Bryson DeChambeau's wild ride: LIV Golf star gets taste of speed at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

INDIANAPOLIS — Two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau once hit a golf ball 221 mph with his driver.

Exactly as fast as some of the drivers will be going in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.

''It would be really cool,'' DeChambeau mused Saturday, sitting on a perch that overlooks the front stretch at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, ''to hit a ball down the straightaway, see if you could land it in a car going by you.''

Sounds like an interesting challenge.

Then again, DeChambeau is all about the challenges these days.

Sure, the majority of golf fans know of his highly publicized exodus to the LIV tour and his tremendous success in the majors, including the U.S. Open, where he will be the defending champion at Oakmont in a few weeks.

But millions of mainstream sports fans, especially in younger demographics, know him just as well — perhaps even better — from his YouTube channel, which boasts nearly 2 million followers. There, DeChambeau takes on a myriad of challenges: trying to break 50 with partners ranging from fellow LIV star Sergio Garcia to President Donald Trump, attempting to set scoring records at random public courses that he's never even seen, even playing matches against some top junior players.

The overwhelming success of the channel, coupled with an infectious personality that has been on full display everywhere from the Masters to the PGA Championship last week, has allowed DeChambeau to transcend the sport of golf.

''I saw what Dude Perfect was doing, and then Mr. Beast, and they grew the channels like crazy, and encapsulated a massive audience, and I was like, ‘Man, I'm a sports player. I'm a professional. Like, why can't I do that?''' DeChambeau said. ''So I took it upon myself — I found the right team, got started, and five years later, here we are.''

Right in the middle of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, often referred to as the ''Racing Capital of the World."

DeChambeau was there in part to film a behind-the-scenes documentary for LIV, which has a tournament in August just north of Indianapolis at The Club at Chatham Hills. But he also was taking in the scene on the eve of the biggest single-day sporting event in the world, one that is expected to draw a sellout crowd of 350,000 fans on Sunday.

DeChambeau spent time with Team Penske driver Scott McLaughlin. He launched tee shots with Andretti Global driver Kyle Kirkwood off the Turn 2 terrace onto Brickyard Crossing, the golf course with four holes inside the track. And he climbed into a fire suit for a two-seater ride around the 2.5-mile oval at speeds approaching 180 mph.

''Going around the track was actually insane,'' DeChambeau said. ''I went off and I mean, it was the craziest. Now I understand racing. Yeah, I get it, like that feeling — a rush. It's unlike anything you can experience elsewhere. It's a rollercoaster, but way faster and lower to the ground, and I hated rollercoasters growing up. The G-forces are just incredible.''

Others taking part in his session Saturday included WWE star Titus O'Neil, members of the rock band Creed, Grammy nominee Omar Apollo, Mary and Romain Bonnet from ''Selling Sunset'' and ''Shadowhunters'' actress Katherine McNamara.

These are the kinds of things DeChambeau might not have done early in his career. But his YouTube channel, and his success in all avenues of social media, has made him more comfortable in situations that might have pushed his boundaries.

''I've kind of gotten out of my box more,'' he said. "This is another one where I was like, ‘You just got to go.' I wasn't afraid at all. It was just, ‘What am I going to feel like?' The unknown. And I'm like, ‘I'm not in control of this at all.'

''And then you get to that first corner and you're like, ‘My goodness, am I in for a treat.' And feeling that the whole way around, and looking up through the helmet. I can't imagine what it's like on race day with 32 others out there.''

DeChambeau's schedule will keep him from sticking around to see it in person. But he plans to be watching on TV on Sunday.

''Kirkwood, I mean, he's awesome. I really like him," DeChambeau said. ''And he's a decent golfer, too, as well.''

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing