, insisting the issues were "not from hitting it far", although he subsequently elected against competing at the Genesis Invitational.
DeChambeau was expected to return to defend his title at Bay Hill, the most recent of his eight PGA Tour titles, a victory memorable for the way he sent social media into a frenzy with his tee shots at the par-five sixth.
Hitting a 370-yard carry, over water, on successive days over the weekend helped DeChambeau finish a shot clear of Lee Westwood, although a dip in form since has seen him post just four worldwide top-10s over the past 12 months.
The past year has seen DeChambeau push his body further with speed training, "wrecking his hands" preparing for his debut in the World Long Drive Championship - where he generated a 219mph ball speed on his way to a seventh-placed finish, while recently he has dropped outside the world's top 10 after his limited starts on the PGA Tour.
DeChambeau released a video on social media to explain his reason for withdrawing from the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where he said: "I have a lot of work to do to get everything back into order and I just feel like it's too short a time for me to get back to 100 per cent and playing at 100 per cent capacity.
"Right now, I'm like 90 per cent. I don't want to go out there and hurt myself even more, and not be 100 per cent ready for the rest of the season. I don't want to come back early and then have to take more time off. It's a hard decision I have to make right now, but I'm going to have to unfortunately not play."
"I'm going to try and get back and play for The Players," DeChambeau said, without committing that he will be able to tee it up at the PGA Tour's flagship event next week.
"Right now, I just can't risk going out there and having it reaggravate. This has been one of the hardest moments of my life. I'm not able to do much, yes although I can hit some golf balls, it's not comfortable or fully comfortable."
Should DeChambeau be unable to feature at TPC Sawgrass, live on Sky Sports' dedicated Players channel, then attention will turn to The Masters and the opportunity an end a disappointing run of results at Augusta National.
The opening men's major of the year is little over a month away and takes place at a venue where DeChambeau has yet to match his own expectations, failing to post a top-20 finish in any of his five previous appearances.
DeChambeau famously made a rod for his own back ahead of the 2020 contest, when he declared that his added length meant he was treating the Georgia layout as a par-67, only to then stutter to a tied-34 finish.
His fortunes didn't improve in last year's contest, where he admitted "you can never figure this place out" as he laboured to a share of 46th, an outcome which suggests DeChambeau will need to negotiate more than just fitness concerns to contend for the green jacket.
When will DeChambeau return to action? Watch the 2022 PGA Tour season live on Sky Sports Golf.
