Bryson DeChambeau was in pole position to win The Masters after two holes of the final round this past season, with the American taking the lead from Rory McIlroy.
Golf fans could have hardly dreamed of a more exciting finale to The Masters. It was Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau in the final group less than a year after their duel at the US Open.
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Pinehurst went down to the wire. Unfortunately, what happened at Augusta National proved to be an anticlimax from DeChambeau’s perspective.
A positive start quickly unravelled. After making a four on the second, DeChambeau would not make another birdie until the 13th. By that time, his chances of winning the green jacket were over due to five dropped shots.
What Bryson DeChambeau really thought of Rory McIlroy winning The Masters
When it came to the LIV Golf star, the big talking point afterwards was DeChambeau’s comments in which he noted that McIlroy did not speak to him all day. DeChambeau was criticised heavily for what could have easily been perceived as sour grapes with the Northern Irishman going on to win.
But speaking to Flushing It this week, DeChambeau suggested that, on reflection, he has taken a lot from seeing McIlroy get across the line and finally completing the Career Grand Slam.
“Yeah, no question [I can win The Masters]. It’s about doing it, though, right? Like, we can talk about it all day long and, you know, Rosey’s been so close so many times, and numerous others have been close, and seeing Rory get it done was actually more inspirational to me saying, you know what? Somebody has worked so hard to win that tournament for so long, kind of the same thing with me. You know, I feel like I can do the same thing,” he said.
“I think having a more level mindset ahead going into it, just knowing that I can execute shots more on demand than what I was able to do last year. You know, that hook on 11 cost me quite a bit, and it was a frustrating moment where I know I can conquer those shots.
“My iron play is usually one of the best things in my game and it really wasn’t that week. I’ve worked on my wedging now, and I figured out some cool little techniques to hopefully help my wedge play get better. So, I’m quite interested to see how that plays coming in next year.
“But, I’m very excited about my game heading into this year. I’m going to have a lot of new things that you’ll see, and it’ll be quite interesting to hear people’s opinions on them and hopefully, more importantly, it works.”
Bryson DeChambeau’s increasingly impressive record at Augusta National
DeChambeau is undoubtedly the one player who appears to have used his LIV Golf schedule to his advantage when it comes to the majors.
He has missed two cuts in his last eight major starts. But in the other six events, he has finished inside the top 10.
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Before the 2024 Masters, his best result at Augusta National had come when he was an amateur and finished tied for 21st.
As noted by Sky Sports, DeChambeau was ridiculed for previously saying that Augusta is essentially a par 67 for him when he was playing well.
But he is starting to show plenty of signs that he is figuring the iconic course out, having finished sixth in 2024 before going one better on his most recent visit.
It therefore feels like a matter of time before DeChambeau is very much in the mix coming down the stretch at The Masters.
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