Bryson DeChambeau could make a mockery of Augusta National, which would be too good

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The 2020 Masters finally kicks off Thursday morning and while the sentimental story going into this year’s event is that Tiger Woods is the defending champion, the juicy story going into it surrounds Bryson DeChambeau and what he might do the historic Augusta National GC.

Because it could be absolutely ridiculous.

And you know what? I’m cheering for ridiculousness.

Chaos in sports is always fun and this protein-shake chugging bomber could change the game even more if he demolishes the course and the field this week in Georgia.

DeChambeau has been the villain golf needs ever since he decided to add over 30 pounds of mass and muscle during quarantine so he could raise his swing speeds to unprecedented levels that would send his drives to unbelievable distances.

It has worked out pretty well for him, too, as he won the U.S. Open in Winged Foot in September. by hitting his ball a mile off the tee and having an easy time hitting greens from the rough, mostly because he was so close to the greens thanks to his monstrous drives.

In doing so, he made a mockery of Winged Foot, which was supposed to punish players with its tight fairways and heavy rough. He also made a mockery of the USGA and it’s U.S. Open course setups. DeChambeau was the only player to finish under par (-6) and won by six strokes.

It was way too easy for him.

Now DeChambeau brings his insane distances off the tee to a course that isn’t nearly as tough as Winged Foot and doesn’t have nearly as much rough. It also has a number of holes, especially the two par 5s on the back nine, that are set up to be scoreable to make things more interesting.

DeChambeau is going to embarrass a number of those holes with his length of the tee. This report about the clubs he had into some greens during a recent practice round are just silly. A 7-iron into the par-5 13th after hitting a 3-wood off the tee? A 9-iron into the par-5 15th?

Yeeeessshhhhhh.

Many players and analysts have said this Masters is DeChambeau’s to lose, and that very well might be the case.

If that happens, and happens in dominant fashion like the U.S. Open, it’s only going to add more chaos to a PGA Tour that can be really bland week after week. Players are going to have to try to keep up with this fella or he’s just going to start collecting all the major championships.

Other bombers like Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau, and Dustin Johnson have already been trying to reach swings speeds like those that DeChambeau hits. The best in the world know what DeChambeau is doing and what they must do to keep up.

If DeChambeau wins at Augusta, which a lot of fans probably don’t want to see happen, his vision for changing the way the game is played is going to only lead to more experiments and more victories.

And it’s gonna lead to more chaos on the Tour.

Which could be a lot of fun.