True Christian charity consists of kindness toward people who cannot be of any use to you. And that holds true especially at times when the world expects you to focus on your own thoughts and objectives.
During the final round of the PGA Tour’s U.S. Open golf tournament on Sunday at Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina, eventual tournament champion Bryson DeChambeau made a Christian gesture for which he earned the admiration of fans on social media.
A 26-second clip posted to X by NBC Sports captured the moment.
Cameras followed DeChambeau as he made his way to the next hole. Locked in a battle for the tournament lead, the golfer appeared focused as he strolled past a group of fans. Legendary sportscaster Jim Nantz noted that at that point DeChambeau held only a two-stroke lead over Patrick Cantley.
Then, DeChambeau spotted a severely disabled male fan in a wheelchair. So the golfer diverted his path slightly, approached the young man, grabbed him by the hand, pulled out a pen and signed the disabled fan’s white ball cap. Before walking away, DeChambeau again grabbed the young man by the hand as if in a gesture of recognition and appreciation.
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“And connecting with everyone out here,” Nantz said. “This is the way DeChambeau has been all week long. He has been stopping and taking time [with the fans on] every hole.”
Even in the middle of the final round at the U.S. Open, Bryson DeChambeau still makes time for the fans. ❤️
📺 NBC & @peacock pic.twitter.com/ay3XXOssjQ
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 16, 2024
On social media, fans noticed and applauded.
“Class act right there. Good for him,” one X user wrote.
Class act right there. Good for him.
— The Mars Theory 🪐 (@xTheMarsTheory) June 16, 2024
“This is why he is a fan favorite,” another X user wrote.
This is why he is a fan favorite.
— Scott Lemley (@ScottLemley) June 16, 2024
And another X user described it as “the best part of the whole tournament.”
That’s the best part of the whole tournament, class 🙂⭐️
— Suman Hedge Bloodstock (@shbloodstock) June 16, 2024
DeChambeau might have agreed with that sentiment, though his four-foot putt to win the tournament surely ranked a close second.
“One of the best moments of my life,” the champion posted, sharing a clip of his winning putt.
One of the best moments of my lifepic.twitter.com/Fe1Pxkh1HF
— Bryson DeChambeau (@b_dechambeau) June 16, 2024
That putt gave DeChambeau a 6-under-par tournament finish and a one-stroke victory over Rory McIlroy.
But McIlroy also has an endearing place in this story.
It turned out, in fact, that after making a birdie to tie for the lead at one point, McIlroy gave his ball to the same disabled young man. And it further turns out that the young man has a name known to the golf world: Kyler.
Rory’s biggest fan ❤️
After making birdie to tie the lead, @McIlroyRory gave his ball to Kyler. https://t.co/KIYsZwvKo2 pic.twitter.com/60gOqIfwmi
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2024
In fact, on Aug. 28, 2022, the PGA Tour posted a 15-second clip of McIlroy holding a trophy and posing with “his good luck charm, Kyler.”
2 for 2 on Sundays 🏆🏆 @McIlroyRory reunites with his good luck charm, Kyler ❤️ pic.twitter.com/phvITQYy3O
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 29, 2022
Thus, the top two U.S. Open finishers have each had great moments with the young man.
But Sunday was about DeChambeau, one of several dozen prominent players from the upstart LIV Golf League, which has promised “new levels of excitement and engagement with generations of fans” through an “innovative and transformational approach” to the game that includes faster play and a non-traditional format blending individual and team competition.
In other words, LIV Golf poses a challenge to the old guard at the PGA Tour. And that has resulted in what Golf Digest called “golf’s civil war.”
According to TheStreet, former President Donald Trump even has an informal connection to the New Saudi-backed league. Since 2022, LIV Golf has held multiple tournaments at Trump-owned properties.
Should LIV Golf and the PGA Tour unite?
Sunday on Truth Social, Trump praised DeChambeau for “some of the greatest shots ever made.”
“Congratulations also to LIV Golf for their genius in signing Bryson and other of the best Golfers in the World,” the former president added. “Hopefully Golf will soon come together as one, fully united, which is the way it should be.”
Trump wants to make golf great again. And if anyone could do it, he could.
In the meantime, DeChambeau deserves praise for pausing to recognize what really mattered in that tense moment of high-stakes competition: Kyler.
