Bryson DeChambeau caught on camera taking furious hack at putting green

Bryson DeChambeau, the rising star of American golf and world No 5, has been caught on camera smashing a club into the practice putting green at the World Golf Championship in Mexico.

DeChambeau was inadvertently filmed taking a furious hack at the practice green –  which is sure to have caused damage – in the background while Sky Sports pundit Rich Beem was speaking on camera. He is then seen bending down to repair the green with his pitch-mark tool.

Damaging greens is considered a gross act of disrespect among professional golfers and against the spirit of the game. It was only earlier this month that Sergio Garcia was widely condemned for damaging greens at a tournament in Saudi Arabia, for which he was disqualified. 

Bryson DeChambeau was caught on camera hacking the practice putting green with a club

DeChambeau lost control of his emotions at the World Golf Championship event in Mexico this week; he shot a poor opening round of 74 to lie well off the pace at Club de Golf Chapultepec

It is, however, the second time in as many weeks that DeChambeau has lost control of his emotions and caused damage to the golf course. Only last week at the prestigious LA Open, hosted by Tiger Woods, DeChambeau was again caught on camera hacking the ground with a club.

On this occasion, the 25-year-old Californian was seen gouging a big lump of turf out of the lip of a bunker, having hit a poor shot out of the trap on the par-3 16th hole at Riviera Country Club. 

He has enjoyed a stunning run of form in the last year, including wins in four of his last 11 tournaments, which has catapulted him into the game’s elite. 

DeChambeau, a physics major, is known as the ‘Mad Scientist’ for his eccentric approach to the game. He uses scientific method in an attempt to gain an advantage, such as customising his irons to have the same length shaft so his swing needs to be the same to use every club.

He has also been known to spray his ball with water in practice to simulate morning dew, then calculate how that affects the flight of his ball. He has even tried using a compass on the course to work out angles for shots, but that was deemed illegal.

Just a week ago, DeChambeau was again caught on camera hacking at the course in anger

Englishman Eddie Pepperell, the world No 40 who is also playing in Mexico this week, commented on Twitter that DeChambeau was ‘neurotic’. ‘The only way I ever overcame this level of neuroticism was by finding wine,’ joked Pepperell underneath the video that caught DeChambeau hitting the practice putting green.

Beem, the 2002 USPGA champion, also put the boot into DeChambeau’s behaviour, saying: ‘Holy cow! What the hell was that??!? C’mon @b_dechambeau, ya gotta do better than that pards.’

He added: ‘4 wins in 11 starts starting with 1st playoff event in 2018, and the game still owns you. It’s not a game to predict or perfect. Totally unnecessary.’

A Twitter user who highlighted DeChambeau’s damaging of the bunker at Riviera was also scathing of his behaviour. 

‘Hey @b_dechambeau! It’s called a hazard. Maybe you shouldn’t hit your shot there. Respect the course and the hard working crew who make it playable,’ they said.

DeChambeau endured a miserable opening round in Mexico, shooting a four-over-par 75 at Club de Golf Chapultepec to lie 12 shots behind the early leader Rory McIlroy. He finished 15th at Rivieira.