Bryson DeChambeau is certainly going to be one of the most intriguing players to watch at The Masters after a 2024 season in which the LIV Golf star appeared to find a formula in the majors.
It was extremely impressive how Bryson DeChambeau seemed to reach a different level in the four biggest events of the year, despite failing to win a single individual tournament on LIV Golf throughout the season.
Of course, the highlight came at the US Open as DeChambeau held off the challenge of Rory McIlroy to win by one at Pinehurst. But there were signs at The Masters of this new gear for the 31-year-old.
DeChambeau led after the first two rounds at Augusta National, and did not appear to be out of contention until midway through his final round when he could not find a way to end a run of pars which eventually lasted 11 holes.
Concern expressed about Bryson DeChambeau ahead of The Masters
With that, it is hard not to wonder how much stock to place in his slow start to the 2025 season on LIV. He is down in 15th in the individual standings, having had his first top five finish of the year at LIV Golf Miami.
DeChambeau started the final round at Doral with the lead. However, a bogey and a double bogey in his first four holes largely put paid to his hopes. A seven on the par five 10th hole confirmed the end of his challenge.
Nevertheless, speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Ryan Lavner confirmed that he has DeChambeau in his top five names to win The Masters alongside the likes of Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm – though, he did admit to being concerned by his most recent round.
“If you did a blind taste test and you took the names off of it and I showed you the names of those two players you would lean towards Rory. He is clearly playing better golf this year. It’s marginal, not by a whole lot, and I am going to be surprised if he puts on the green jacket this Sunday but I think those two are pretty easy one and two,” he said of McIlroy and Scheffler.
“I have Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau rounding off my top five. Bryson DeChambeau did not play well on Sunday at Doral, when conditions were difficult. That, to me, is a bit of an alarm bell. This is the first time we have seen any of the LIV guys play a course which can compare to Augusta, at least in degree of difficulty. I still like Jon Rahm. I know he didn’t play great last round or the majors last year, but I feel like there is some institutional knowledge and he has probably turned the corner from where he was last year.”
How Bryson DeChambeau has performed at The Masters over the years
DeChambeau does not have a great record at Augusta National. Interestingly, the two cuts he missed actually came in recent years; following the body transformation which turned DeChambeau into one of the longest hitters in the game.
The 2024 event saw his only top 10 finish at Augusta. And his best result before that actually came when he was an amateur – as he finished 21st in 2016.
With the amount of seemingly needless mistakes he made on Sunday at Doral, it is no surprise that Lavner has his worries about his chances at The Masters.
But DeChambeau has a game which means that he is almost impossible to write off, particularly if 2024 is a sign of what is to come from him in the majors.
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