Most PGA golfers don’t regularly hit the ball with enough power to compete in the Professional Long Drivers Association World Championships. Bryson DeChambeau, however, isn’t most PGA golfers. The 28-year-old advanced to the PLDA World Championship’s second round on Tuesday, only two days after he led the U.S. to a Ryder Cup win.
On Day 1 of the PLDA Championship in Mesquite, Nev., DeChambeau sent five of his 30 drives 400 yards or longer to place second among his 16-man group. His longest shot went 412 yards, only one yard shy of groupmate Scottie Pearman’s long of 413 and Josh Cassaday’s field-leading 417. DeChambeau accounted for four of his group’s 11 400-plus yard drives.
“I felt like I just won something today, I won a big PGA tournament, even though I just qualified for the next day, because it’s my first time,” DeChambeau told ESPN. “Being out there the first set was a little nerve-wracking for me, I wasn’t comfortable. But going through the second, third, fourth, fifth, I just got more comfortable as time went on.”
DeChambeau hopes to carry that comfort into the rest of the tournament. On Wednesday he’ll compete against 59 others for a spot in Thursday’s penultimate round, where he’ll have a shot to qualify for Friday’s final round.
The PGA’s most powerful golfer, DeChambeau led the PGA Tour with a 323.7-yard driving average with a long of 414 in 2021. DeChambeau, the No. 7 golfer in the World Golf Rankings, won the U.S. Open in Sept. 2020.
DeChambeau will face stiff competition over the coming rounds, most notably in top-ranked long driver Kyle Berkshire. Berkshire, 24, is the defending PLDA champion and led the field with a drive of 455 yards on Tuesday, hitting five others past 430.
