Author: Dylan Dethier July 25, 2024
Bryson DeChambeau / YouTube
On Tuesday, golf’s most recent U.S. Open champion took to Twitter to clarify that the collaborative video he just released was actually filmed before the assassination attempt on his playing partner.
These are strange times. In golf, in politics and at the center of a Venn diagram that appeared in the form of a YouTube video published on Tuesday, July 23rd.
America has never had a president like Donald Trump, and professional golf has never had a man like Bryson DeChambeau. And the golf section of YouTube has never had a video like the “Break 50” challenge the two posted to DeChambeau’s page this week. To say people were intrigued is an understatement. As of Thursday afternoon, the video had been viewed more than 7 million times.
So how did this round begin? It began with the handicap debate heard around the world at the first presidential debate.
But first, some relevant backstory. Trump and DeChambeau are old friends; the two have been close for years, and DeChambeau wore Trump’s logo on his bag until 2021. After winning the 2020 U.S. Open at Winged Foot, DeChambeau’s Sunday night party was held at Trump’s club in Briarcliff Manor, New York. After winning the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst, DeChambeau toasted his victory with Eric Trump in New York. DeChambeau has played against the former president in the LIV Pro-Am and elsewhere. Their meeting was far from coincidental.
But the idea for the video came after Trump and Biden faced off on CNN. Speaking to reporters ahead of a LIV Golf UK event on Thursday, DeChambeau recounted how it all happened: His team reached out to the Biden and Trump campaigns shortly after the June 27 presidential debate between President Trump and President Biden, during which the two men went off-topic to talk about a golfing contest. Trump said Biden “can’t hit the ball 50 yards,” to which Biden retorted that he “lowered his handicap to six when he was vice president,” and the moment quickly went viral.
DeChambeau hinted at his plans in real time, suggesting a matchup between Trump and Biden. Biden didn’t accept the proposal (not surprisingly; there’s no record of him playing in recent years), but Trump, a regular at his own club, did within days. The debate was June 27. They filmed the “Break 50” challenge on July 6. A few weeks later, it was published on DeChambeau’s YouTube page, where he surpassed a milestone he’d been chasing: 1 million subscribers.
DeChambeau stressed Thursday that the video is about golf and its contents, and that it is not intended to make any political statement. That’s impossible in these divided times, but DeChambeau keeps the focus away from the polls throughout the video. (Trump is much the same, criticizing Biden early on but mostly sticking to golf-loving questions like why so many pros hit the cut with a driver and what the attack angle of DeChambeau’s putts is.)
“First of all, it’s an honor to play with someone of that influence, regardless of their political stance,” DeChambeau said Thursday. “Again, the whole purpose of this content, the content creation, was to put out unique and different content on YouTube, and showcase the golfing abilities of influencers, and he was definitely high on the list that I wanted to showcase.
“We were able to reach out to him and ask him to play and he said, ‘Of course.’ We also asked the opposing team and anyone who wanted to play. They are very willing to do something for charity.”
Part of the video was used to raise money for a wounded warrior project, DeChambeau said, which was one of the motives, as was Trump’s popularity (or notoriety, depending on how you look at it).
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“He’s obviously a guy that can get a lot of ratings and we thought it would be a great thing to showcase his golfing prowess. He’s a pretty good golfer,” DeChambeau said. “It was a lot of fun, it took a little while, but we had fun getting approval and filming it.”
[SPOILER ALERT]
The challenge involves DeChambeau and a playing partner standing on the forward tee and scrambling from there to try to break 50. They shot 22 under par for 50 on Trump Bedminster’s par-72 layout. Internet commenters were quick to criticize Trump’s unconventional putting stroke, but Trump showed off his ball-striking consistency, even making two eagles on the 210-yard par-4.
DeChambeau reiterated that he would welcome a counterpart from the political left.
“Whether it’s Obama or anyone else on that side, I’m happy to play with them. I have no problem with that. The best thing about golf is that it can be used to bring everybody together in a cool way. I think that’s the vision for global golf,” he said.
DeChambeau acknowledged the dangers involved in bringing a presidential candidate into this particular arena, saying “politicians are certainly divisive and I respect and understand that,” but discounted any deeper implications, again citing philanthropy and content.
“Our main focus was trying to keep all the politics out of it and create amazingly fun content where people can see cool, fun, entertaining shots.”
The DeChambeau vs. Trump video would have garnered plenty of attention regardless of the chronology, but it has come under even greater scrutiny given the assassination attempt that occurred a week after the match was filmed on July 13. When commenters pointed out the fact that Trump’s ear was not damaged, DeChambeau offered an explanation: The video was taken “before I traveled internationally and prior to the incident in Butler, Pennsylvania.”
To confirm and dispel any speculation, the Break 50 video Donald Trump This footage was taken the first week of July before I left for my international trip and before the incident occurred in Butler, Pennsylvania.
โ Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) July 23, 2024
But while there were plenty of smiles in the video and during his press conference on Thursday, things took a turn for the worse when DeChambeau was asked if he had political ambitions in the future.
“I mean, DJT said he’d never do it and now he’s obviously doing it. You never know how things go and it could change in the future,” DeChambeau said, grinning after noticing his LIV teammate’s incredulous reaction. “For me, probably not. I don’t think so. I plan on playing golf for the rest of my life,” he said.
“It’s horrifying to even think about it,” said Anirban Lahiri, who was sitting next to him.
“He’s struggling to run the team at the moment and not be able to do anything else,” Paul Casey added, shaking his head.
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DeChambeau is no stranger to controversy; his move from the PGA Tour to LIV was met with mixed reviews at best. But in recent months, he’s gained a new fanbase and a devoted YouTube subscriber base. As he performed at golf’s biggest events, playing in the Masters and PGA Championship before winning the U.S. Open, DeChambeau endeared himself to golf fans as a decidedly maverick showman and a breath of fresh air in a sport that needed it. In other words, it’s been a big summer for the big golfer.
Lahiri was honest in her assessment of the team’s captain and described him as one of a kind.
“I think he’s a mystery to us, to be honest,” he says. “He doesn’t really understand who he is yet.”
A certain segment of the golfing population knows what DeChambeau is: a must-see on TV, or at the very least, a must-see on YouTube.
“Bryson is obviously the best,” Lahiri says. “He’s an explosive that can go off at any time. How you interpret that statement is up to you, but it’s true in every respect.”
Seven million people would agree, and counting.
You can watch the Trump vs. Bryson video here, and watch the warm-up interview with DeChambeau below.
Dylan Dethier Golf.com Editor
Dylan Dethier is a senior writer for GOLF Magazine/GOLF.com. A native of Williamstown, Massachusetts, Dethier joined GOLF in 2017 after two tough years on the mini-tours. Dethier graduated from Williams College with a degree in English and is the author of “18 in America,” a book detailing his year as an 18-year-old living in his car and playing golf in every state.