Bryson DeChambeau's interview after Round 1 of John Deere
SILVIS, Ill. – Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the John Deere Classic with a right shoulder injury late Thursday afternoon.
Addressing a scrum of reporters with his shoulder tightly wrapped and packed in ice, he said he felt the first twinge of discomfort while hacking his ball out of the rough on the second hole. It seemed to feel okay for the most of the rest of the front nine, but flared up again on the back.
DeChambeau walked off the 16th hole after informing playing partners Davis Love III and Ryan Moore that he was too hurt to finish.
"It's really unfortunate, especially with how well I was hitting it coming into this week," DeChambeau said. "I don't know. Life just throws you curveballs and you just got to work with them. It's not fun."
He said next steps include getting the shoulder more thoroughly checked out to see if anything is torn. He said he had never had an injury like this, and that he will try to give the shoulder sufficient rest and rehabilitation to play in The Open Championship at Carnoustie next week.
"I'm not going to not make the trip," he said. "I mean, I feel like-look, I can still swing and hit a shot. I just don't feel like it would be productive to do so. I don't feel like it's going to be too long a recovery time.
"I had the same kind of thing kind of happen to me at Valspar," he added, "and it was a pretty bad injury on my back. I was able to recover and obviously finish second at Arnold Palmer, so, you know, my body is pretty resilient."
DeChambeau, who won the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide earlier this season, and before that threatened to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, is in the midst of his best season at age 24. He is 6th in the latest FedExCup standings, the highest of any player in the field at the John Deere.
“I’m not in too bad of pain with my arms down,” he said. “It’s when my elbow gets above my shoulder that it really, really doesn’t feel great.”
Cameron Morfit | PGATour.com
