By Field Level Media Derek Harper
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bryson DeChambeau rolled down Magnolia Lane this week confident that his golf game is in the best shape of his career to make a strong run at winning his first Masters.
He arrived at Augusta National on the heels of a pair of playoff victories in LIV Golf events, the most recent coming over former Masters champion Jon Rahm in South Africa. DeChambeau is also benefitting from the experience of nine previous Masters starts.
Following a pair of missed cuts, DeChambeau has tied for sixth and fifth the past two years at Augusta. He played in the final group with eventual champion Rory McIlroy last year, falling out of contention with a final round 75 but learning from the experience.
“It was a great learning lesson,” DeChambeau said on Tuesday. “Leading or being tied for the lead and having the lead, that last group final round, gave me a lot of perspective on it. Then losing it and having things not go my way as they finished out and Rory completed the grand slam.
“As I reflect back on it, the one thing I can take from it is I can put myself in those positions. The more I put myself in those positions, the better opportunities I’m going to have to win. It’s just been a gradual learning process. You never know what this week may bring, but I certainly hope to give it my all and put myself back in that position because I want to feel it again.”
DeChambeau, 32, was told that the average age of the past 20 major winners has been — 32 years old.
“If that’s the way the stats line up and they work in my favor, fantastic,” he said. “I don’t try to look too much into that and focus on what I can accomplish.”
In addition to leaning on his experience, DeChambeau has been tinkering with his clubs. That includes trying new wedges that he worked with in South Africa last month and “building” his own personal irons and driver. He hasn’t made a final decision on what clubs will comprise his bag come Thursday’s opening round.
“There’s this nature that I have about myself where innovation is a habit of mine, and I really find and take pride in that ability to learn,” he said. “Even through failure, even through making a bad decision or a good decision, what I can get from that.
“So we’ll see where it goes, we’ll see where it takes me. All I could say now is, if I don’t put them in the bag, it’s my fault now.”
DeChambeau is also obsessed with learning the nuances of the famous winds that blow through Augusta National. He observes the different conditions, how they impact how he attacks a hole, which iron he decides to hit and how the ball may react.
“For me, it’s a continual learning process. For me from a nerding-out perspective, it’s really about the wind this year for me,” he said.
“I feel really good. It’s just about going out and executing.”
–Derek Harper, Field Level Media
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