Bryson DeChambeau Helping Johnson Wagner Recreate His U.S. Open Bunker Shot Is TV Gold

In the world of sports pre- and post-game or event coverage, there isn’t a ton of differentiation in terms of format, as everyone, regardless of sport, does about the same thing. You have a group of folks sitting around a desk talking, bantering, and arguing, with some breakdown segments where someone hops on the telestrator to diagram the biggest plays or moments.

On occasion, you might go to a demo area where the analysts will walk fans through a key play, but that’s about as interactive as shows can get, simply due to the restrictions of being in a studio. However, this year, Golf Channel has done something truly groundbreaking on its Live From coverage from on-site, and it has become one of my (and many other golf fans) favorite things, which is sending former PGA Tour pro Johnson Wagner out onto the course after a round to try and recreate a pivotal shot that we just saw.

The results have been pretty incredible, from Wagner throwing balls at a hill at Sawgrass to see where Rory McIlroy’s drive really would’ve gone in the water after a controversial drop to him putting his chipping yips on display numerous times at the PGA Championship and US Open trying to illustrate the difficulty of getting up-and-down. It is the perfect golf content, because Wagner is no longer a Tour caliber player and his struggles (even as a very good player) offer a fantastic way for golf fans at home to relate and understand just how impressive some of these shots we’ve seen are.

On Sunday at Pinehurst No. 2, Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open title thanks to an all-world bunker shot from 55 yards out on the 18th needing an up-and-down for par to beat Rory McIlroy, who had made bogey on 18 in the group in front.

After DeChambeau was presented with the Wanamaker Trophy and everyone had cleared the 18th, the stage was set for Wagner to set off into the night and try his hand at that same shot under the lights of the jumbotron and the clubhouse in the distance. Wagner, with his 50-degree wedge and a documented case of the yips, slammed his first attempt over the green, sheepishly hoping he didn’t send it into the clubhouse. But as he started to climb out of the bunker, DeChambeau appeared from the darkness, trophy in hand, ready to make TV magic and demanded Wagner hit it agian.

The result was nothing short of incredible, as Wagner thought he chunked it, but instead hit a perfect shot to 18 inches away from the pin. He and DeChambeau celebrated wildly as if Wagner himself had just won the championship, with Bryson even handing over the trophy.

Wagner going from nuking one over the green to a perfect shot (which he thought he hit fat, which is honestly even better) once DeChambeau showed up is amazing. You can make the case that those two are more dedicated to creating content than anyone in the golf world, Bryson as the world’s foremost YouTube golfer and Johnson as the only analyst in golf (and really any sport) willing to make a fool out of himself on national TV in order to give people a greater appreciation for what the game’s elite are pulling off. That Wagner got that moment of elation, hitting an insanely tough bunker shot to gimme range, was well deserved after going on TV and skulling chips for the past few months.