Bryson DeChambeau Has Surgery to Fix Vertigo, No Longer Chasing Distance
Bryson DeChambeau underwent surgery last month to alleviate a problem that has caused dizziness for the past few years.
DeChambeau, making his first start of the year on the Asian Tour’s Saudi International, said in a post on the LIV Golf website that he had surgery Dec. 15 to remove a retention cyst in one of his maxillary sinuses. This cyst had restricted one of his nasal passages, resulting in dizziness and bouts of vertigo that have plagued him since the 2020 Masters.
“To solve this problem was the biggest decision of my life,” DeChambeau told the website. “My energy level is so much better. My clarity of thought is so much better. I don’t know if you can tell, but my speech is much smoother and I don’t stop as much or throw as much as I did it last year and before. I feel like I’m back in 2018 myself.
DeChambeau described 2022 as a “reset year” after a wrist injury derailed his game, major weight loss upended his digestive system and he dealt with the loss of his father, Jon, after a decades-long battle with diabetes. Performance-wise, it was the worst year of DeChambeau’s career—the first time he didn’t win in a calendar year. His best finish in a LIV event last year was a tie for eighth; he made 31 starts without a World Cup win.
Last April, DeChambeau also underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his left wrist, an injury that stemmed from his intense workouts and training sessions to gain more speed. To that end, he said he no longer aggressively chases the distance. He trimmed down his bulky frame, losing nearly 20 pounds in a month last summer, and said he realized the limitations of his body and modern equipment.
“Technology is not up to par with the way golfers can perform at high speeds,” he told the website. “Anything over 185 mph – good luck trying to control it right now. We’re still looking to see who can make a rider that can run it 200 (mph) anywhere and everywhere on the face and who always goes in the fairway. When that day comes, it will open a lot of people’s eyes…and it will be a game-changer forever. But we’re not there yet.”
DeChambeau, who has already reached No. 4 in the world rankings, dropped to No. 96. He is exempted in the majors this year due to his title at the US Open 2020, when it seemed that his future was limitless.
“I’m getting to a place where I’ve started to feel like I can get dominant again like I was in 2018,” he told the website, referring to his breakthrough year when he won four times the world. “I feel as healthy and clean as ever. I feel like a child again. … I have more energy, more clarity of thought than I have had in a long time. It’s a scary combo.