DeChambeau rebounds from adventurous start to shoot 70 at Augusta
Bryson DeChambeau rebounded from a roller-coaster start to his opening round to shoot a 2-under 70 on Thursday at the Masters.
The tournament favorite seemed locked-in from the opening tee, piping a 3-wood 327 yards and sticking his approach shot to within six feet on the difficult par-4 10th.
But the wheels quickly fell off for the U.S. Open champ after he missed his early birdie attempt and wound up in the trees off the tee on the 11th hole.
Smart by Bryson to get an early sense of the Augusta trees and fallen leaves with the fall conditions. Definitely part of the plan. pic.twitter.com/GblfyvImIO
— Brady Gardner (@BradyDGardner) November 12, 2020
He somehow salvaged par and added another par on No. 12 before airmailing the 13th green with his second shot, which led to a search party.
It was quite an effort by everyone involved to look for Bryson DeChambeau's ball. pic.twitter.com/wdxNSPY2ss
— GOLFonCBS (@GOLFonCBS) November 12, 2020
DeChambeau hit two provisionals over his first four holes while also taking a drop for an unplayable lie, chunking a chip, and making double-bogey on the easiest hole at Augusta National.
However, the 27-year-old battled back with birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 to end his opening nine at level par. DeChambeau played his next seven holes at even before rattling off back-to-back birdies to conclude his first round.
"I'll say that I'm fortunate enough to be 2-under par," DeChambeau said on the broadcast following his round. "I was definitely a little risky out there, I guess you could say, and I'm OK with that. I just didn't execute some of the shots that I normally do."
Still, DeChambeau sits five shots behind early Masters leader Paul Casey, who posted a 7-under 65 and is tied with 62-year-old Larry Mize, who averaged only 247 yards off the tee in Round 1.