Tour News

Bryson DeChambeau catches heat from PGA Tour players after WD

Published

9 years ago

Feb 22, 2017

So far in 2017, Bryson DeChambeau has been struggling on the course. He’s missed three consecutive cuts and was on his way to a fourth MC when he withdrew from the Genesis Open through 28 holes.

DeChambeau, who received a sponsor’s exemption to play in the event, cited a hand injury as the official reason for calling it quits. This is important to mention because while WDs are far from rare on the PGA Tour — DeChambeau was one of six golfers to withdraw from the Genesis Open alone — they’re usually from players who have qualified to play in the event, not those who were given a spot in the field by tournament sponsors.

Anyway, DeChambeau’s decision to walk off the course caused fellow PGA Tour player Grayson Murray to Tweet the following:

Hey @PGATOUR there should be a rule if you get a sponsor invite and withdraw after 28 holes your not allowed any other invites rest of year

— Grayson Murray (@GraysonMurray) February 17, 2017

A classic “subtweet” from Murray. For those who don’t keep up with Twitter, a subtweet is talking about someone behind their back and usually has a negative connotation. He could have avoided his “subtweet” by simply adding DeChambeau’s twitter handle.

In a real world context, Murray essentially walked into PGA Tour headquarters without talking to DeChambeau and told them he believes DeChambeau — and all players receiving sponsor’s invites who WD during an event — should no longer be allowed the privilege of an invite.

Now, we don’t know what has gone on behind closed doors between the two, or if DeChambeau’s WD was really due to a hand injury or simply poor play, but a vicious subtweet nonetheless.

To pile on DeChambeau and his decision, it seems professionals fellow professionals are taking Murray’s side.

Screen Shot 2017-02-22 at 2.46.53 PM Screen Shot 2017-02-22 at 2.47.07 PM

(After speaking with Chris Wilson, he would like to make it known that the tweet below was not meant to take Murray’s side, but rather insisting injury is a legitimate reason for a WD.)

Screen Shot 2017-02-22 at 2.47.17 PM

DeChambeau is next set to tee it up at The Honda Classic this week unless injuries keep him sidelined. Grayson Murray will also be in the field.

Whose side are you on?

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Andrew Tursky

He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

36 Comments

Jinx

Feb 26, 2017 at 2:10 pm

A guy named Grayson criticizes a guy named Bryson. Damn entitled Milennials!

Reply Report comment
Jim

Feb 24, 2017 at 2:26 pm

HooYah Bubba!

Reply Report comment
Steve Wozeniak

Feb 24, 2017 at 1:15 pm

Take two aspirin…….keep playing……..simple

Reply Report comment
Jack Nash

Feb 24, 2017 at 8:59 am

Again, another cadre of whiners show their displeasure from another’s injury withdrawal. If the whiners were any good, or had the persona they would be golfing instead of tweeting.

Reply Report comment
Miuralovechild

Feb 23, 2017 at 11:00 pm

I honestly have a hard time watching his swing. Anyone else? To me it just seems awkward. That putting stroke he had was even worse. If I was on tour and got paired with him I would have to look away during every stroke he made. I would also have to bite my bleeping tongue to keep from busting up in front of everyone on tv while he was trying to make a putt. I would keep my back facing toward him at all times. Too early to say if he has a character flaw, but the data suggests he’s trending in the wrong direction.

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Brian

Feb 23, 2017 at 1:05 pm

Agree wtih Grayson here. Taking a sponsor’s exemption and then WD takes a spot away from another golf who actually, you know, earned a spot with his play.

Reply Report comment
Pierce

Feb 23, 2017 at 12:53 pm

Never liked DeChambeau after he verbally tore apart his caddie at the Masters last year for no reason after he shanked two in a row left off the 18th tee. He takes cues from Jordan on how to give an interview and play the part of the good guy, but true colors came out when he didn’t realize the cameras were catching audio. Probably the worst treatment of a caddie I have seen in years.

Reply Report comment
- gunmetal
  
  Feb 23, 2017 at 2:18 pm
  
  Is this anywhere on the web? I couldn’t find it. I heard Jordan barking at Grellar but it didn’t seem bad at all.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Eric
    
    Feb 24, 2017 at 9:48 am
    
    That’s all it was. There are so many Bryson haters out there they literally make up stories and exaggerate everything he does so they feel more justified in hating him. It’s really mind boggling the lengths these people go to
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Golfpro
      
      Feb 24, 2017 at 10:09 am
      
      Not sure if the video is online but he did give his caddie the business for no reason, and it was rough. I think it was the second round, he yanked two drives into an uncomfortable wind off the last tee which led to a triple bogey that dropped him from tied for second to tied for eighth, four shots behind. I’d be pissed too. He could have handled that better, no doubt.
      
      Reply Report comment
Steve

Feb 23, 2017 at 12:37 pm

I like how Chris Wilson “completely agreed,” but then he tried to backdown from it when asked. Hey genius, you already said “unless injury or emergency” in the main tweet. If you were ACTUALLY trying to just say that injury was a legit excuse for a WD, you would’ve just said that instead of “completely agreeing” with Murray while supposedly not actually agreeing with him. Gotta love trying to play both sides.

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Chris

Feb 23, 2017 at 8:05 am

Twitter…..what a bunch of girls.

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Radim Pavlicek

Feb 23, 2017 at 1:53 am

Group them together in a flight Honda tournament

Reply Report comment
- Lob Wedge
  
  Feb 24, 2017 at 11:20 am
  
  Golfer Fight!
  
  5 men walk in, 5 walk out with slap marks.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Jim
    
    Feb 24, 2017 at 2:24 pm
    
    Oddly similar to NBA fights….whole lotta swingin n missin….
    
    Reply Report comment
Engineer Steve

Feb 22, 2017 at 11:59 pm

Single length irons may sound good but they are scientifically flawed for full set performance.
There is no way to compensate the loft or lie to overcome the deficiency of single length irons as it relates to distance and trajectory.
Of course, it’s a good marketing scam to snag golfers who blame their clubs for their incompetence, and never ever themselves.

Reply Report comment
- Scott
  
  Feb 24, 2017 at 10:19 am
  
  What does single length irons have to do with a WD? Unless all single length players get injured and WD. Now you are on to something…
  
  Reply Report comment
- DaveT
  
  Feb 27, 2017 at 10:08 pm
  
  They do lose a bit of range over the set, if nothing is done with the lofts to deal with it. Lots of things can and have been done. If you’re interested in the science, see my article at for an overview. Personal opinion: they serve a need, but few Tour players have that need.
  
  Reply Report comment
WolfWRX

Feb 22, 2017 at 9:03 pm

Tweets, subtweets. He said this. He said that. It’s all rather unbecoming and worthy of a bunch of teenage girls.

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Dr Troy

Feb 22, 2017 at 7:50 pm

I could totally understand Murray’s frustrations IF he could truly prove the WD wasnt injury/emergency related…Which I doubt he could ever prove. Otherwise, keep your mouth shut and mind your biz. No one needs to open a can of worms like this unless there is absolutely no doubt.

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- emb
  
  Feb 23, 2017 at 10:16 am
  
  DeScambeau posted a pic on twitter of his hand which was apparently the reason for his WD. It had a bit of tape on it around a couple fingers but there was nothing visible to show he was injured other than a lame caption about him hitting too many balls or something. I believe this was also around the time the euro tour posted a pic of alex noren’s ridiculous calluses. Basically appears bryson was making an excuse for the bad weather and his poor play and you’d have to take his word for it that he was injured because it certainly didn’t look like anything that would stop him playing 8 more holes.
  
  P.S. Bubba also withdrew after a double took him to +5 but he’s a known whiner and past champ who’s not taking anyones spot so he’s “earned” the right to WD when he wants
  
  Reply Report comment
Randel

Feb 22, 2017 at 5:34 pm

Bryson proves week in and week out a single plane, single club length way of playing does not cut it on the PGA tour….as with other great single planners like Moe Norman, great on the range but do not put pressure on it…as Norman saw when he tried to play the PGA tour. Bryson is smart it should not take him long to figure out why 95% or better of PGA Pros have a very similar swing.

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- David
  
  Feb 22, 2017 at 6:58 pm
  
  Lol good one.
  So Ben hogan was no good?
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Tom
    
    Feb 22, 2017 at 7:45 pm
    
    Bazinga!
    
    Reply Report comment
  - Simms
    
    Feb 23, 2017 at 7:31 pm
    
    Ben Hogans swing was nothing like DeChambeau is using, Hogan would be closer to Tiger Woods then Dechambeau….when the body moves as much as Hogan’s did it is impossible to be one plane…just Hogans hand position at setup and impact is enough to remove it from a single plane swing…..
    
    Reply Report comment
- Bigly Yuge
  
  Feb 23, 2017 at 3:20 am
  
  Actually, his ballstriking has never been in question. It’s the tinkering that he does with putting that will be his downfall. You have to get the ball in the hole, no matter how good a ballstriker you are.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Brian
    
    Feb 23, 2017 at 1:04 pm
    
    I think that, along with the putting, what is going to really hurt him is the inability to drastically work the ball left and right with a single-plane swing.
    
    Reply Report comment
    - Zach Johnson's Claret Jug
      
      Feb 23, 2017 at 3:41 pm
      
      I’d like a word with you, Brian.
      
      Reply Report comment
- Steve S
  
  Feb 25, 2017 at 5:12 pm
  
  Norman’s struggles on the PGA tour were not due his ball striking but he was not a good putter. His putting got better later in his career when he exclusively played on the Canadian Tour. Moe didn’t use single length clubs(although he may have experimented with them). Trevino, Tiger, Snead, Vijay, Venturi and others called Moe the “best ball striker they’d ever seen”. So his swing was not the problem. His putting and probable Autism held him back.
  
  Reply Report comment
Steve

Feb 22, 2017 at 4:36 pm

Murray has a history of derogatory tweets.

Reply Report comment
Barry

Feb 22, 2017 at 3:58 pm

Greyson Murray? Who?

Reply Report comment
- Silky Johnson
  
  Feb 22, 2017 at 4:12 pm
  
  Someone who is far ahead of “the scientist” in FedEx Cup points.
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Steve S
    
    Feb 26, 2017 at 12:40 pm
    
    But still missed the cut like BD at the Honda Classic….of the two what are the odds anyone will remember Murray over DeChambeau….
    
    Reply Report comment
Toad2017

Feb 22, 2017 at 3:48 pm

Andrew, can you give us an update on your Sterling iron long term test?
Thank you

Reply Report comment
- Scott
  
  Feb 23, 2017 at 10:07 am
  
  Toad,
  I woudl like hear the update also. There are a few reviews on line with the Sterling and the Cobras. The over all reviews were good. In general, the gapping and distances seemed fine. The issue that I saw with more than one player was that the long irons launched lower than desired and the high lofted clubs launched higher than desired.
  
  Reply Report comment
DeShamBeau

Feb 22, 2017 at 3:47 pm

Grayson and Bryson have the same agent too, which is funny. Bryson walking on very thin ice with the tour too. Has been fined a couple times already.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.