Bryson DeChambeau withdraws from PGA Championship after practice round

TULSA, Okla. — Bryson DeChambeau will not participate in the PGA Championship at Southern Hills on Thursday after all.

DeChambeau played a practice round Wednesday, and it had appeared as if he would make his return to competitive golf after missing more than a month while he recovered from surgery to repair a bone in his left wrist.

That was not meant to be, however.

DeChambeau, 28, had been out of action since early April, missing the cut at last month's Masters, the first major of the season, after carding a 12-over total in the first two rounds. He elected to have surgery on his left wrist to repair a fractured hook of the hamate bone.

The typical recovery is four to six weeks.

«I'm proud of the fact that I'm here,» DeChambeau said in an interview with Golf Channel prior to withdrawing from the event. «I'm proud I've been able to persevere through it. I've had a lot of stuff going on recently and the game has not been a fun thing for me, so I'm excited to get back and give it another shot. Everybody deserves a second chance.»

DeChambeau spent the day hitting multiple shots off different tees at Southern Hills, working the ball in different directions as he tested out his wrist. He bombed several drives while playing the back nine, showing no signs of pain.

Asked during his practice round how his left wrist was feeling, DeChambeau was coy: «It's still attached.»

He signed autographs and took selfies with fans for 10 minutes during the long wait between some holes. DeChambeau also seemed to be in good spirits, joking and chatting with his playing partner, Anirban Lahiri.

On the 14th hole, a par-3 that plays 230 yards, he hit a low draw with a 6-iron into the front bunker, then immediately dropped a second ball in mild