Tom Watson once revealed what he thought must not be allowed to happen in the game of golf after seeing Bryson DeChambeau attempt to drive the green at Bay Hill.
There is an argument that DeChambeau hit the most iconic shot of his career so far on the sixth hole during the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
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DeChambeau launched a 370-yard drive into the par five, leaving himself with just a wedge to reach the green and eventually set up a birdie.
It was a shot that confirmed the two-time US Open champion as a showman. The crowds absolutely loved the moment, while DeChambeau made no attempt to hide his delight with his effort.
What Tom Watson thought after Bryson DeChambeau’s iconic drive at Bay Hill
Interestingly, the moment prompted Tom Watson to look at the bigger picture as the game prepares for significant changes to the golf ball from 2028.
The ball in the professional game will not travel as far, while amateurs will have until 2030 to comply with the new rules.
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Speaking to Golf.com in 2023, Watson explained that DeChambeau’s tee shot left him against the golf ball rollback. He has, however, subsequently changed his mind.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
“A few years ago, when Bryson DeChambeau took it over the water on the sixth at Bay Hill, and the crowd went wild, I thought, ‘that’s really exciting. You can’t mess with the ball’. But I’ve changed my mind,” he said.
“For the good of the game, they need to reduce how far the ball goes. What they’ve proposed is to bifurcate, though. I don’t like that. I think everybody ought to play with the same golf ball. For the pros, it would take less than a week to adjust. For the rest of the world, it would take longer. But there are ways, including playing from the right tees. The question then becomes, what happens to the inventory of illegal golf balls? Who is going to bite the economic loss? There’s still a lot to talk about, but I think it needs to happen.”
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Tom Watson also said whether LIV Golf players deserved world ranking points
Of course, the 2023 season was the first full year that saw the game divided by the arrival of LIV Golf. The breakaway league had sent shockwaves through the sport, prompting the PGA Tour to make a number of contentious decisions.
LIV events would not receive world ranking points for some time. They played over 54 holes with no cut. Some of the decisions over promotion and relegation were also incredibly comical.
And Watson admitted that he had no issue with LIV not receiving ranking points, as long as they still had access to the majors.
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“Here’s my take: What the major championships ought to do is get together and say, you know, these LIV guys can play. We give exemptions to amateurs and other players for different things, so why don’t we give exemptions to the LIV players? Let’s say we give the top five or the top three LIV tour players exemptions into the majors,” he said.
“The real tours can have their World Golf Ranking system. A lot of those LIV guys can really play. They’ve shown that at the majors. I think they ought to have an opportunity to compete. But, when they left to play for money, the PGA Tour had every right to do what it did, and I concur with it.”
LIV have made some wise decisions more recently, including switching to 72 hole events. They have also been much more ruthless when it comes to relegation.
So it is no surprise that they have now received some points – though those on LIV clearly feel that they are entitled to many more.
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