19th Hole
Bryson DeChambeau explains why you should start TOPPING the ball on the range
In an 11 minute interview from the range at the third LIV event, Bryson DeChambeau talks about the recovery of his hand injury, his long drive impetus, how he is helping set up a multi-sport complex, and how he tops the ball in practice. On purpose.
LIV reporter Troy Mullins caught up with the 2020 US Open champion for a chat about “anything and everything,” before watching him warm up with a 7-iron – “chipping.”
“What distance is chipping for you?” she asks, and finds the answer is no surprise. “7-iron….205…then I go start hitting it …220…220 yards.”
Bryson freely runs through his routine in a thoroughly engaging piece, even saying that sometimes he enjoys topping the ball, just “clipping it….for radius control,” before saying he is “kidding, by the way.”
Or is he?
The next minute-or-so sees the 28-year-old go through a ‘topping’ routine – he taps the top of the ball to “kind of give my brain an awareness of where that is,” before inviting Troy to hit the perfect top, which she pulls off first try.
She asks, “What does that do for the average player?” and Bryson answers it gives an “awareness of where the bottom of the club is.”
The BDC philosophy is that golfers chunking the ball do not have an awareness of where the bottom of the arc is, and shows us a “low, running top” and a short one. Hey, this is Bryson. He does it his way.
“I know it’s a crazy drill. People think I’m nuts for it, but I’ve done it since I was a kid.” says the seven-time PGA Tour winner. “We [Bryson’s old coach Mike Schy] did it all the time. We did it at the US Junior.”
Troy then asks how Bryson is “doing with your hand?” before he removes his glove to show the scar.
“It’s definitely better. It’s not 100 percent, but it’s getting there.”
Given he finished eighth in the final major of the year – the 150th Open Championship – he sure looks to be coming back to top form.
With the first half of 2022 being basically a washout, he returned to form at St. Andrews when ranking top-10 in strokes-gained off-the-tee, approaches and tee-to-green, his best figures on the main tours for nearly a year.
Bryson says his hand is at around “80 percent strength compared to his right hand, but a couple of weeks ago it was 60 percent.” It’s slow, but it’s getting there.
When Bryson originally signed for LIV, he mentioned it was a “business decision” and, in the interview, he confirms his intention to open a multi-sport complex.
“It started with a vision of the long drive, in the beginning, and from that I said, ‘Why not do it for every sport?’ Create a high-performance centre for every sport, but also allow the public to come and utilize the facilities.”
The plan is to have a membership type of programme but also allow the public access to a facility that will have long-drive grids, driving ranges, baseball fields, soccer fields..basketball courts, and to start to grow and develop the area of Dallas in that regard.”
Implementing the idea is not far off.
“We are acquiring the land here, hopefully by the end of this year, and then will be going forward after that.”
Bryson agrees with Troy, herself a long-drive competitor, that training as a youngster should involve more than, “golf, golf, golf, golf, golf,” clearly wishing to see his vision allow multi-sports to be a key in the building of all-round strength and power, rather than just golf-specific training.
Bryson has his detractors, and not everyone will agree with him, but this is an interview that shows a very human side to a player formally seen as very robotic.
Yes, we have the ubiquitous few minutes of Bryson getting to 205/206mph ball speed, but the interview doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s certainly far more engaging that many of the pressers wrapped in controversy from the last two months!
More from the 19th Hole
19th Hole
How much each player won at the 2026 Masters
Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.
With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.
For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.
- 1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
- 2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
- T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
- T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
- T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
- T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
- T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
- T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
- T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
- T9: Max Homa, $630,00
- 11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
- T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
- T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
- T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
- T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
- T12: Jason Day, $427,500
- T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
- T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
- T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
- T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
- T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
- T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
- T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
- T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
- T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
- T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
- T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
- T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
- T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
- T30: Harris English, $146,250
- T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
- T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
- T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
- T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
- T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
- T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
- T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
- T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
- T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
- T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
- T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
- T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
- T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
- T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
- 46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
- 47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
- 48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
- T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
- T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
- 51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
- 52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
- 53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
- 54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300
19th Hole
CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans
While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.
There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.
Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:



This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V
— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026
It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.
19th Hole
The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances
Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.
Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.
Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:
“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”
The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:
“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”
That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:
“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”

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