PGA Championship: Big Game Bryson Eyeing Third Major Triumph
Ben Smith 
It's major week once again in the world of golf, and all eyes will be on Rory McIlroy following his Masters and Grand Slam triumph in Augusta in April.
But one man who faded quickly into the background on that final day and will be hoping to be front and centre once again is Bryson DeChambeau, who is no stranger to the spotlight of the golf world.
Free Bets golf expert Ben Smith has had a closer look at the second major of the year and the personalities involved.
Nobody has more attention on them heading into this week’s PGA Championship than Quail Hollow specialist Rory McIlroy.
Scottie Scheffler sits alongside the 2025 Masters winner at the top of the betting board and is heavily fancied by online bookmakers to add to his trophy cabinet.
The world number one won at a canter at TPC Craig Ranch at the start of May, but he is not the only two-time major winner arriving in Charlotte off the back of a victory. On the same weekend as Scheffler’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson success, Bryson DeChambeau made six birdies on the back nine on Sunday at LIV Golf Korea to notch his first title since last year’s US Open.
Despite an 11-month absence from the winner’s circle, DeChambeau has been in terrific form. With his LIV record in 2025 featuring finishes of 2-5-10-20-18-6, it was hardly a surprise that the 31-year-old finally got one over the line at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea.
Distance has been a hallmark of DeChambeau’s game since his significant physical transformation during COVID. Now, though, he possesses a complete skillset that has seen him become one of the most consistent players not just on the LIV Tour, but also in majors.
After his breakthrough win at the 2020 US Open, DeChambeau struggled to contend on golf’s biggest stages. He missed the cut at Augusta in both 2022 and 2023, and aside from a backdoor top-10 at the 2022 Open Championship, the American was largely a non-factor at the majors until he had nearly a full year on the LIV Golf circuit behind him.
DeChambeau held the lead after the opening round of the 2023 PGA Championship and went on to finish T4, a result that gave him something to build on. He backed it up with two LIV Golf wins in quick succession later that year, though even those triumphs didn’t fully foreshadow his remarkable performances in subsequent majors.
An opening round 65 at Augusta saw DeChambeau sit atop the 2024 Masters leaderboard through 18 holes, and he held onto a share of the lead through 36 holes before ultimately coming T6.
A runner-up berth followed at the PGA Championship in Valhalla, but it was DeChambeau’s US Open victory at Pinehurst that catapulted him to superstardom. He prevailed in a Sunday showdown with McIlroy that week, confirming that he possessed an elite mentality on top of the world-class attributes.
This year’s Masters saw the rivalry renewed as they went out as the final pairing. McIlroy, famously, came out on top. Still, for DeChambeau, it was a fourth major finish of T6 or better in five attempts since the start of 2024, and it is hard to imagine him not contending towards the top again this weekend.
DeChambeau played the Truist Championship twice at Quail Hollow, posting a T9 in 2021 and a fourth-place in 2018. He putted superbly on both occasions, and if he does so again at the PGA Championship, it could be ominous for the other contenders.
