AUGUSTA – Look who has come in from out of the cold, back to the glare of important golf for a week.
A slightly humbled version of the original who once thought he could give Augusta National a verbal wedgie and get away with it.
He’s a leaner, healthier kind of strong, a fellow who determined he didn’t need to blow up like a Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade balloon Superman to play a little championship golf.
A wiser fellow, it would seem from the one who splashed large with wins in both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open and then went away to get rich and largely unwatched in LIV golf.
An eminently more rootable sort, perhaps.
Why, if it isn’t the new and improved Bryson DeChambeau.
The DeChambeau who led the Masters at sundown of an incomplete first round Thursday scarcely resembled the one of 2020, the one who was supposed to have laid waste to this course and this tournament by now, but failed spectacularly.
Not physically. After deciding it was unhealthy to consume the calories of a racehorse in training, DeChambeau called a halt to his pumped-up stage a little while back. He dropped 30 or so pounds and came out much happier for the loss.
Not mentally. The mad scientist stage that carried him into the pro game – the bagful of same-length clubs, the beating you over the head with his physics degree – isn’t a big part of his press conferences anymore.
Now, he says he is in “the golf phase for sure – trying to be the best golfer I can be.”
That old DeChambeau would still be talking about how with his power and ability to strongarm every par-5 hole, Augusta National was essentially a different course for him, a discounted par-67 track. He called it that back four years ago, arching eyebrows all over Bobby Jones’ hallowed place.
Instead this one apologized for such impertinence Thursday – “Regarding the 67 comment, you know, you mess up,” he said. “You learn from your mistake, and that was definitely one.”
Then he went out Thursday and played the par 5s in 3 under, shot way better than any mere 67 (a career-best 65 in 25 career Masters rounds) and didn’t come off like he had just reconfigured the DNA of golf.
“I shot 65 today, and that was one of the best rounds of golf I’ve played in a long time,” he said, admitting that it takes great golf to post a great score on a great course.
As he said in his ESPN Butler Cabin interview, sounding so much more mature: “You think you can come here and understand this place at first rip – that’s not a great strategy, I’ll tell you that.”
Oh, he can still spout some malarky from time to time.
In jumping to LIV, DeChambeau helped fracture the game. Now, with his five-year exemption into majors like the Masters set to run out next year, he’s politicking for a quick resolution to the divide for, he says, the good of the game. It’s like a tornado offering to rebuild the barn.
Of immediate interest, though, is DeChambeau’s newfound excellence at the Masters.
He has, plainly, stunk here. Missed the cut the last two years. His best finish in seven Masters was the T-21 he put up as low amateur in 2016. Total rounds under par – 6. Rounds over par – 14.
“It’s been extremely disappointing,” DeChambeau said, touching on all the right themes, “especially with how well I love this golf course, love the patrons, love the members, love the golf course conditions, everything about it.
“It’s something I’ve dreamed of always winning my entire life.”
If he’s not careful, he’s going to make a complete U-turn from science to sentiment.
His best day at the Masters – framed by three opening birdies and three more over the closing four holes Thursday – was the product of a serious-minded commitment to coming back here a better golfer with a better mindset. That process involved a January reconnaissance mission to Augusta National in which he tested both his equipment and his approach.
“For me,” DeChambeau said, “it’s a focus of how do I execute the next best shot and put myself in a good place to make birdie or par and not make a big number? And I think I have made a lot of big numbers out here.”
The new DeChambeau, the one who boasted of his ability to hit the ball so far as to make these par 5s irrelevant, ranked behind five other players in average driving distance Thursday. He is capable of throttling back just a little if necessary.
The new DeChambeau no longer feels the need to sound like the smartest guy in the clubhouse.
The new DeChambeau seems to place some value in tradition and simplicity. Maybe he doesn’t need to dazzle us with his brilliance, but just impress us with his play.
“I’m in a place now where I’ve figured some stuff out with my golf game, golf swing. I’m just in a comfortable place where I’m doing the same thing every single week,” he said, hinting at a more grounded nature.
It would be nice to see more of this guy.
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