Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open in dramatic fashion on Sunday.
Darren Riehl for GOLF PINEHURST, N.C. — Bryson DeChambeau returned to the real world with a deep breath.
It was close to an hour after the moment of his life, and the energy around him had only amplified. A TV interview. Two TV interviews.
A lengthy trophy celebration. A lap around the few thousand fans still in attendance. A press conference.
And then, for the first time, silence. He paused for just a second as the crowd filled in around him, beginning the walk up the ramp away from the Pinehurst driving range to the afterparty, a grin stapled across his suddenly lovable face. The reality washed over him.
He’d done it. He’d delivered the shot of his life, drained the winning putt and etched his way further into golf history. He’d enchanted the crowds and the golf gods and the roundhouse kick of a golf course, and he’d won the U.
S. Open for the second time. Good god it was sweet.
If you’d like to believe the best in someone, victory is a tremendous judge of character. A player’s behavior in the wake of a win is about as revealing of their truest self as the rest of us in the wake of a root canal. Add a television camera or a microphone, and you’ll see your already-good odds of best behavior go to 100 percent.
If a hero is what you want, a hero is what you’ll get. To see Bryson DeChambeau on Sunday evening was to see a hero. It was to see the version of him that is thoughtful and charmi.
