Bryson DeChambeau believes that one day he will be rendered obsolete by hard-swinging 7ft tall uber-athletes. Given that his opening round at the Masters was matched by Ian Woosnam, a 5ft 4in veteran playing on one leg with a bad back and iffy groin, it seemed that the American might have been overstating things again.
Another thing he had been accused of overdoing was his much-mocked claim that Augusta National is a par 67 for him, rather than the stated 72. Yesterday, on his 18th round at the Masters, he recorded a 67 for the first time. You had to hand it to him. He has grit and gall.
He started the day 11 shots behind the overnight leader Justin Rose and by the end of his round that gap had been trimmed to six and he was one under par. It all coalesced on the closing stretch when he had four birdies in six holes. The final one was the signature. A huge tee shot crashed into the trees. People in the nearby cabins hid in their basement. He was almost on the 10th fairway but was sufficiently wayward to have a clear shot into the heart of the green. The putter that had earlier let him down was now purring and he made another notch. It was a round of sheer defiance. “There are times when I feel my power works to my advantage,” he said. No kidding. “Even on 18 I was able to clear all those trees.”
If the US Open champion is a polarising figure, it is possible to take shelter in the middle ground. You can think he is both the “unaffected single-minded twit”, as Eddie Pepperell once labelled him, and an innovator who is good for the game. What we know for sure is DeChambeau is not for turning. If you have added 45lb in weight to transform your career, it is safe to assume you are committed to the plan, even if purists keep telling you that bludgeoning shots over greens and into bushes is not the way to overhaul Augusta.
Had he made a point? “Look, the par for me last year was 74, but for the main part I feel this golf course is an amazing, spectacular, venue. It’s an interesting challenge for me.” This was more like it. You do not declare things like his 67 theory at Augusta National, where watering the plants is close to a Masonic ritual.
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At the 2019 and 2020 Masters DeChambeau was a combined 17 under for the par-fives so you can see what he meant with his 67 talk. Alas, he was also 17 over for the par-fours, but there may be something in it. He said he was finally seeing the lines on the greens and that, while his ball-striking was still not good enough, he was speaking of “taking it easy” on the difficult holes. A restrained DeChambeau? We had previously thought that had meant having one less buffalo for breakfast.
He explained that he viewed golf from a “probabilistic” standpoint. “Are you going to get lucky for 72 holes? Probably not, but I definitely had some lucky breaks out there.” He now viewed himself as “somewhat in contention”.
For the bulk of an entertaining round he drove the ball beautifully yesterday. There was the 370-yard arrow down the middle of the 2nd only for him to put his approach in the bunker, meaning he left that par-five without making ground. On to the 350-yard 3rd where his drive came to rest within inches off the green. “Good Lord!” a spectator said, but a poor chip segued into another disappointing par. A perfect 340-yard drive split the 5th fairway. Then came the approach. “I did it again, Tim,” he said to his caddie as his ball flew over the green. He left with a bogey.
Strangely, he made inroads when he started missing off the tee, which shows how important putting has been to his ascent and how approach play is often the key to winning the Masters. A drive flew way right on the 7th, but he hacked his way out to save his par. On the par-five 8th he was in trouble off the tee again. “Son of a gun, dude,” he said, and it seemed the only thing gaining momentum was the chuntering. One mighty blow later and he was almost on the green in two. It defied logic. He made the birdie. Afterwards he gave the impression that he is figuring out Augusta. He probably needs a one-under round of 66 today.
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