Following a 5-under 67 on Saturday that has him at 6-under for The Open at St. Andrews, Bryson DeChambeau said he believes his best year to date was 2018.
"That was by far the best golf I ever played," said DeChambeau, according to ASAP Sports. "I feel like I'm getting back to that position with this new speed, which is great. I just need to hone some stuff in."
Four of DeChambeau's eight TOUR wins came within the span of two seasons, all in the year of 2018.
With three of those wins in the 2017-18 season alone, DeChambeau finished the FedEx Cup ranked No. 3, and ended that season ranked No. 5 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
"Even though I wasn't No. 1 in the world at that current point in time, I felt like my game was world No. 1," DeChambeau said.
The 28-year-old injured his hand in early February and had surgery for the fracture in April, which kept him from playing in multiple events.
Even now, DeChambeau said he's only "97 to 98" percent back to full health, but believes if he can improve on a few aspects of his game, he'll have the opportunity to make a run at that top spot.
"If I can conquer that and get back to where I can control the golf ball off the tee, just like I want to in those right-to-left winds, I feel like I'll have the opportunity to be close to No. 1," he said.
In addition to the injuries affecting his position in the rankings, DeChambeau has recently joined the LIV Golf Series which does not award OWGR points. However, a solid finish this week at The Open could move the 2020 U.S. Open Champion up a few spots from his current ranking of No. 33.
