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AUGUSTA, GA – These were just the opening arguments of DeChambeau v. Augusta National, and not the delivery of a verdict. DeChambeau played worse than expected, but scored better than he played: two under 70s in better scoring conditions. And to understand why he can win and why not, we present the first proof: DeChambeau’s Bridgestone golf ball, which his younger brother Tim Tucker found in a bush to the left of the 13th green.
This ball tells the story of DeChambeau at the Masters. This explains why he threatens to win the Green Jacket, and also why he might leave here with lasting scars.
Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
The 13 was the most anticipated hole in DeChambeau’s sleeve: a dogleg on the left that he thought he would devour like a wand. He said he was hoping to hit a monstrous drive around the turn and maybe all the way to the nearby 14th hole; there are no trees between numbers 13 and 14 there, because there has never been a need for trees there. Just like the NBA banned offensive goalies because Wilt Chamberlain was so good at it, DeChambeau could make the members here plant more trees, move tees, and pray to new gods he doesn’t erase. not the course.
That day he decided not to try his extra-long 48-inch driver, and he left his disc on the pine straw on the right side of the green, with a thin tree in his way. The ball was over his feet. He had two choices: lie down or try to hit a cut (left to right) on a lie that would push his ball in the opposite direction.
He didn’t lie down. This is not his way. “I got greedy,” he said later, which was all in character: He hits way past the longest hitters on the PGA Tour and still desperately tries to hit him longer. So he went for that, and he closed the clubface and shot the ball into that bush. Well, it happens to the best of them. Rory McIlroy said this week that he appreciates the azaleas behind the 13th green more because he spent so much time there.
What happened next was somehow worse. DeChambeau knew he might not find his ball. He knew he had to hit a provisional in case he didn’t. He knew the 13 had gone from an eagle opportunity to a business of survival and advancement. Surely he knew he should go to bed this time. He dropped a bullet, which gave him a mediocre lie, and now he absolutely, unequivocally had to know that he should lie down, try to escape with a par and the contents of his wallet … for all the calculation that DeChambeau does on the course, he did not have to bring it back to the 12th digit after the decimal point. Lie down.
He did not lie down.
Instead, it hit a terrible missile looking for a stream.
“I completely missed it,” DeChambeau said later. “I was trying to hit a little cut and I over-cut it… I wasn’t in the biggest lie after I dropped it.” I probably should have stopped on that, but you know what, again – I like to take risks.
Well, taking risks got him here. Taking risks has made him the US Open champion and the talk of the golf world. But now was not the time to take risks. This particular risk could easily have ended his tournament. It was a lot like what DeChambeau did at the Memorial earlier this year, when he lost his temper and quintuple bogey to get out of the tournament.
ROSENBERG: How Bryson DeChambeau is breaking the game of golf
DeChambeau went to get his first ball. How nervous was he?
“Very, very,” he said, “because I hit my other in the water and it wasn’t going to be fun.
Tucker found the first, and DeChambeau landed a penalty shot, fell, had an awkward swing on his field, chopped it to pieces, fell on the green, and made two putts for a double bogey seven. It is extremely difficult to win an event with a seven against a hole – there are simply too many great players to beat. But DeChambeau was lucky only drawn seven.
That’s the real test for DeChambeau when he threw it on Friday in the second round, and every Masters round thereafter. It’s not if his playstyle can work here. Of course, it is possible. If you are sincerely wondering if it is possible to win the Masters by bombarding the ball from over 350 yards, you may also wonder if it is possible to eat a lot of cake while taking many huge bites.
Michael Madrid-USA TODAY Sports
Bryson’s way can absolutely work here. But sometimes he’s a little too committed to it.
Length is a huge advantage at Augusta National. But balance is at least as important. Like many great players, DeChambeau has temperament on the course; he just needs to make sure he releases his anger and doesn’t let it affect his next hit.
DeChambeau was two above par after leaving 13th. He had hit his tee shot on the 11th into a tree and hit more to the right than he expected – his shot ended up where the stands would have been if it was a normal Masters instead of the 2020 Dystopian Hellscape Masters Special Edition. He threw on the green and recorded par there, but he clearly wasn’t playing close to his best golf course. It was, he later admitted, “I guess you could say tight. I was not comfortable with my golf swing.
Going from two of four holes to two under after 18 years has been a real achievement. It is a testament to DeChambeau’s ability but also to his courage. Length in golf is like speed in baseball: it never crumbles. One of his playing partners, Jon Rahm, long compared to almost everyone else, said DeChambeau had passed some “reality checks.” One came on par 5 8th, when Rahm smashed his drive, DeChambeau seemed to hit the heel, and DeChambeau hit him long after Rahm anyway.
He looked relieved as he left the course, and he looked relieved afterward. A 70 was not a good score that day; the rain-soaked course was so mild that Xander Sc Chaudele said ‘it didn’t feel right’. The balls stuck where they never stuck instead of rolling. Birds were available per group.
But a 70 was a great score for DeChambeau That day. One of Tiger Woods’ many talents is to turn a 73 into a 70 and stay in contention. DeChambeau will wake up on Friday morning knowing he can still win the Masters. He just has to remember how not to lose it.
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