To be clear, I am far past the point in my life where I expect athletes to be any sort of role model or paragon of virtue. I like to think I can watch great athletes in any sport and appreciate what they do, without burning much mental energy on who they are.
However, there are some exceptions where I just can't get around some of the surrounding noise with particular athletes. Barry Bonds was one. DeChambeau is another, for completely different reasons, and it actually has nothing to do with the weight gain (of which I am VERY suspicious, btw); it goes back to his brief time putting side saddle at the beginning of the season several years ago.
I began putting side saddle a little over 5 years ago, knew that DeChambeau had putted that way much of the time as an amateur, and was VERY interested to see him putt that way on Tour, which he had "announced" that he was going to do. The first event was a "co-ed" tournament in the Caribbean somewhere; can't remember the details now.
But I knew within a couple of holes of watching him that he was using a non-conforming putter, and I knew that he knew it, too. Without getting into the technicalities of the rules, he was holding the putter dead vertical to the ground without the heel of the putter being off the ground, which isn't possible if the putter is legal. EVERY golfer that putts side saddle knows this stuff because you have to buy custom made putters anyway.
And sure enough, the USGA ruled his putter to be non-conforming a couple of weeks later; I have NO idea what took them so long, because a Rules official could/should have DQ'd him after that first round for signing an incorrect scorecard with no penalty strokes.
Predictably, DeChambeau went off on the USGA for being out to get him because he was different and might be a danger to "tradition", which was complete BS. He was cheating, and he was doing it intentionally, and he lied about it, which is sort of the Unholy Trinity of personal conduct, especially in golf.
And that just adds to the suspicions I have about the weight gain and length gains, which NFL linemen would LOVE to be able to do in a couple of months. Ethics aren't a light switch that you turn off and on; you've got 'em, or you don't, and if you don't, you're always looking for an edge, legal or not. Leopards do not typically change their spots.
If you can't tell, this guy REALLY bothers me. The request for relief from invisible fire ants this week, like blaming the cameraman for a bad bunker shot, is just the latest, but not the greatest.