PINEHURST, N.C. — This might not have been true several years ago. He was an oddity in a sport of tradition and sameness, a player who tinkered with equipment and conducted golf-related tests as if he were a science professor.

He used phrases like “finite element analysis” (which he still does), used same-length clubs and reshaped his body more times than the Terminator, looking at times like he wanted to try out as a defensive end. When he decided to leave for the LIV Tour, it was almost as though they couldn’t back up the truck fast enough to move him out of town.

But a strange metamorphosis has occurred with Bryson DeChambeau. He is liked now, wildly cheered, accepted by the galleries as though he has returned from service. And it is not just for the home-run tee balls they love to see him hit.

Maybe more impressive, he returns the newfound adoration by making eye-to-eye contact with the fans, smiling, slapping hands and, yes, even saying thank you.

This is the new Bryson DeChambeau. Always a talent but, more so, a player with a flair for entertainment. What other PGA Tour player would try to drive the ball across the pond at Bay Hill’s No. 6, the horseshoe par-5, and thrust his arms in the air in triumphant accomplishment?

Right ... none.

What other player has pet names for each club in his bag and dresses in 1920s garb and makes Instagram posts hitting balls with a hickory shaft?

On a tour where the world’s No. 1 player is as calm and controlled as a Tibetan monk, Bryson DeChambeau is missed ... badly. More so than any player who has defected to the LIV Tour.

Quite simply, the PGA Tour needs him back.

DeChambeau is on top of the leader board after three rounds at Pinehurst No. 2 and will take a three-shot lead into Sunday's final round as he seeks his second U.S. Open title. And the crowd loved every minute, judging from the reception he received at the final hole.

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