Bryson DeChambeau's ex-caddie regrets timing of breakup

Bryson DeChambeau's former caddie regrets the timing of his split with World No. 6 Bryson Dechambeau.

Published : Jul 28, 2021 09:46 IST

Bryson DeChambeau and his caddie split up on the eve of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. - AP

Bryson DeChambeau's former caddie regrets the timing of his split with Dechambeau.

Tim Tucker left the bag on a Wednesday night, mere hours before DeChambeau was slated to defend his title at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 1. DeChambeau scrambled to land Ben Schomin as caddie and ultimately missed the cut.

FOLLOW OUR COVERAGE OF THE TOKYO GAMES

"I made a big mistake in my timing with it," Tucker said of the breakup on the  GOLF Subpar  podcast.

"It shouldn't have happened that way - we should have finished out the week. I didn't mean to put that pressure on him. I'm sure he had a lot on his mind to play in the Rocket Mortgage. I regret how that all went down."

ALSO READ - Cameron Champ overcomes dehydration to clinch 3M Open title

Tucker was on the bag for all eight of DeChambeau's PGA Tour wins, including the 2020 US Open win at Winged Foot. DeChambeau, 27, was a non-factor at the 2021 US Open at Torrey Pines, finishing in a tie for 26th. He also had a poor showing at the Masters when he tied for 46th.

Tucker said it was an overall good experience to work for DeChambeau. "I've been very fortunate to be able to caddie for this guy," Tucker said. "He is the hardest-working guy I've ever seen, sacrifices everything for this game. ...

"But Bryson is very demanding. I think that's a great attribute from an employer because it makes you get better. If you're not getting better and learning and pushing everything you're doing, then you become complacent and start making mistakes and you're not continuing to grow. He makes you do that, and it's unbelievable. He demands it from everybody."

DeChambeau is one of the more scrutinised golfers due to some of his methods. According to Tucker, one of his duties on Mondays was to drop balls on all quadrants of the 18 greens for the upcoming tournament and also do so on the putting green to figure out a baseline.

"That to me is one of the most important things we've done - green density," Tucker said. "Understanding I'm hitting a 7-iron with 6200 (rpm) spin landing into a 2 percent slope, it's gonna run out four yards on a 6mm green density. That's important and it's predictable."

Since the split, DeChambeau finished in a tie for 33rd at The Open Championship and blamed his equipment company for the poor performance of his driver. Ben Zeigler was his caddy.

He also withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive COVID-19 test.