Bryson DeChambeau plays practice round, appears ready for PGA Championship after wrist surgery
TULSA, Okla. -- Bryson DeChambeau appears likely to tee it up in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills on Thursday, marking his return to competitive golf after missing more than a month while he recovered from surgery to repair a bone in his left wrist.
DeChambeau, 28, has been out of action since early April, missing the cut at last month's Masters, the first major of the season, after carding a 12-over total in the first two rounds. He elected to have surgery on his left wrist to repair a fractured hook of the hamate bone. The typical recovery is four to six weeks.
"I'm proud of the fact that I'm here," DeChambeau said in an interview with Golf Channel. "I'm proud I've been able to persevere through it. I've had a lot of stuff going on recently and the game has not been a fun thing for me, so I'm excited to get back and give it another shot. Everybody deserves a second chance."
Asked during his practice round how his left wrist was feeling, DeChambeau was coy: "It's still attached."
He signed autographs and took selfies with fans for 10 minutes during the long wait between some holes. DeChambeau seemed to be in good spirits, joking and chatting with his playing partner, Anirban Lahiri.
DeChambeau also spent the day hitting multiple shots off different tees at Southern Hills, working the ball in different directions as he tested out his wrist. He bombed several drives while playing the back nine, showing no signs of pain.
Related Stories
On the 14th hole, a par-3 that plays 230 yards, he hit a low draw with a 6-iron into the front bunker, then immediately dropped a second ball in mild frustration. On his second attempt, he hit a high draw into the middle of the green. There appeared to be no hesitation at impact, even when hitting off the firm turf.
DeChambeau, who won the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, has fallen to 22nd in the Official World Golf Ranking (down from No. 5 at his peak) and is 219th in FedEx Cup points. He missed the cut in three of his past four starts and has just one top-25 finish in five starts this season.
In 2020, he finished fourth at the PGA Championship at Harding Park, his best finish at a major outside his U.S. Open win at Winged Foot.
Related Stories
ABC News Live