Bryson DeChambeau's supreme confidence in 2020 doesn't match Augusta's results. about the battle between Brooks Koepka and John Rahm, Rory McIlroy's woes and Tiger Woods' bad leg, there was one big player notable for his absence from Masters coverage this year. Bryson DeChambeau, one of the most flamboyant and outspoken players in the game, has completely disappeared from view.
Augusta National doesn't seem to forget. Three years ago, after his first big win at Winged Foot, the Californian famously boasted that for him, with his supersonic punch, he no longer considered the venerable par-72 course. “I see it as a par-67 for me, because I can reach all par-five in two, no problem,” DeChambeau said nonchalantly. He has since regretted those words.
In the 12 rounds since those comments, DeChambeau has played a total of 19 par overs. Or +79, if you count the course, like him, par-67.
To say that there was some schadenfreude from the golf establishment in his arrogant retribution would be an understatement. The Modesto Man has always been something of a Marmite. From the earliest days when he dared to challenge the status quo of golf with his «tool of science» (single-length strides, setting up a «side saddle», splashing golf balls with water to try and figure out spin speed, etc. etc. d.) a physics graduate in a flat cap has always disagreed.
Some like DeChambeau's bombastic approach. His boast. His bombs. They love the videos showing his desire for extra cornering speed and long distance racing competition. Others see him as a beginner, not a serious golfer, and there is nothing better than watching him fall face down.
It was actually hard to watch DeChambeau do anything at all in his two rounds this year when the powers that be on TV refused to show any of his shots. Whether this had anything to do with his departure to LIV last year is open to debate (LIV Twitter certainly thought so). Luckily, there's always the Masters website, where you can watch replays of any shot by any player on any hole.
What DeChambeau's camera showed was pretty brutal even for the most ardent opponents of the LIV. -Bryson fanatic.
A double bogey on his first hole of the 2023 Masters saw DeChambeau start the worst possible. But he managed to finish the rest of the round at par, ending the day with a score of 74. Not very good. Seven is above par by his own standards, but not beyond.
DeChambeau's highly thoughtful daily routine is not to everyone's taste. Reuters/Mike Blake
It was — the irony of irony — par-five that finally did for him. Standing at 3 in the second round and heading for a 15th par 5, DeChambeau would no doubt have thought he needed a birdie to make a projected 2 cut. This was his chance. After all, A's are his bread and butter.
He even played it safe, choosing to lie down. And it seemed like a wise move when he hit high with his third pin. Unfortunately for him, he hit the flag, ricocheted sideways, rolled off the green and all the way into the water, resulting in a very costly scarecrow. DeChambeau ended the day on +4. To compound the injury, the cut line then moved to 3 the next day when Justin Thomas spooked his last two holes after play resumed after Friday's elimination. So Deshambeau did not need this bird at 15 years old. Golf can be a brutal sport.
Bryson DeChambeau wrestling at the Masters
DeChambeau, to his credit, took his medicine pretty well. Speaking about these infamous 2020 comments earlier this week, he insisted that he could now laugh at them. «Do I regret them?» he asked. “Everyone has a point of view on this. I don't think I regret anything. What I do understand is that I have a lot of respect for the course. Like, people don't think that I… because of this statement, they think that I don't respect the course? Are you kidding me? This is one of the best golf courses in the whole world and if anyone thinks that I don't respect this course, they better go check who I really am, because it's not entirely accurate.
< p> “Given the distance I was hitting and hitting from, I thought there was a possibility [to do Augusta par-67]. But that's only with your «excellent» game, and I had to rephrase it. If you have an «A» game, you stand a good chance of making it.»
When all is said and done, it wasn't such an outrageous proposition. Most big hitters would hope to hit a top five when they play well. This week, Brooks Kepka played in par-five under the age of seven. You just don't talk. These critters have a habit of coming back to bite you in the azaleas.
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