Bryson DeChambeau Says Tiger Woods Texted Him Before Winning Arnold Palmer Invitational

Bryson DeChambeau won the Arnold Palmer Invitational this past weekend, thanks to the words of wisdom from Tiger Woods. Before competing in the tournament’s final round on Sunday, DeChambeau, 27, revealed that Woods sent him a text. It was surprising for DeChambeau to hear from Woods, considering he is recovering from a single-car accident in late February.

“Well, it was obviously personal, I would say, for the most part,” DeChambeau said when asked about the details of the text message, as reported by PGATour.com. “But pretty much to sum it up … he texted me this morning out of the blue and I wasn’t expecting anything. When I got that text, I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty amazing that he is thinking of me when he’s in his tough times that he’s going through right now.’ So I just texted him. I said, ‘Keep moving forward, keep going forward. You’re going to get through it. You’re the hardest working person I’ve ever met and you’ll persevere through this pretty much.’”

DeChambeau went on to say the two discussed how to move forward despite having setbacks. “One of the things that we talked about was, it’s not about how many times you get kicked to the curb or knocked down. It’s about how many times you can get back up and keep moving forward,” DeChambeau said. “And I think this [champion’s] red cardigan is not only for Mr. Palmer, but I would say it’s a little bit for Tiger as well, knowing what place he’s in right now.”

As Woods continues to recover from the accident, investigators are trying to figure out the details behind the crash in Los Angeles. USA Today recently spoke to multiple experts about the crash and suggested that Ambien may have played a role in the incident. And right after Woods crashed his Hyundai Genesis, he told officers that he had no recollection of driving or how the accident happened.

Reports state that Woods “regained consciousness before sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene of the crash.” It was also reported that Woods was “trapped in a loaner car” and remained in the driver’s seat with blood on his face and chin.” Woods was transported to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and then sent to Cedars-Sinai Hospital later in the week.