Bryson DeChambeau missed the playoff by just one shot, but he finished the tournament with his best round of the week.

The two-time U.S. Open champion finished third at LIV Golf Korea on May 31. He shot a final-round 65 to end the tournament at 11-under par, one shot behind Joaquin Niemann and Talor Gooch, who reached the playoff at Asiad Country Club in Busan, South Korea.

After struggling in the middle rounds, DeChambeau turned things around on Sunday. He said the change came after a late-night conversation with Gemini AI rather than extra practice on the driving range.

"I feel like I'm on the right path now," DeChambeau told Flushing It after the round. "I felt really good this round; I felt better than I did in the first round, which is a good trend."

DeChambeau played well in the first round, but then his swing started to go wrong. His hands were moving too far ahead of the club, and he struggled for the next two rounds. He spent hours practicing on the range on Saturday night, but nothing seemed to help.

But on Sunday, he let his hands loose and posted 65.

DeChambeau also put the week into a broader context. Missing two major cuts after winning events earlier in the season stung, and he said so plainly.

"This game is so brutal," he said. "It can kick you when you're at your highest or bring you up when you're at your lowest. We have to respect the game for that."

His Crushers team moved into the outright lead in team victories at LIV Golf Korea. DeChambeau will play at LIV Golf Andalucia in Valderrama next week. After that, he will focus on trying to win his third U.S. Open title at Shinnecock Hills.

Bryson DeChambeau on the Late-Night AI Session That Changed His Sunday

Later, he returned to his room and used Gemini AI to help find the problem. He looked at different ideas, including physics, grip pressure, muscle tension, and how the club moves during the swing. He was trying to understand what was stopping the club from turning properly.

"I left kind of frustrated and learned later that night that I just needed to relax my grip pressure and let the thing just fold over naturally," he said.

A Flushing It reporter saw DeChambeau on the practice range at about 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Even though it was already dark, he was still trying to fix the problem and had not yet found an answer. 

"I was slamming the club in the ground trying to figure out what to do," DeChambeau said, "I didn't actually figure it out on the range. I went back and started talking to Gemini."

He spent time trying to figure out what was stopping the club from turning naturally during his swing. He specifically addressed the forward hand movement that had prevented the clubface from closing properly throughout the week.

After talking with Gemini AI, he was led to one possible cause: the pressure of his grip on the club.

"I'm still working it out," DeChambeau said. "I don't have the answer."

Third at LIV Golf Korea, a 65 in the final round, and a week that ended better than it looked on Saturday night.

Do you think DeChambeau can carry this form into the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills? Let us know in the comments.

Read more at Club Golf.

Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Sijo Paul