Published
Jun 19, 2026 at 12:28 PM EDT
Once again Bryson DeChambeau made headlines with his latest equipment change.
This time around he brought two new drivers to the U.S. Open to test ahead of the year’s third major tournament. The 2020 and 2023 U.S. Open winner practiced and tested earlier this week with a pair of TaylorMade Qi4D 200+ drivers that were added to the USGA’s Conforming Driver Head list on Monday.
Initially, both TaylorMade and DeChambeau were unusually quiet about the abrupt change, but that all ended when the golf company issued a statement during the first round of the tournament from Shinnecock Golf Club in New York.
The statement dove into DeChambeau’s drive to reach over 200 mph ball speed, which TaylorMade suggested needed a club that reinvented the face to allow for such speeds.
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“The carbon face on the Qi4D 200+ Proto is really where the story gets interesting. At those speeds, the shape of the face needs to be different,” the company said in a statement via Golfweek.
“It must be uniquely engineered to maximize speed, start direction and consistency on off-center shots, in a way that complements someone at 200 MPH+. Carbon lets us custom form that face with an incredible level of precision. We can do things, and hold tolerances, that you simply can’t achieve any other way.”
According to the statement, DeChambeau “wanted a driver that could handle ball speeds north of 200 MPH and address the unique performance demands that come with swinging at the speed necessary to generate those numbers.”
In the first round, DeChambeau hit the new driver 427 yards on one hole. He recorded an even-par, 70 in the first round to put him six shots off the lead.
However, the wheels have come off the bus in the second round as he currently sits at five-over on the day and two shots outside the cut line with just three holes left to play.
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