Bryson DeChambeau is planning to defend his title next week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, his agent told Golf Channel.
DeChambeau has missed the past three weeks as he recovers from injuries to his left hand and left hip. Those ailments forced him to withdraw from the Asian Tour’s Saudi International on Feb. 4.
Following that early exit (with social media abuzz), DeChambeau said that his injuries weren’t related to his intense speed and weight training, and that “everyone needs to chill.” He has been plagued by a hand injury for the past few months. He said he fell and injured his hip while in Saudi Arabia.
“He’s doing everything he can to be there,” his agent, Brett Falkoff, said Friday. “As of now, his full intention is to play.”
Off the course, it’s been an eventful stretch for DeChambeau, who said that he would remain committed to the PGA Tour as long as it continued to be the premier destination for the best players in the world. He had been rumored to be in talks with the Saudi-backed Super Golf League, with a reported nine-figure offer to be the poster boy for the breakaway circuit.
The API will mark just his third PGA Tour start in the past six months. At the beginning of the year, he tied for 25th at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and then missed the cut two weeks later at the Farmers Insurance Open while appearing to be nagged by injury.
Last year at Bay Hill, DeChambeau won in a wildly entertaining fashion, nearly driving the green on the par-5 sixth hole and holding off Lee Westwood down the stretch. DeChambeau has managed only four top-10 finishes since then, with his world ranking dropping from No. 6 to No. 12.