What Phil Mickelson thought about Bryson DeChambeau before he had even made his Masters debut back in 2016

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Bryson DeChambeau was thrown into the deep end before his first Masters Tournament appearance back in 2016.

The 23-year-old, who was making his last appearance as an amateur, played a practice round with Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Keegan Bradley.

For an amateur making his Augusta National debut, it was some four-ball. DeChambeau was given putting advice by Mickelson as he got to watch three of the world’s best players up close.

Of course, the American is now wholly different from the brash youngster who burst onto the scene in 2016. DeChambeau’s move to LIV Golf in 2022 appears to have massively boosted his public perception. DeChambeau is now adored instead of loathed.

Mickelson, however, liked who he met eight years ago at Augusta National.

What Phil Mickelson said about Bryson DeChambeau at the 2016 Masters

After the pair played a practice round on the Wednesday ahead of the 2016 event, Mickelson gave his thoughts on DeChambeau.

“I really like him, I really like him. And what’s really funny was the line of the day, I thought, came from Dustin, as a matter of fact. Bryson and I were talking about some of the science of an uphill putt and a downhill putt and the break and why it’s most from this point and that point and so forth. He was using some pretty scientific terms and Dustin kind of shook his head and he said, ‘If I hang around you guys much longer, I’ll never break 100,'” Mickelson said.

“I really enjoy spending time with Bryson because he comes at the game from such a different point of view and has such well-thought-out opinions as to why and how it should be played a certain way, a different way, the way that he plays it. He’s a terrific player. He’s fun to be around.”

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What happened to Bryson DeChambeau after 2016 Masters

After the 2016 Masters – which Danny Willett won – DeChambeau turned professional and made his first appearance at the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town.

During a testing week, the 23-year-old impressed and eventually finished in a tie for fourth alongside Kevin Na. DeChambeau took home $259,000 after the RBC Heritage, which was by no means a bad way to start his PGA Tour career.

After his debut pro event, the now LIV Golf star missed four consecutive cuts before eventually making the weekend at The Memorial Tournament.

Upon the conclusion of the 2016 season, the American had registered one top ten and banked $476,000. DeChambeau’s first win would come the following season at the John Deere Classic.