SAN FRANCISCO – In the middle of Day 2 at the PGA Championhip, Cameron Champ and Bryson DeChambeau finished at number 1 and 2 respectively, at driving distance.
Philosophically though, the two were worlds apart on how to play TPC Harding Park.
Although DeChambeau said earlier this week that Harding Park was a course that could be overwhelmed, he made up that assessment on Friday after a second round 70.
“I can’t really let him rip here this week,” said DeChambeau, who follows Champ by 4 yards with a driving average of 318.3 yards. “I feel the rough is too penalizing and I’m trying to keep it in the fairway. Sometimes the risk isn’t really worth the reward. “
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Part of DeChambeau’s reluctance to unleash the “Kraken” is likely based on his Friday play. He hit only 4 of the 14 fairways and struggled to recover when he found the thick rough.
Champ, who bounced back on Friday with a 6-under 64 tie for fourth place, had a very different outlook.
“I’m a lot busier than trying to hit a little low-cut driver,” said Champ, who was more adept off the tee during round two, hitting nine fairways and leading the field in earned shots: tee “Usually every the time I swing harder it gets straighter, and today it showed. “
