Bryson DeChambeau’s radical transformation in his body and in his game was one of the most polarizing issues of the summer. How crazy was DeChambeau off the tee? Consider that during the five PGA Tour events since the three-month arrest of coronavirus, DeChambeau hit 29 units of at least 350 yards, by far the majority of all players. Indeed, it is more than the next two players put together. This is almost the same number of units of at least 350 yards that he had last season (30).
DeChambeau hasn’t always been off the tee for so long. It is averaging 323 yards per unit this season, up more than 20 yards (+20.5) from 302.5. He is in the process of being the first player since 2005 to increase his driving distance by 20 meters in one season. The next major increase belongs to Tiger Woods, who increased his driving distance by 14.2 meters from 2004 to 2005.
The huge distance left DeChambeau just 149.2 meters from the hole on average for his approach shots this season. He is in the process of overcoming Bubba Watson (149.8 in the 2014-15 season) for the shortest distance in one season since 2005.
Another way to see it: DeChambeau units have covered over 67% of the yardage of courses this season. This is (again) the step to overcoming Bubba Watson’s mark from 2014-15.
As for direct comparisons with Woods, DeChambeau is already on track to do something Tiger has never done: drive the PGA Tour at a driving distance. Woods finished second in driving distance in four different seasons, but never drove the field. However, compared to his peers, the peak season of distance traveled by Woods (2005) was slightly better when comparing the distances with the average of the PGA Tour. In 2005, Tiger was 27.7 yards longer than the tee than the average player; DeChambeau is currently 27.1 yards longer than the average PGA Tour so far this season.
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