Amid a chaotic finish at the PGA Championship, Bryson DeChambeau paused it all to make sure his souvenir golf ball ended up in the right hands.
DeChambeau was walking between holes during Sunday’s final round when he tossed a golf ball to a young child that was intercepted by an adult, who quickly ran off with the ball.
The star golfer then came to a complete stop and reversed course toward the adult when he realized the ball did not end up in the proper hands, yelling, “Hey” multiple times as his annoyance grew, all while pointing his golf club at the adult man running away, as seen in a video posted on X.
The adult man turned around as DeChambeau said, “Come on, buddy,” and pointed to the boy whom he intended to receive the keepsake.
DeChambeau refused to leave until the ball went into the child’s hands before moving on to his next shot.
Many fans were upset at the adult who ran off with the ball as well, with others in the crowd saying, “Give that man the ball back,” and another calling DeChambeau “a man of the people.”
DeChambeau was booed at last year’s PGA Championship at Oak Hill, but it seems he has flipped the narrative with the crowd going wild when he birdied 18 to take a share of the lead.
He ended play Sunday at -20, one stroke behind winner Xander Schauffele.
“I got to learn from this,” DeChambeau said. “Look, I learned a lot about myself over the last year, and being able to perform at Augusta [tied for sixth] and being able to perform today shooting 7-under.’’
DeChambeau received a reported four-year, $125 million deal from LIV Golf as one of the defectors, but is still competing in majors and has seen his popularity peak this week after nearly grabbing his second major win at Valhalla.
