Just days after labeling Bryson DeChambeau a “captain’s nightmare” and suggesting he was more interested in YouTube clicks than playing for his country, Brandel Chamblee is now singing a very different tune. In Golf Channel’s latest Ryder Cup segment, Chamblee didn’t just soften his stance, but he practically named DeChambeau as Team USA’s anchor, even suggesting he should play all matches.

Speaking to Paul McGinley and Todd Lewis during a discussion on potential Foursomes pairings before the Ryder Cup kicks off in a day, Chamblee was asked for his opinion if Bryson DeChambeau was to be paired with Justin Thomas in the opening matches. And Chamblee’s reaction was unexpected. “Yeah, look, I mean, I’d be surprised if Bryson didn’t play all five matches,” he said. He then went on to add that “this golf course is not a major championship setup,” doubling down on why DeChambeau’s power would dominate.

“The fairways have been widened. The rough has been cut. It’s going to be soft…” Chamblee continued. And then he dropped another shocker — “Bryson is, it may well be, and again, the data is hard to find, but if you go look and you stack it up, the best driver in this field likely is not Scottie Scheffler. It likely is not Jon Rahm. It is likely Bryson DeChambeau.” The comments from Chamblee marked a stunning reversal from his earlier criticism, where he basically painted Bryson DeChambeau as a self-obsessed YouTube influencer.

Just a few days ago, on Chamblee’s ‘Live From’ segment, he took a brutal dig at DeChambeau’s pre-Ryder Cup priorities, saying, “He didn’t talk about playing on a team and how much that meant. Nope, he didn’t do that. What he did do was talk about his YouTube channel…” He even went as far as claiming Bryson DeChambeau’s YouTube views were boosted by “bots” and that he’d be “a difficult person to get paired with…” and flat-out declared, “I think he would be a captain’s nightmare.”

But now? Bryson DeChambeau is suddenly indispensable. Chamblee even floated potential pairings for him with Justin Thomas, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, and highlighted how key holes like 2, 4, 6, and 16 set up perfectly for Bryson DeChambeau’s left-to-right bombs. He added that DeChambeau “does have the luxury of all that length” and confidently said that “It would surprise me if Bryson didn’t tee off first on one.”

This abrupt pivot from Chamblee has left golf fans scratching their heads and maybe raising an eyebrow or two. Maybe it’s the course. Or maybe Chamblee caught wind of the backlash. Several fans on X even joked a day ago that all the fans surrounding DeChambeau were probably not real — “Brandel will call those fans bots.” Whatever the reason, the narrative has flipped—and Bryson DeChambeau now finds himself not on the outside looking in, but possibly leading the charge in New York.

But Chamblee even had a strategy laid out for DeChambeau and his team.

Brandel Chamblee’s strategy – Win the Foursomes, Win the Ryder Cup

Brandel Chamblee didn’t just back Bryson—he issued a war cry for the importance of Foursomes. “If we’re looking at the importance, going back to 2014, of the Foursomes,” he said, leaning into the drama, “you know that line, that great line in Gladiator—‘win the crowd, win your freedom’—where you could put a little twist on that — ‘win the Foursomes, and win the Ryder Cup.'” It wasn’t just words out of thin air or flair for television. Chamblee made a compelling case that the Foursomes format, often overshadowed by the fourballs format, is where momentum is truly forged.

Citing history and numbers, Chamblee pointed to 2014 and 2023 as proof. “You look at the foursomes, of course, all opened up with four ball, the very next session, they both raced the United States. And you can see the same thing happen in 2023, whereas Europe was 4-0 after the first session,” he said. “The only winning team on the U.S. side in Foursomes was Max Homa and Brian Harman—and they’re not here, you know? Their form has fallen off a little bit.”

His message was clear —Foursomes aren’t just another format, they’re the backbone of Ryder Cup dominance. “So you see the advantage that you get in foursomes, and it just speaks that you get to go to that well over and over and over again throughout the Ryder Cup,” he added. All he is implying is that you get your foursomes pairings right, or prepare to lose.