ARE YOU NOT entertained?

Bryson DeChambeau does many things very differently. Michael Weston traces the fascinating phases in the evolution of an American superstar

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Only one man was going to hit the opening tee shot for Team USA at Bethpage: not the World No.1, Scottie Scheffler; not native New Yorker, Cameron Young; not their most experienced Ryder Cupper, Justin Thomas. It had to be Bryson. Drive the green, incite the crowd, and lay down an early marker. Never has a tee shot been celebrated so wildly. DeChambeau held his club aloft, still letting off smoke, as if he were taking the victory walk down 18 in a Major Championship, then holed a birdie putt for the win. It was pandemonium.

It was also classic Bryson. Ever since he transitioned from golfer to bodybuilder, he's been the centre of attention and he's relished it. He's not just a golfer; he's a content creator - it says so on his Instagram bio. You could say he's a content creator first, professional golfer second. At Bethpage, he got some of his best ever content and some stuff that, on reflection, he may not be too proud of (more on that later).

My 11-year son isn't exactly gripped by golf. Despite taking him to the driving range, introducing him to FootGolf, and even letting him stay up late on school nights to watch TV - on the strict condition it's golf - the appetite isn't really there. So I was surprised when he recently asked me, “Do you know who Bryson DeChambeau is?” (pronounced Brian Shamboo).

Among all the drivel he watches on YouTube (mostly American gamers), there are a few entertaining channels. Take MrBeast, for example, a 27-year-old from Kansas who has built a billion-dollar digital empire on the back of his YouTube channel. I'm not one of his 433 million subscribers, but I have watched one of his crazy challenges in which an Average Joe goes head-to-head with Brian Shamboo for $100,000 - and very entertaining it was too. It is because of this, and similar content, that my son's interest in golf has been piqued.