The SMU Mustangs home crowd has had plenty to cheer about through one half of play, with their team taking a 31-3 lead into the half against the undefeated Pittsburgh Panthers. But perhaps the biggest round of applause from the SMU crowd came due to the public appearance of LIV Golf star and SMU alumnus Bryson DeChambeau at the game, who didn’t come empty-handed.
DeChambeau has quickly become one of the biggest stars in the golf world this past calendar year, perhaps most notably besting Rory McIlroy in the 2024 U.S. Open in June to secure his second major championship.
Ahead of Saturday’s SMU-Pitt matchup, DeChambeau conducted the ceremonial coin toss at midfield. But it was his behavior during the game that really caught the attention of the home crowd.
During the game, DeChambeau was captured on the ESPN broadcast of the game carrying around his U.S. Open trophy in the crowd amidst some very rowdy SMU fans, who were very clearly were quite happy he decided to bring the trophy to the game.
DeChambeau has certainly made the most of being the reigning U.S. Open champion, walking around with the trophy on numerous occasions publicly over the past few months. But this instance is probably the most meaningful for him as an alumni of SMU that previously became the first player at the school to ever win a men’s golf national championship in 2015.