It was a cold morning on Wednesday and the 10th fairway at Le Golf National was littered with eager photographers in several layers and winter hats awaiting the United States Ryder Cup team photo shoot.

As the first red golf cart came into view in the distance, all cameras turned hoping to get the first shot of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or maybe Jordan Spieth. Instead, it was…Bryson DeChambeau.

There was a smattering of shutter sounds before eyes went back up the hill to see who was next. As for DeChambeau? He slowly lumbered behind a thin barricade and said sheepishly: "I would be the first one."

By Sunday, don't be surprised if all eyes are on the 25-year-old Ryder Cup rookie.

That nondescript, yet playful stroll on number 10 early Wednesday was a microcosm of DeChambeau's week. The "Mad Scientist" is just a kid finding his fit with a group of the world's best golfers at one the sport's biggest events.

"No other words to describe it than awesome," DeChambeau said during his Tuesday press conference, sandwiched between appearances by Woods and Mickelson, whom he played with earlier in the day. "Just to be a part of the team and the atmosphere, it's certainly something special and something that I'll never forget in my lifetime, that's for sure."

Everything about DeChambeau - his headwear (an old-school nod to Ben Hogan), his upright, fat-gripped clubs (like his swing, unlike any on the PGA Tour) - has been considered unique since he stepped onto the tour. He throws around words like 'biomechanics' and 'parasympathetic' in interviews, forcing the continued use of Google and spellcheck. But Team USA team-mate Bubba Watson, seemingly the yin to DeChambeau's yang, says the kid isn't that much different from anyone else.

You see, DeChambeau and his physics background uses numbers to find his best shot. And Watson, a Dukes of Hazzard-loving guy from Nowhere, Florida, just sees a tree between his ball and the pin, imagines a hack, takes it and hopes for the best. But for both it's about getting the ball as close to the hole as possible on every swing.

"It gets to the same point. It's just he uses a lot bigger words than me," Watson said Wednesday.

That internal calculation throughout his round won't be seen on TV at this Ryder Cup. But what we may get a taste of is the passion DeChambeau says he buries on tour.

This weekend at an event where on-course displays of emotion are encouraged and immortalized, DeChambeau may show us that 'fire' again.

"It motivates me most of the time in a very positive way. Fires me up in a good way, and that's why I think I'll be good for the Ryder Cup team. I think it will be fun to see how that plays out," he said, citing team-mate Patrick Reed and his iconic battle with Rory McIlroy at the 2016 Ryder Cup. "It was inspirational. It was motivating. Personally, from a selfish standpoint, on that end, I made it a point that I wanted to be part of a team like that and have that fire, as well."

Reed said he's encouraged DeChambeau to show that emotion this weekend.

"The biggest thing with the guys, especially talking with Bryson and stuff, we're going out there and you can get excited. It's the one week that you can show your emotion and show it on your sleeve," Reed said. "If you make a putt and you're excited, show it. If you go out and you miss a putt, and you're not thrilled, show it, but do it in the right way.

"That's the biggest thing, is this is the one week that we're allowed to let loose and show our emotions and play golf."

That fire broke through DeChambeau's jovial demeanour on Tuesday when he was asked about how he will handle his friendships with European players during the tournament.

"There will be none," he said abruptly. "It's USA against Europe out here. We're going to try and do our absolute best to keep the Cup."

Team USA's youngest member has shown no signs of being overwhelmed. He's loose, confident and, above all, playing great golf. And though he might be the butt of a few locker room jokes, DeChambeau could be the difference in whether his team wins this Sunday and he cements himself as a respected member for the next decade or more.