section_path: Professional career/2020–2021: Added driving distance, first U.S. Open victory
section_name: 2020–2021: Added driving distance, first U.S. Open victory
paragraph_text: 2020–2021: Added driving distance, first U.S. Open victory
  
  Beginning in late 2019, DeChambeau set out to add muscle mass in order to increase his swing speed and hit the ball farther. He added 20 pounds before the tour's break due to the COVID-19 pandemic and another 20 during the break. When the tour resumed, he quickly moved to the lead in driving distance. On July 5, 2020, DeChambeau won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan, by three strokes over Matthew Wolff. In the final round, DeChambeau shot a 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club, birdieing four of the first seven holes and closing with three consecutive birdies. He finished at a career-best 23-under 265. DeChambeau came into the week with six straight top-eight finishes and was the only player with top-10s in the first three events after the restart from the coronavirus.
  
  In the second round of the 2020 Memorial Tournament in July, DeChambeau's second shot at the 15th went out of bounds under a fence. He argued that only part of the ball was out of bounds, and he should be allowed to play it, but PGA Tour rules official Ken Tackett ruled against him. DeChambeau asked for a ruling from a second official, who confirmed the initial ruling. He went on to shoot a quintuple-bogey 10 on the hole and miss the cut. In his next start two weeks later at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, DeChambeau's tee shot at the 7th stopped near the base of a tree. He argued that there were "red ants" in the area of the ball, and asked for a free drop regarding cases "when a dangerous animal near a ball could cause serious physical injury to the player". Ultimately Tackett, also the rules official in this incident, stated the ball had to be played as it lay. DeChambeau finished the hole with a double-bogey 6. Brooks Koepka later poked fun at DeChambeau, faking as though he was summoning a rules official in response to an ant infestation after he hit his drive into a similar position during the same tournament.
  
  In August 2020, DeChambeau briefly held a share of the lead during the final round of the PGA Championship; he went on to finish in a tie for fourth place, his first top-10 finish in a major championship. Six weeks later, at the 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he came from two strokes behind at the start of the final round to win his first major championship. His six-under par total gave him a six stroke victory over Matthew Wolff. He was the only player under par in the final round, with a three-under par 67 and the only player to finish under par for the tournament. With the win, he became the third player in history, after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, to win the NCAA Individual Championship, the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open during a career. The win moved him to number five in the Official World Golf Ranking, matching his previous best, which he had first achieved in November 2018.
  
  In March 2021, DeChambeau won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. He shot a final round one-under 71 to defeat Lee Westwood by one shot.
  
  After shooting an opening round 1-over 71 at the 2021 Open Championship, DeChambeau placed blame on his driver, saying after the round, "That's what I said a couple of days ago; if I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that's great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks". That comment drew the ire of Ben Schomin, a tour operations manager for Cobra Golf who caddied for DeChambeau at the Rocket Mortgage Classic two weeks prior. Schomin told Golfweek, "It's just really, really painful when he says something that stupid. He has never really been happy, ever. Like, it's very rare when he's happy". DeChambeau would later issue an apology on Instagram.
  
  In August 2021, DeChambeau shot 27 under-par at the BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Maryland, but lost on the sixth hole of a sudden-death playoff to Patrick Cantlay.
  
  In September 2021, DeChambeau played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Dechambeau went 2–0–1 and won his Sunday singles match against Sergio García.
  
  Beginning in late 2019, DeChambeau set out to add muscle mass in order to increase his swing speed and hit the ball farther. He added 20 pounds before the tour's break due to the COVID-19 pandemic and another 20 during the break. When the tour resumed, he quickly moved to the lead in driving distance. On July 5, 2020, DeChambeau won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan, by three strokes over Matthew Wolff. In the final round, DeChambeau shot a 7-under 65 at Detroit Golf Club, birdieing four of the first seven holes and closing with three consecutive birdies. He finished at a career-best 23-under 265. DeChambeau came into the week with six straight top-eight finishes and was the only player with top-10s in the first three events after the restart from the coronavirus.
  
  In the second round of the 2020 Memorial Tournament in July, DeChambeau's second shot at the 15th went out of bounds under a fence. He argued that only part of the ball was out of bounds, and he should be allowed to play it, but PGA Tour rules official Ken Tackett ruled against him. DeChambeau asked for a ruling from a second official, who confirmed the initial ruling. He went on to shoot a quintuple-bogey 10 on the hole and miss the cut. In his next start two weeks later at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, DeChambeau's tee shot at the 7th stopped near the base of a tree. He argued that there were "red ants" in the area of the ball, and asked for a free drop regarding cases "when a dangerous animal near a ball could cause serious physical injury to the player". Ultimately Tackett, also the rules official in this incident, stated the ball had to be played as it lay. DeChambeau finished the hole with a double-bogey 6. Brooks Koepka later poked fun at DeChambeau, faking as though he was summoning a rules official in response to an ant infestation after he hit his drive into a similar position during the same tournament.
  
  In August 2020, DeChambeau briefly held a share of the lead during the final round of the PGA Championship; he went on to finish in a tie for fourth place, his first top-10 finish in a major championship. Six weeks later, at the 120th U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he came from two strokes behind at the start of the final round to win his first major championship. His six-under par total gave him a six stroke victory over Matthew Wolff. He was the only player under par in the final round, with a three-under par 67 and the only player to finish under par for the tournament. With the win, he became the third player in history, after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, to win the NCAA Individual Championship, the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open during a career. The win moved him to number five in the Official World Golf Ranking, matching his previous best, which he had first achieved in November 2018.
  
  In March 2021, DeChambeau won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida. He shot a final round one-under 71 to defeat Lee Westwood by one shot.
  
  After shooting an opening round 1-over 71 at the 2021 Open Championship, DeChambeau placed blame on his driver, saying after the round, "That's what I said a couple of days ago; if I can hit it down the middle of the fairway, that's great, but with the driver right now, the driver sucks". That comment drew the ire of Ben Schomin, a tour operations manager for Cobra Golf who caddied for DeChambeau at the Rocket Mortgage Classic two weeks prior. Schomin told Golfweek, "It's just really, really painful when he says something that stupid. He has never really been happy, ever. Like, it's very rare when he's happy". DeChambeau would later issue an apology on Instagram.
  
  In August 2021, DeChambeau shot 27 under-par at the BMW Championship in Owings Mills, Maryland, but lost on the sixth hole of a sudden-death playoff to Patrick Cantlay.
  
  In September 2021, DeChambeau played on the U.S. team in the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits in Kohler, Wisconsin. The U.S. team won 19–9 and Dechambeau went 2–0–1 and won his Sunday singles match against Sergio García.