Bryson DeChambeau confronts cameraman at Rocket Mortgage Classic for doing his job
Bryson DeChambeau wasn’t happy with a cameraman at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Saturday, however the cameraman appears to have only been doing his job.
DeChambeau — who shot a 5-under 67 in the third round at Detroit Golf Club and sits just three back of leader Matthew Wolff headed into Sunday — had to pitch out of a greenside bunker on No. 7.
The shot wasn’t great, and DeChambeau swung his club into the sand after out of frustration.
His anger, however, didn’t stop there.
DeChambeau took issue with a cameraman who followed his movements with his camera as he walked up to the green and marked his ball after the shot — which is exactly his job. And with nothing else happening at the hole then, it’s not like the cameraman was missing out on another critical moment, either.
DeChambeau even confronted the cameraman after he had finished the hole.
Bryson running a little hot. Caught up with him on 7 where he took a Sergio slash at the sand after splashing out of a greenside bunker, muttered an expletive after missing the par save and spent 60 seconds in a...testy discussion with a cameraman on his way to 8 tee. pic.twitter.com/ENjQt1U689
— Will Gray (@WillGrayGC) July 4, 2020
“He was literally watching me the whole entire way up after getting out of the bunker, walking up next to the green. And I just was like, ‘Sir, what is the need to watch me that long?’” DeChambeau said after the round, via the Golf Channel. “I mean, I understand it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do.”
DeChambeau has five career wins on Tour, most recently at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last season. The 26-year-old has finished T8 or better in the three PGA Tour events held since play resumed after the COVID-19 hiatus last month, too, and is currently No. 10 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
DeChambeau said he felt as if the cameraman was trying to paint him in a bad light, and that could have damaged his brand — even though he was the one who reacted poorly after his shot.
“As much as we’re out here performing, I think it’s necessary that we have our times of privacy as well when things aren’t going our way. I mean, we’re in the spotlight, but if somebody else is in the spotlight they wouldn’t want that either,” DeChambeau said, via the Golf Channel. “I feel like when you’re videoing someone and you catch Tiger [Woods] at a bad time, you show him accidentally doing something, or someone else, they’re just frustrated because they really care about the game. It could really hurt them if they catch you at a potentially vulnerable time.
“We don’t mean anything by it, we just care a lot about the game. For that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool in the way we act because if you actually meet me in person, I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think.”
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