Scottie Scheffler protected his lead going into the fourth round of the PGA Championship en route to a five-stroke victory at Quail Hollow on Sunday. And while Scheffler’s performance stole the show, many golf fans were equally impressed by the kind of class Bryson DeChambeau showed in defeat on Sunday.
DeChambeau didn’t have his best stuff during the final round, barely missing a number of key putts that could have given him a chance of catching Scheffler.
In recent months, it has become more and more of a trend for golfers to skip media availability, which has especially been the case in major championships for players who come up short of winning. Some, including Shane Lowry, have even called for a “media cooldown” after rounds to allow players to process their emotions before speaking about their round with the press.
DeChambeau opted to go a different route after his round on Sunday. With the tournament clearly well in hand for Scheffler down the stretch and still on the course, DeChambeau opted to speak with CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis after his round to discuss what went wrong for him.
“Man, I just didn’t get it done,” said DeChambeau. “I gotta learn how to be a little more precise with the wind. Not let the wind affect the ball as much. It’s a tough task to do because I hit it so high and the ball just kinda moves in the air. I gotta figure that out. I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve that I’m going to be working on, hopefully bring for the U.S. Open. But, gotta get some equipment here soon.”
At the end of the interview, Balionis thanked DeChambeau for his time, hammering home the point that he didn’t have to partake in the interview and still opted to do so.
“We appreciate the time,” said Balionis. “You don’t have to take the time to do this. So we appreciate it.”
— Big TIme Sports Vids (@SuperSportsVids) May 18, 2025
Whether it was meant to be or not, some saw Balionis’ comment at the end of the interview as a dig at Rory McIlroy, who notably opted not to partake in media availability after any of his four rounds at the PGA Championship, which only made Bryson look better as a result.
Bryson even went on w Amanda. Stayed after and congratulated Scottie as well. He’s a changed dude.
— The Real BlueCo ⛳️ (@real_blueco) May 19, 2025
Do you think Amanda thanking Bryson for doing the interview was a veiled shot at Rory, esp considering McIlroy has been a very public face of the PGA? The way she said it seemed pointed
— Mark (@thirstykilla) May 18, 2025
Balionis with a not-so-subtle drive by on Rory at the end of that Bryson interview 😬
— Ben Reno (@ben_reno) May 18, 2025
Chances are, Balionis was just genuinely thankful for DeChambeau’s time and didn’t mean any ill-will towards McIlroy. After all, McIlroy is far from the only player to skip out on talking to reporters lately.
Either way, DeChambeau’s honesty about his play after what was clearly a very emotional final round of a major is further reason why he has quickly become one of the most popular golfers in the world, in addition to being one of the best.