Golfer DeChambeau on a Mission at Rocket Mortgage Classic

PGA Tour player Bryson DeChambeau talks about the Rocket Mortgage Classic tournament and its mission during a media event at Detroit Golf Club.  Photo by Jeff Steers, JTV Sports

By Jeff Steers
JTV Sports

(June 9, 2021 4:06 PM) Defending Rocket Mortgage Classic golfer Bryson DeChambeau says he believes in the mission to streamline access to Emergency Broadband Benefit for those who qualify in the Detroit area.

It goes right along with his foundation’s mission helping to provide a new pathway to education and improve lives around the world through the support of leading health organizations.

DeChambeau made the comments during a media event on Monday three weeks prior to the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club. 

The PGA Tour tournament will be held July 1-4 in Detroit. 

“I really believe in their mission,” DeChambeau told media members. “My family always told me to give back no matter where I am at (in life).

“I have the opportunity to perhaps change people’s lives.”

The last year has been a whirlwind for the California-born golfer. He won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2020 – without fans in the stands due to COVID 19 restrictions.

Later in the year he won the U.S. Open for his career’s first major.

“It (winning a U.S. Open) is something you dream of as a kid,” DeChambeau said. “I am fortunate to say I have won a major.”

DeChambeau deflected comments about Brooks Koepka when asked a couple of times about the controversy. Koepka – in so many words – told fans to disrupt play at the Memorial Tournament last week and they would be rewarded. 

“That is for something else for another time,” DeChambeau said. 

He did respond later that a “jesting rivalry was good for golf.”

DeChambeau recently signed on to be an ambassador for the Rocket Team. 

On Monday Connect 313 announced a citywide campaign to streamline access to the Emergency Broadband Benefit, a federal program that subsidizes the cost of internet and technological devices for eligible households. The “EBB 313” campaign, which kicked-off at the PGA TOUR’s Rocket Mortgage Classic media Day, went live on Monday.

The EBB provides a monthly $50 discount for internet access and a one-time $100 subsidy for a laptop, desktop computer or tablet for eligible residents. More than 250,000 Detroit residents – nearly 40 percent of all Detroit households – are expected to qualify for the program. However, the application process requires internet at nearly every step, creating a barrier for those most in need of support.

Detroit was noted in a survey to have one of the lowest rates of internet access for large cities in the United States. 

“I am excited to be an ambassador for Rocket team and looking forward to changing that digital divide,” DeChambeau said.

DeChambeau said he was active during the Pandemic layout last year, working on swing speed with world long-drive champion Kyle Berkshire. 

“What he (Kyle) showed me on the practice range was incredible,” DeChambeau said. “It is speed training two to three times per day for 90 minutes each time. 

“It involves hitting 150-200 golf balls at maximum speed. By the end of it you are waxed.”

DeChambeau said his swing speed is up to near 200 miles per hour. He said a swing speed of 200 would correlate to a drive carrying 350 yards.

“It (speed training) is a dangerous thing … you are making you take care of your body,” DeChambeau said.

He gained 20 pounds of muscle last year in training while the PGA Tour was off for the Pandemic.