DeChambeau vs McIlroy 'Memorial Battle'... "Who is the Long Drive King?"

'Special Match' Memorial Tournament Title Race, 'Number 2' Thomas Joins, Rahm 'Title Defense', Spieth 'Dark Horse'

'PGA Long Drive Ranking No.1' Bryson DeChambeau challenges for his third win of the season at the special match Memorial Tournament.

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] ‘The Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau (USA), Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Cameron Champ (USA).

The top three in the driving distance rankings on this season’s PGA Tour will face off on the night of the 3rd (Korean time) at the Memorial Tournament (total prize money $9.3 million) held at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio (par 72, 7,456 yards). This tournament is a special match hosted by the ‘old golf emperor’ Jack Nicklaus. World No. 2 Justin Thomas (USA) and No. 3 Jon Rahm (Spain) have also joined the competition for the title.

DeChambeau is the world’s top power hitter. With an average driving distance of 322.5 yards, he drew even more attention at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last March by attempting to reach the green in one shot on a par-5 hole. At the 6th hole, where the fairway curves in a semicircle along the left-side lake, he cleared the water and hit a maximum of 377 yards. The starting point was his ‘bulk up’ last year, gaining 18 kg in weight. It is noteworthy that he immediately became a major champion at the US Open in September.

DeChambeau succeeded in securing his second win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He is currently ranked No. 1 in the FedEx Cup (PO) standings with 1,677 points, and his prize money is second with $5.73 million, just $17,000 behind Thomas. He is poised to be the first to reach three wins early and to dominate various title competitions. Experts also picked him as the ‘top favorite to win.’ This brings back thrilling memories of 2018 when he won in a playoff against An Byeong-hun (30, CJ Logistics) and Kyle Stanley (USA).

Rory McIlroy will face off head-to-head against Bryson DeChambeau, the 'longest hitter' at the Memorial Tournament.

McIlroy ranks second in driving distance (319.0 yards). He is on the rise after winning the Wells Fargo last month, marking his 19th career victory after a year and a half since the HSBC Champions in November 2019. It is interesting that right after missing the cut at The Players Championship in March, he regretted, saying, "Since last October, I have increased torso rotation for more distance," and "Following DeChambeau’s style ruined my shots." He immediately hired Pete Cowen (England) as his new coach and started correcting his swing, which has shown results.

Champ is third (317.9 yards) and urgently needs to break out of his slump. While Thomas is aiming for his second win following The Players, Rahm is defending his title. Last year, Rahm set a new milestone by becoming No. 1 for the first time in 31 years for a Spanish player since Seve Ballesteros in 1989, leading with a 3-stroke victory (9 under par, 279 strokes). This year, his consistency is impressive, having finished in the top 10 ten times in 16 tournaments.

Jordan Spieth (USA) is a dark horse. He completed his warm-up with a runner-up finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge that ended on the 31st. Korean fans are interested in the participation of ‘Tank’ Choi Kyung-ju (51, SK Telecom). Recently, he showed undiminished power by finishing tied for third at the major KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship on the Champions (Senior) Tour. Korea is represented by Im Sung-jae (23), ‘American Express Champion’ Kim Si-woo (26), ‘AT&T Byron Nelson Champion’ Lee Kyung-hoon (30), Kang Sung-hoon (34), and An Byeong-hun (30, all CJ Logistics).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.