Bryson DeChambeau finds himself in an unfamiliar position of not being among the immediate pre-tournament favourites at the US Open, having seen his major stock tumble during a turbulent start to the year.
The two-time US Open champion has missed the cut in the first two majors of the year, despite posting six top-10 major finishes - including back-to-back seconds at the PGA Championship - over the previous two seasons.
DeChambeau continues to perform on LIV Golf and is already a two-time winner in the league in 2026, although arrives at Shinnecock Hills with uncertainty continuing over the circuit - and his own - long-term future as the previously Saudi-backed tour seeks new investment.
The 32-year-old has previously admitted to putting extra pressure on himself to perform in the majors, while DeChambeau has also been heavily involved in conversations off the course to help LIV Golf continue beyond the end of this season.
"He has, from the players side, been the driving force in it," fellow LIV Golf player Laurie Canter told the Your Site Golf podcast. "He's wanting to meet other players, present visions, and I know he has been a huge part of the planning process.
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"Through the YouTube stuff, he can see how global and how wide he can grow the game with his platform. He is probably in quite a unique position to do that, because he's willing to give more of himself than others are.
"He does believe in it [team golf] because he personally sees the impact he is having. He is all in on it and I know he is on calls daily, which wouldn't work for most other golfers - to have that distraction going on."
When DeChambeau returned to last year's US Open as defending champion and inside the world's top 10, few would have predicted the dramatic drop off in major results that was to follow over the next 12 months.
DeChambeau had edged out Rory McIlroy in a dramatic finish to the 2024 edition at Pinehurst No 2, securing a second US Open title in five years, then started 2025 by following a career-best finish at The Masters by ending runner-up at the PGA Championship for the second successive year.
He struggled off the tee and on the greens during an early exit at the US Open, ending three strokes below the cut mark, then stuttered to an opening-round 78 at The Open a month later before rallying to an unlikely top-10 finish.
A final-hole triple-bogey saw him miss the cut at The Masters before he failed to reach the weekend at the PGA Championship last month, opening with a six-over 76, leaving DeChambeau now looking to avoid three consecutive major missed cuts for the first time.
"Being in flux, I think it has hurt a lot of players' games," Golf Channel's Brandel Chamblee said in a media call ahead of the US Open. "When they [others] were considering going to LIV, we saw a number of gains just inexplicably fall off.
"Maybe that is the larger point of what's going on with Bryson this year, is that he's completely in a state of flux. He'd put so much in to LIV and now there's a lot of doubt as to where he's going to be next year.
"His iron play hasn't been good [in majors] and his short game has been atrocious."
DeChambeau has five top-11 finishes in his last six starts on LIV Golf, including two wins and two thirds, despite continuing to experiment with his equipment - including implementing 3D printed irons - during the season.
The former major champion looks set to switch to a different driver ahead of this week's major, with DeChambeau constantly looking at new ways in all parts of his game to find areas for improvement.
"What Bryson does is authentic to him and doesn't make sense to a lot of people," Canter added. "Ultimately, in his own mind, he has to tick these boxes and perhaps turn over stones that other people wouldn't even consider stones.
"I think that's part of his process and when it aligns for him, he's as good as anyone. You can perhaps make cases for this [Shinnecock Hills] not being the best venue for him, but when he's aligned and ready and it's working, he's good under pressure.
"His putting holds up under pressure and he's able to win and compete at the biggest stages, so I think he's a really dangerous person to write-off. It will be interesting to see what version of him will turn up.
"If he gets his duck in a row, then he's a pretty dangerous player."
Scottie Scheffler has the opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam this week and Rory McIlroy chases a second major victory of the season, while a DeChambeau victory would see him join Tiger Woods as the only three-time US Open champion this century.
"If we all had to sit here and name the five most talented players in the game of golf, surely you'd throw Rory [McIlroy] in there and Scottie [Scheffler], but I mean, you'd have to throw Bryson's name in there," Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk said on a media call.
"I realise this year at this point has not been too snappy, but he seems to find a way. I wouldn't hold it against him, with his talent level, that, work ethic, for him to have a good week."
Furyk added: "He [DeChambeau] might go and just tear it up at Shinnecock - we don't know. That's the beauty of live golf, of the tournament itself, is we all want to tune in and watch these stories and see them unfold."
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