58 reasons why ‘rock star’ Bryson DeChambeau should play in the 2023 Ryder Cup 

Bryson DeChambeau might just have provided 58 reasons for his inclusion in the American team for the 2023 Ryder Cup. He hit the fourth 58 in professional golf to win his first LIV tournament in West Virginia on Sunday.

It followed a 61 and concluded with a 40 footer for birdie. If that does not scream “Hello, I’m here” to United States skipper Zach Johnson, DeChambeau might as well take up fishing.

The deconstruction of the Old White course at the Greenbrier was DeChambeau’s first victory since 2021, the year he won the US Open at Winged Foot to threaten a new way of playing.

In the end, DeChambeau was forced to reverse out of the power hitting business on health grounds, his enhanced muscularity incompatible with a functioning golf swing. Injuries to wrist, neck and pelvis plus gut inflammation forced a rethink in diet and approach.

Moreover the equipment available to enable DeChambeau to launch the ball 350 yards consistently was not there. However the acquisition of a driver from Krank golf, coupled with a honed physique proved irresistible, and DeChambeau made a powerful case to make the US squad for next month’s Ryder Cup in Rome.

The US qualification window closes next weekend at the end of the BMW Championship in Chicago. Johnson will then reveal his squad a week later after the FedEx Cup finale in Atlanta.

Since DeChambeau is denied qualification via the points mechanism, which does not yet include the LIV Golf League, he must persuade Johnson to select him as one of six captain’s picks.

Ryder Cup 2023 standings

Three players from the European points list qualify, followed by the top three on the world points list not already qualified.

European points list:

• 1st: Rory McIlroy (4033.5)
• 2nd: Jon Rahm (3417.23)
• 3rd: Robert MacIntyre (1743.57)
• 4th: Yannik Paul (1652.9)
• 5th: Adrian Meronk: 1614.21

World list points list:

• 1st: Jon Rahm (388.57)
• 2nd: Rory McIlroy (364.59)
• 3rd: Viktor Hovland (265.75)
• 4th: Tyrrell Hatton (195.51)
• 5th: Tommy Fleetwood (158.33)

The top six players in the ­American rankings qualify

• 1st: Scottie Scheffler (25,741.735)
• 2nd: Wyndham Clark (13,366.120)
• 3rd: Brian Harman (10,194.539)
• 4th: Brooks Koepka (9,421.145)
• 5th: Xander Schauffele (8,671.984)
• 6th: Patrick Cantlay (8,454.750)

Paul Casey, DeChambeau’s Crushers teammate on the LIV Golf tour, said DeChambeau is back to his best. “The golf we saw him play at Winged Foot hasn’t been there the last couple of years. But since Spain it’s been rock-star golf.”

At the LIV event in Valderrama in the lead-up to the Open Championship, DeChambeau was denied victory by a Talor Gooch birdie at the last hole. A more significant indicator for Johnson was DeChambeau’s fifth-place at the PGA Championship in May.

The LIV tour goes back-to-back with a return to Bedminster this week. As if to underpin the seriousness of his claims, DeChambeau boarded a flight for New Jersey following his victory and six hours after holing the winning putt was in the hotel gym. He described the moment the putt dropped as the greatest of his career, and celebrated with a leap that rivalled the heights Michael Schumacher would reach from the top step of the podium.

“This is one of the best rounds of golf I have ever played. I can’t thank my team enough and sticking with me through the process,” he said. “I think that’s kinda how it happens in golf. For some reason it just clicks. It’s one round, one shot, one putt or something that allows you to go ‘I’ve got it’, and then you get right back on that train.”

Another hoping to be boarding the US train is Justin Thomas, who found some form to tie for 12th at the Wyndham Championship. Unfortunately for him he missed out on the FedEx play-offs by one shot and has to hope he has done enough.

One shot further back at the Wyndham on 10-under were 21-year-old Swede Ludvig Aberg and Danish tyro Nicolai Hojgaard, both of whom are pushing for picks in a remodelled European team. Skipper Luke Donald has until 3 September to announce his team, which is expected to feature a number of rookies, with Aberg particularly highly rated.