Bryson DeChambeau isn’t going to let a slow start to the Masters hinder him from setting a high bar over the course of the weekend.
The US Open champion was the talk of the town in the lead up to the 84th edition of golf’s biggest showpiece but suffered a disastrous start on Thursday by making a double-bogey on the par-5, 13th, his third hole for the day.
Playing alongside world No 2 Jon Rahm and South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, DeChambeau was finding himself in tricky situations from the outset but managed to launch a fightback with back to back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes.
‘I tried to take on some risk today, I didn’t have my best. I got a little, I guess you could say, ‘tight.’ I wasn’t comfortable with my golf swing,’ said the 27-year-old after his round.
DeChambeau looked much more composed on the back nine, however, with his now-famous driver beginning to work in full mode.
The American made three further birdies, while dropping one more shot, as he came home after the turn to conclude with a two-under-par 70.
Given the expectations that were set prior to the event, DeChambeau was satisfied with the mini recovery but admits the Augusta National course can be tricky at times.
‘It didn’t work out as well as I thought it would have, but at the end of the day I’m proud of myself the way I handled myself and finished off.
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‘I’m very happy with the patience I delivered to the course today. I just didn’t draw it around the corner enough, and I got greedy. This golf course, as much as I’m trying to attack it, it can bite back,’ he added.
The three-ball of DeChambeau, Rahm and Oosthuizen will be part of the later group to tee off on Friday with a big group of players yet to finish their opening rounds after darkness brought an early end to proceedings following an earlier rain delay.
