US Open: Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau couldn’t blame ‘crazy’ streaker for his back nine meltdown of epic proportions

The moments before Bryson DeChambeau’s back nine meltdown included a streaker, but the defending US Open champ couldn’t explain what went wrong.

Bryson DeChambeau had a monumental US Open meltdown. Picture: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images/AFP

Defending US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau couldn’t blame a “crazy” streaker who found his way onto the 13th hole at Torrey Pines for a back nine meltdown of epic proportions.

Starting the back nine of the final round with a one-shot lead, DeChambeau started spraying shots everywhere and made two bogeys, a double and a staggering quadruple bogey eight on the 17th hole to slide down to a tie for 16th.

His implosion started with bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes, with one of his wayward shots ended up resting next to an abandoned 12-pack of beer.

The craziness then spiralled on the 13th hole when a streaker, wearing a cape and carrying clubs, found his way onto the fairway and hit a couple of his own balls before being “clotheslined” by police.

DeChambeau made a double-bogey seven on the par five but said it wasn’t a distraction and he couldn’t blame it for his monumental collapse.

“I didn’t know until I saw him, so it was kind of weird. Well, I slipped twice on 13. I mean, that was really weird. I don’t know what happened,” he said.

“Then there was a streaker that came around, and I had no idea what happened with that. I’m just glad an officer clotheslined him. That was fun. They took him down and got him out like he should be.

“Unfortunately, I had bad break after bad break happen.

US Open streaker/rogue golfer #USOpenpic.twitter.com/bZXvETdCW9

— johnpatrickscheil (@JPS5272) June 20, 2021

“But that’s the game. I’ve got to be better at not slipping because I’ve done it before but never to that extent. Two times in a row on the same hole, it was kind of weird.”

After he made a mess of the 13th, DeChambeau’s title hopes were dashed before things only got worse when he made an eight at the par four 17th after his approach spun off the green.

“I hit a great second shot – well, third shot, and the ball just spun too much,” he said.

“The wind died down and it landed short and came back off of that front edge into a really, really bad lie.

“I tried just chopping it out, and I caught the hosel just from a weird line.

“It is what it is. It‘s golf. It’s life. I’m just proud that I can hold my head right now. I’m OK. I’m all right.”

But DeChambeau said he didn’t go “off the rails”.

“I didn‘t get off the rails at all. It’s golf,” he said.

“People will say I did this or did that, and it’s just golf. I’ve had plenty of times where I hit it way worse than today and I won. It’s just one of those things where I didn’t have the right breaks happen at the right time.

“Right now, I don‘t even care. I’ve changed a lot, attitude-wise and everything. It’s frustrating in the moment when it’s happening, but afterwards for me now, I don’t really care as much. I’ve already won it.”

Everyone making a mess of the course, a streaker, and Bryson almost hits it into a case of Stella. Greatest final round ever of a #USOpenpic.twitter.com/4XNPfXX1bl

— Joe Schilling (@MillennialJoe) June 20, 2021

Originally published as US Open: Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau couldn’t blame ‘crazy’ streaker for his back nine meltdown of epic proportions