Fans wonder what has happened to Bryson DeChambeau after disastrous PGA Championship round

Bryson DeChambeau is one of the most popular golfers in the world. Not only is he an all-world talent and a two-time major champion, but he has embraced YouTube golf as a way to share the sport with a younger audience.

However, something appears to be very wrong with his game (or his body) right now. He missed the cut at Augusta National last month, a shocking development for a player who was one of the favorites to win the Masters. And, if things don't change in a hurry, he could be headed for back-to-back missed cuts in majors for the first time since 2017.

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DeChambeau struggled his way through a poor opening round at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on Thursday morning, posting a 6-over 76. He didn't record a birdie until his final hole, the par-5 9th (he started the day on hole 10). DeChambeau carded five bogeys and a double bogey on the par-3 8th hole.

Through the completion of the morning wave, DeChambeau's score sat outside the top 100 on the leader board. The PGA Championship is unique because it includes 20 PGA of America Golf Professionals, often called club professionals, who qualify through the PGA Professional Championship.

Unlike full-time tour players, most of them make their living primarily by teaching, running golf operations, and working at facilities, not by chasing tournament purses week to week. A few of those PGA professionals posted better scores than DeChambeau, which underscores just how rough his opening round was.

PGA Tour fans haven't seen much of DeChambeau since he left for LIV Golf, and they might not see as much of him going forward. DeChambeau has said that he is willing to forgo rejoining the PGA Tour if LIV Golf dissolves to focus on his YouTube channel.

That likely means a large swath of golf fans only see him play competitively four times per year, during the majors. Previously, that meant watching him compete for championships. Across the eight majors in 2024 and 2025, DeChambeau finished inside the top 10 six times, including a dramatic win over Rory McIlroy at the 2024 U.S. Open. He also finished as runner-up at both the 2024 and 2025 PGA Championships.

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Given his recent history and form, many fans expected DeChambeau to find himself near the top of the leader board at Aronimink this weekend. And some were not kind to him on social media following the terrible first round.

There is still a lot of golf to play and DeChambeau is certainly capable of going out on Friday and shooting a spectacular round to give himself a chance to make the cut. But he's going to need exactly that, a massive Friday turnaround, or he's going to be heading home prior to the weekend for the second consecutive major tournament.

And, given that he also missed the cut at the 2025 U.S. Open, it would also be DeChambeau's third missed cut in the past four majors if he fails to reach the weekend at Aronimink. That's not the level of golf expected of a player of his caliber. It'll be interesting to see how he responds on Friday and moves forward to the final two majors of 2026.