Weekly Recap: Whoa, DeChambeau!

The everlasting image of the 2021 Arnold Palmer Invitational will be of Bryson DeChambeau, arms and driver raised high over head, majestically watching his 370-yard drive cut the lake on the par-5 sixth hole at Bay Hill on Saturday.

But here's what won the tournament for DeChambeau on Sunday: par-par-par-par-par-par-par-par-par- par-par-par. While the field was averaging 75.5 amid the day's brutally windy conditions, DeChambeau methodically parred the final 12 holes to shoot 1-under 71 and hold off a gallant Lee Westwood by a single stroke.

DeChambeau thus finally won the tournament that likely means the most to him outside the majors -- the tournament that honors Arnold Palmer. He finished runner-up in 2018 and fourth a year ago, all while speaking glowingly of a man he clearly reveres and got to meet shortly before his passing in September 2016.

For a guy who often has the spotlight of an entire sport shining directly on him -- much like Palmer in his hey day -- this was a low-key day with little flash. It was all about simply getting the ball in the hole. DeChambeau's 71 tied for the low round of the day. It began with a bad bogey, his only one of the day.

"From then on out, I just told myself, 'Keep your head down, this is going to be a grueling day, make as many pars as you can, make birdies where you can. And people are going to backtrack,' " DeChambeau told reporters after his win. "This is not a golf course that you can shoot a lot under par and in conditions like they were today. You know, 20 mile an hour, 29 mile an hour gusts is what I saw and firm greens, firm fairways, long rough. This is what you do to make it play really, really difficult and have it be an amazing competition."

DeChambeau clearly knows how to play -- and thrive -- on tough courses in tough conditions. This was his eighth PGA Tour win, adding to the 2020 U.S. Open, two playoff events and Jack Nicklaus' Memorial -- all big-boy events with loaded fields. In that regard, he's showing that he's on par with two players ranked higher than his No. 6 spot in the OWGR, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. Really, in many ways he's ahead of two others ranked higher than him, Jon Rahm and Xander Schauffele.

In fact, DeChambeau's eight Tour wins since 2016-17 trail only Johnson and Thomas, who have 12 apiece.

The 27-year-old DeChambeau is the first multiple winner on Tour this season, with the U.S. Open counting as part of 2020-21. Of course, he is now thrust further into the Masters conversation, though he has yet to contend at Augusta. He doesn't have a top-20, with his best being a tie for 21st as an amateur in 2016.

DeChambeau has the all-around game to do it at the Masters. At Bay Hill, he naturally led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee -- for good measure, he hit his drive at No. 6 even farther on Sunday, 377 yards -- but he is so much more than that. He was T3 in greens in regulation, 11th in scrambling and 21st in SG: Putting.

That's a perfect formula, one that is good enough to take home a win at most places on Tour, particularly Augusta.

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Lee Westwood
At 47, just being entered in the biggest tournaments in the world is a great accomplishment. Being in the top-50 in the world and contending at a big-time PGA Tour event is remarkable. Westwood is now 31st in the world and, while he has only two PGA Tour wins and none since 2010, don't forget that he has always been a threat at the Masters, where he has been runner-up twice with a series of top-8s. Just six months ago. Westwood tied for 13th at the U.S. Open. He may not be able to win a major, but he's still good enough to be in most of the conversations. 

Corey Conners
It's been evident for a few years now that Conners is an elite, world-class ball striker. And at the same time, a completely opposite putter. But in finishing third at Bay Hill, he ranked 13th in the field in SG: Putting. He was his usual self in leading the field in SG: Approach. His putting success may have been a surprise, but not as much as would've been in the past. After finishing outside the top-175 in putting the past three seasons, Conners is now ranked far better at 107th. His big week thrusted him into the top-50 in the world rankings for the first time at No. 44.

Jordan Spieth
Okay, it's now three top-4s in the past four tournaments for Mr. Is-He-Back? This was a good track for Spieth, with wider fairways. He ranked fifth in SG: Approach and 22nd in Putting. But once again, his worst day was Sunday, and he lost almost two strokes to the field on the greens. That shows the precariousness of Spieth being able to contend, because he still is all over the place off the tee. As long as those driving accuracy issues remain, there will be tracks where he can contend and tracks where he will struggle to make the cut. Regardless, Spieth is now up to 52nd in the world. That means he'll qualify for the WGC-Match Play in three weeks, a tournament where a bad drive could cost you just one hole, not a whole tournament.

Richy Werenski
Werenski of course had to be disappointed with his double bogey-bogey finish. But when you consider he still finished tied for fourth and it was his first top-10 since winning the opposite-field Barracuda Championship seven months ago, this was a great week for him. And when you consider that Werenski already had three other top-25s since January, well, 2021 is looking pretty good so far. In fact, he has reached his career high in the world rankings, 102nd.

Andrew Putnam
Putnam began 2021 outside the top-200 in the world rankings. Now with three top-10s already, he's up to 123rd. Putnam followed up high finishes at Phoenix and Puerto Rico with a tie for fourth at Bay Hill, notching one of Sunday's three under-par rounds. His surge has been fueled by his short game: He's ranked top-10 on Tour in scrambling, top-20 in SG: Putting.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout
This was the young South African's 15th PGA Tour start and the tie for seventh was his first top-10. And that was with a bogey-double bogey finish. Many internationals struggle when they come Stateside; it doesn't appear that Bezuidenhout will be one of them. At Bay Hill, he was top-5 in the field in both SG: Around-the-Green and Putting. The top-10 now makes him eligible for the Honda in two weeks, and since he's also in THE PLAYERS this week, he'll probably stick around. He's up to 34th in the world.

Chris Kirk
In the DraftKings preview, we wrote how Kirk is the leading candidate for Comeback Player of the Year. That was before this for eighth, his second top-10 and fourth top-16 so far in 2021. He is once again inside the top 100 of the OWGR at No. 84.

Will Zalatoris
This was the sixth straight week that Zalatoris was playing. He tied for 10th. That gives him two top-10s and five top-25s in the six events, which have collectively carried him to 46th in the world rankings heading into his seventh straight start this week at THE PLAYERS. After that, presumably, Zalatoris will take a week off before the Match Play.

Max Homa
Homa has done Zalatoris one better – this was his seventh straight tournament and that means TPC Sawgrass will be his eighth. Of course, Homa has a win during this stretch. And he has not let up since winning Riviera. He tied for 22nd at the WGC-Workday and now has added a T10 at Bay Hill.

Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood had only one top-10 last season on the PGA Tour. He made only 11 starts. He now has his first top-10 of this season, in his seventh start. Fleetwood tied for 10th at Bay Hill, closing with a disappointing 77. He has rarely performed in the United States the way he has in Europe.

Doug Ghim
Ghim entered Sunday tied for seventh, looking to follow up the best finish of his young PGA Tour career, which was a tie for fifth at the Amex in January. Alas, like much of the Bay Hill field, the 24-year-old blew up with a 9-over 81 to tumble into a tie for 36th. Still, Ghim has top-25s in half his 12 starts this season, and he's already far surpassed his earnings from his rookie season – and he'll be in THE PLAYERS Championship this week. His first-round 71 was one of only five bogey-free rounds all week.

Viktor Hovland
After opening the week 69-68, Hovland finally hit a wall and closed 77-78 to tie for 49th. At some point, all the high finishes and worldwide travel were going to catch up with even a 23-year-old. The question now is whether a 23-year-old can recharge in just four days against one of the top fields on the PGA Tour schedule?

Rickie Fowler
Fowler finished dead last among those who made the cut, 72nd place. He's now fallen to 70th in the world, and time is running out to qualify for the Masters in five weeks. He's in THE PLAYERS this week and has committed to the Honda the week after, but now that he's not in the top 64 of the OWGR, there's a chance he won't be in the WGC-Match Play in three weeks. Would he dare play the opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic that week to try to qualify for Augusta? That would be his last chance, barring a win at the Valero Texas Open the week  before the Masters.

Justin Rose
Rose has fallen into the 30s of the OWGR, but he was runner-up in Saudi Arabia and playing well at Bay Hill before he had to withdraw on Saturday with a "spasmed lower back." We'll see what this does to Rose this week at THE PLAYERS and, even more importantly, next month at the Masters, where he has often played well.

Cameron Davis
Davis was on a pretty good run, making 13 of 14 cuts until missing at Bay Hill. He's climbed into the 130s in the world after spending almost all of 2020 in the 200s. He has great tee-to-green numbers this season but, a lot like Sam Burns before Riviera, has not seen that translate into results. Davis is no longer that young – he's 26.

Joel Dahmen
Dahmen is in a brutal stretch. This latest trunk-slam was his fifth missed cut in his past six starts – and the other result was a tie for 60th. He finished top-10 last year at Bay Hill. Late last year, Dahmen was trending toward a top-50 spot in the OWGR, a threshold he'd need to clear to get into the Masters. Now 74th, that seems doubtful.

Cameron Champ
Champ missed his fourth cut in five starts and has done very little since contending through three rounds at the PGA last summer. At issue is his putting, which has been disastrous – he is now ranked dead last Tour at No. 229.

Si Woo Kim
We don't know how anyone can ever roster Kim. Yes, he's won – twice, including 2017 THE PLAYERS – but the unpredictability is maddening. Not to minimize an injury, as Kim withdrew after an 80 on Thursday. But since his surprise win at the Amex in January, he had missed three cuts in four starts with a tie for 50th in the other tournament. There is obviously enormous talent, but Kim has so many extremes it's enough to give you whiplash.