Cameron Champ turns a negative (COVID test) into a positive week

Cameron Champ shot a 32 on the back nine Sunday, finishing with a round of 66 and finishing the four-day event at 14-under par.

DETROIT — As late as Wednesday afternoon, Cameron Champ lounged on the couch in his Houston home, assuming that would be the spot in which he’d take in this week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic. Champ had tested positive for COVID, and due to the protocols put into place by the PGA Tour, the 25-year-old would be forced to the sidelines.

But by Sunday, Champ was climbing up the leaderboard at Detroit Golf Club, putting an exclamation point on one of the wackier weeks any Tour player has dealt with in recent years. Under a tweak of the PGA Tour’s Health and Safety Plan, he was given a last-minute reprieve after being told he’d be out for the week.

Champ shot a 32 on the back nine Sunday, finishing with a round of 66 and finishing the four-day event at 14-under par. When he finished, he was in a tie for third.

The former Texas A&M star admitted the week took its toll on him, but he still preferred the chaos to sitting around at home, and joked that he’d likely have taken this result if asked five days ago.


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“I probably would have taken it when you told me that,” he said. “It’s been a long week, mentally draining week, but again, I’m thankful to the PGA Tour, my agent, my team just to get me here to play and gave me the opportunity to play. Like I said, I’m just happy to be back out playing.”

Champ was miffed by the original test result, insisting he was asymptomatic, and saying he’d been prudent about social distancing because his fiancee’s father has a heart condition and he didn’t want to put him at risk.

He insisted earlier this week he had no idea the Tour would reverse its policy and allow players that tested positive to be reinstated with two negative tests more than 24 hours apart.

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The Tour had previously based its self-isolation period of 10 days on the Centers for Disease Control’s protocols, but late Wednesday the Tour announced it would be transitioning to the CDC’s test-based model for those who are not showing COVID symptoms.

Champ got a call around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, asking if he’d be interested in playing and jumped at the chance.

He played well out of the gate, shooting a 69 on Thursday and following with rounds of 68 and 71.

Hitting the long ball has always been Champs’ specialty, and he was second in strokes gained off the tee by the time he finished his round on Sunday.

During Saturday’s round at the par-5 No. 14, Champ was in the fringe in two, but flubbed a chip and two-putted for par. He pulled the ball out of the hole and flipped it into the adjacent pond in frustration. On Sunday, however, Champ learned from his mistakes and eagled the hole, a key piece of Sunday’s round.

“I was just putting things together, really. I still three-putted twice today, but besides that, I took advantage of all my opportunities when they came,” he said. “I made a great putt you usually don’t make on 14 for eagle, so that one I just kind of walked off and was obviously happy with it. It was just an all-around solid day. As I said, minimum mistakes, but then took advantage of the opportunities.”

He has a pair of wins on Tour, the 2019 Safeway Open and 2018 Sanderson Farms Championship. His 2019-20 campaign has been solid, with nine made cuts in 12 events, including a T-14 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in the PGA Tour’s return.

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Bryson DeChambeau’s full response to incident with cameraman

DeChambeau had a blowup on Saturday with a cameraman just off the green on No. 7. Here was his full response.

DETROIT — For those who missed it, Bryson had a blowup with a cameraman just off the green on No. 7 during the third round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Our Eamon Lynch wrote a column about the whole sordid affair.

Here was Bryson’s full response, for those so inclined:

Q. Can you explain what happened on 7 green?

BRYSON: “So there was something that happened — I mean, nothing crazy, but I had a cameraman that was filming me after I hit a bad bunker shot and whiffed the sand a little bit, which I shouldn’t have done, that was dumb.

“But at the end of the day, he was literally watching me the whole entire way up after getting out of the bunker, walking up next to the green and I just was like, ‘Sir, what is the need to watch me that long?’ I mean, I understand that it’s his job to video me, but at the same point, I think we need to start protecting our players out here compared to showing a potential vulnerability and hurting someone’s image. I just don’t think that’s necessarily the right thing to do. Not that I was going to do anything bad, it’s just one of those things that I hope he respects my privacy.

“As much as we’re out here performing, I think it’s necessary that we have our times of privacy as well when things aren’t going our way. I mean, we’re in the spotlight. if somebody else is in the spotlight they wouldn’t want that either. It’s just something about respect I think that’s necessary on that end. You know, so for me, I feel like it’s one of those things that we had a conversation, it was all good after that.”

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Q. Can you explain what you mean by protecting the players?

“Well, you know, look, I feel like when you’re videoing someone and you catch Tiger at a bad time, you show him accidentally doing something, or someone else, they’re just frustrated because they really care about the game. It could really hurt them if they catch you at a potentially vulnerable time. We’re not necessarily — we don’t mean anything by it, we just care a lot about the game. for that to damage our brand like that, that’s not cool in the way we act because if you actually meet me in person, I’m not too bad of a dude, I don’t think.

“So that’s the thing, I hope we can get to the point where everybody understands that we just care a lot about the game, we want to do well, we’re passionate about what we do and we want everybody to enjoy the entertainment. We don’t want negative stuff coming down.”

PGA Tour: Rocket Mortgage Classic final-round live blog, TV info

Keep up with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with Golfweek’s live blog.

It’s a gorgeous day here in Detroit for the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Play has already begun at Detroit Golf Club.

Matthew Wolff goes off this afternoon with a three-stroke lead while Bryson DeChambeau and Ryan Armour are tied for second, three strokes back.


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Live blog

9:11 a.m.: So we’ll talk about today’s play in a minute, but ICYMI, you really need to go back and read Eamon Lynch’s column about Bryson DeChambeau. It’s been all the talk today, especially after DeChambeau laid into a cameraman during Saturday’s round. DeChambeau said that unflattering images could hurt his brand to which Lynch responds: “Credit DeChambeau’s optimism in thinking that being shown acting like a jerk would hurt his image rather than merely solidify it.”

Live feed

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353

All times are listed in Eastern.

Viewing information

Sunday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Matthew Wolff’s appetite for birdies and ice cream has him out front at Rocket Mortgage Classic

After another scorching round of 64 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Matthew Wolff suggested that frozen treats might have keyed his play.

DETROIT — When you watch Matthew Wolff strike a golf ball — a spinning, whirling blend of bravado and distance — it’s easy to forget he’s never been able to legally stop at a bar without social distancing.

Wolff’s 21st birthday came well after the coronavirus set in — April 14, to be exact — and yet he already has a PGA Tour win under his belt and has become such a golf phenom he was part of the TaylorMade Driving Relief event with Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson.

But then there are moments when you remember his age. The Oklahoma State product joked after Friday’s 64 that he didn’t watch much of his playing partner Vijay Singh while growing up because “he was a little before my time.”

And on Saturday after another scorching round of 64, Wolff suggested that frozen treats might have keyed his play.

“I heard an ice cream truck circling the property and seemed like every time I heard that, I had made birdie or made a putt, so I’ve got to give a lot of credit to that,” Wolff said. “Like I think on — what is it — 5, the par 3, I made
the longest putt of the day. It was like a 35 or something like that footer and I heard the ice cream truck and I’m like, I have a good feeling about this.

“I just had that little like ice cream truck song in my head and I think that helped me just not think about the speed or the line or anything, just keep my head free, which I’ve been giving a lot of credit to this week.”


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Whatever the reason, Wolff took the Detroit Golf Club by storm again, even with three bogeys. He posted six birdies on the front, then added three more and an eagle on the back to establish a three-stroke lead heading into Sunday’s final round. Ryan Armour and Bryson DeChambeau are tied for second at 16-under while four players, including Chris Kirk, are tied for third at 14-under.

Wolff’s putter certainly has helped him get out to a sizable edge, he’s second in strokes gained putting, and when that’s working low scores will follow.

“I felt like the putter was really good today. I wasn’t really thinking about much over the putt, lining it up, feeling confident in the line and stroking it really nice,” he said.

There’s plenty at play for Wolff on Sunday, aside from being able to afford a lot more ice cream.

With a victory, Wolff would become the youngest two-time PGA Tour winner since someone named Tiger Woods, who did it at the age of 20 years, 9 months, 20 days. He’s looking for his first top-10 finish since his win last year at the 3M Open in Minnesota. He’d also maintain a perfect record with 54-hole leads, since he converted the only other one he’s ever had.

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And as for this whole lead thing, Wolff said it’s something he feels comfortable playing with.

“A lot of people would say you don’t want to give up that lead, but in my mind, as many strokes advantage as you have over the field is better. I don’t ever look at something about — I don’t look at the downside of things. That’s one thing I think I’d change, but I look at having a three-stroke lead, going out there I think I’ll be playing with Ryan Armour,” Wolff said. “I really enjoy playing with him, he’s a super good guy. It’s a golf course that
sets up really well, I’m hitting really well, putting good, doing everything well. Just going to go out there, have fun, and hopefully I hear the ice cream truck a little bit.”

So, since ice cream seems to be the theme, does Wolff have a favorite flavor?

“I’m just more like vanilla guy, but I don’t know, there’s a couple popsicles on those ice cream trucks that are pretty dang good,” he said. “I’m not really sure. I’ll be thinking about that tomorrow, though.”

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No tricks here, Wesley Bryan is in the hunt at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

The South Carolina product finished with a 7-under par 65 at Detroit Golf Club, pushing him just a few shots off the lead.

DETROIT — There will always be a piece of Wesley Bryan that remains a showman, a trick-shot artist, a guy who can do something others simply can’t.

Prior to earning his Tour card and winning the 2017 RBC Heritage, Bryan was known as part of a sibling duo that compiled stunt videos — batting golf balls out of mid-air, chipping basketballs into hoops and banking shots off walls and into trash cans.

It’s not that Bryan can’t still do those things. Witness this chip from on the green earlier this week at the Rocket Mortgage Classic:

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But what Bryan needs now is consistency, not flash. He tore the labrum in his left shoulder back in 2018 and hadn’t played a Tour event for a year and a half until the June restart. He made his first cut at the site of his lone victory, finishing T-68 at Hilton Head Island. He followed with an even better showing at the Travelers, where he shot four consecutive rounds in the 60s en route to a T-24.


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And now this week, the University of South Carolina product is seeing his progress continue in a big way. On Saturday, he posted a 32 on the front and finished with a 7-under-par 65 at Detroit Golf Club, pushing him just a few shots off the lead heading into Sunday.

He’s happy with how well he’s playing, although not totally surprised.

“I mean, I played great for the couple months leading up to it while everyone was quarantined. Luckily, my home golf course back in Lexington didn’t shut down, so I was able to stay pretty sharp,” Bryan said. “I felt like I was in great form and, like I’ve said before, the last couple weeks felt a little bit disappointing given the form that I felt like I was in. I mean, I guess I’m performing to a level that I definitely thought was possible at this point.”

This week, aside from the chip shot, he’s stuck to a basic game plan, one that’s heavy on substance and light on style.

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“Overall, it was good. I made a couple dumb mistakes out there, but for the most part, I’m hitting it where I was looking. I drove it pretty good off the tee and was able to see some putts go in today, which was nice,” he said. “It got a little bit dicey out there for a second, the wind did a 180 switch out there and was swirling for about 45 minutes to an hour or so.

“I went from barely making the cut to throwing, I guess, myself back into contention going into tomorrow.”

Bryan opened the week with a little fun, taking advantage of an opportunity to play with Jason Day in a new nine-hole exhibition against Bubba Watson and Harold Varner III. The event raised over $1 million for charity and gave Bryan an extra chance to get those competitive juices flowing, something he couldn’t do for almost 18 months.

The Bryan-Day tandem lost in the exhibition, but Bryan still has an opportunity to cash in on the week’s biggest prize. And when asked what he needed to do to capture his second Tour win, Bryan said he’ll lean on a resource like his caddie, Willie Lanier.

“Willie is as calm and as cool as it gets on the bag, so just a lot of conversation with him,” Bryan said. “He has a good calming effect and just out there getting numbers and trying to hit shots. If the putter gets hot, I guess we’ll see what happens.”

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Why an extinct 1970s Ford inspired this PGA Tour pro’s namesake

PGA Tour golfer Maverick McNealy has three brothers — Dakota, Colt and Scout. McNealy has been revving up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Ford Maverick, Dodge Dakota, Dodge Colt and Jeep Scout.

Four American-made machines.

Kind of like PGA Tour golfer Maverick McNealy and his three brothers — Dakota, Colt and Scout. Maverick actually drives a Ford Explorer that used to belong to his mother, Susan, while the family has two more Explorers and two Ford F-150 trucks.

“My three brothers and I are all named after American cars,” Maverick, the eldest, said, “because of the Detroit connection.”

The 24-year-old Stanford graduate is 8 under par at the conclusion of the second round at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and seeking his first Tour victory. Playing at Detroit Golf Club feels like a homecoming, even though McNealy has never lived in Michigan.

“This is my dad’s stomping grounds when he grew up,” Maverick said. “It’s pretty cool.”


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Scott McNealy grew up in Bloomfield Hills and graduated from Cranbrook High in 1972. He went to Harvard and co-founded Sun Microsystems — the company that developed the computer programming language Java — in 1982. In 2010, Oracle Corporation bought it for $7.4 billion.

Scott, 65, returned home four years ago for the 116th U.S. Amateur championship in Bloomfield Hills to caddie for his son.

But the family’s connection to Detroit didn’t start with the current head of the household. Nothing would have been the same had it not been for the late Raymond William McNealy Jr., Maverick’s grandfather, who moved the family to Michigan to work at the American Motors Corporation, where he became vice chairman of the automotive manufacturing company.

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“My second brother (Dakota) is now working for Autonomic, which is Ford’s cloud computing capability,” Maverick said. “(He’s) just finishing up his computer science degree at Stanford. A lot of Motor City connections with our family.”

The grandfather has another claim to family fame that resonates with Maverick: eight holes-in-one in his lifetime. He played for 20 years at Turtle Creek Country Club in Florida and once was a member of Orchard Lake Country Club in Birmingham.

Scott learned about golf from Raymond and passed the knowledge down to Maverick, who has become quite the budding star.

“He was the junior champion at Orchard Lake Country Club back in the day, and I think a sailing champion as well,” Maverick said about his dad. “I’ve been rattling off the street names to him as I’m driving back to the hotel, and he knows all of them.”

The family connections to Detroit are intriguing, but all eyes are fixated on Maverick for one reason: to win.

He was playing his best golf in the weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the Tour season: the Farmers Insurance Open (15th), AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am (tied for fifth); Puerto Rico Open (tied for 27th); and The Honda Classic (tied for 11th).

Since golf’s reboot, he tied for 32nd at the Charles Schwab Challenge and tied for 58th at the RBC Heritage.

At the Rocket Mortgage Classic, Maverick is knotted with nine others for 20th after shooting 4 under par in Friday’s second round. Entering the third round, he’s fixated on setting himself up to notch the first Tour victory in family history.

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“My round today was pretty sloppy tee to green,” Maverick said, “and then I fought really hard when I got close to the putting surface. Very comfortable on poa annua and bluegrass, bentgrass, all this mix we see around here, it’s stuff I grew up on on the West Coast.

“And I’m excited that if I can start to hit a few more greens, then I can shoot low scores.”

Evan Petzold is a sports reporting intern at the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA Today Network. Contact him at epetzold@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.

PGA Tour: Rocket Mortgage Classic Round 3 live blog, TV info

Keep up with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with Golfweek’s live blog.

Should be an interesting weekend here at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, Michigan. The third round has already begun at Detroit Golf Club.

Three players — Dylan Frittelli, Harris English and Chad Campbell — tested positive for COVID-19 in pre-tournament testing and have withdrawn from the event.


Tee times, TV | LeaderboardBetting odds | Fantasy picks | By the rankings


Live blog

9:32 a.m.: ICYMI, this fun read about Bryson DeChambeau and Webb Simpson includes Bryson’s plan for the weekend, which seems like a good one for a guy who’s averaging 346 yards off the tee through two rounds. “If I can make birdie on all the par 5s on the weekend, that’s 8 under right there,” he said. “Make a couple birdies on some short par 4s, I feel like that would be a good number, something like that.” He tees off at 1:45 in a pairing with Mark Hubbard.

9:20 a.m.: Looks like another perfect day for scoring here in Detroit. With the leaders at 12-under par after two days, there’s no reason to think we won’t see something close to Nate Lashley’s 25-under again this year. There’s almost no breeze here at Detroit Golf Club and that’s not likely to change much.

Live feed

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353

All times are listed in Eastern.

Viewing information

Saturday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Sunday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Chris Kirk holes out twice, takes Rocket Mortgage Classic lead

Chris Kirk holed out on consecutive holes to leapfrog a thick herd during the second round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

DETROIT — Chris Kirk’s newfound confidence does not appear to be letting up, even if he is missing a few greens here and there.

The former University of Georgia star jumped ahead of the pack at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Friday in spectacular style, holing out on consecutive holes to leapfrog a thick herd at Detroit Golf Club.

On the par-3 No. 11, Kirk dropped his tee shot in the bunker, but rebounded with a perfect sand shot for birdie.

He followed that by missing the fairway on No. 12, knocking is approach over the green, but then chipped in for yet another birdie.

Second-round tee times as well as television and streaming information for the Rocket Mortgage Classic can be found below.


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Kirk made the turn with a nifty 30 in his pocket and said after an opening-round 67 that his recent Korn Ferry Tour win had helped him provided his muscle memory with a refresher course on how to perform at crunch time.

“It just gave me a little bit more belief,” he said on Thursday. “I think that before that, I knew that I was playing well, but obviously wasn’t seeing much in the way of results.”

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Rocket Mortgage Classic (Friday): Live blog, TV/streaming

Keep up with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club with Golfweek’s live blog.

The PGA Tour resumed its revised season Thursday with the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Michigan. The second round has already begun at Detroit Golf Club.

The field does not include Tiger Woods, but still has plenty of talent. World No. 5 and RBC Heritage winner Webb Simpson is in the field alongside Patrick Reed (No. 7), Bryson DeChambeau (No. 10), Tony Finau (No. 17), Rickie Fowler and Jason Day.

Three players — Dylan Frittelli, Harris English and Chad Campbell — tested positive for COVID-19 in pre-tournament testing and have withdrawn from the event.

For Thursday and Fridays rounds, featured groups on Golf Channel and PGA Tour Live are the following: DeChambeau, Hideki Matsuyama and Reed; Day, Brendon Todd and Bubba Watson; Fowler, Nate Lashley and Webb Simpson; and Sungjae Im, Tyrrell Hatton and Brandt Snedeker.


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Live blog

9:40 a.m.: It’s already sticky here at Detroit Golf Club, and there’s very little wind. Seamus Power, Matthew Wolff and Kevin Kisner are taking advantage of the conditions and they’re tied atop the leaderboard at 9-under. Don’t be surprised if this trend continues. There’s very little, in terms of wind or weather, that should hold these guys back.

Live feed

https://twitter.com/i/lists/1278363570795876353

All time are listed in Eastern.

Viewing information

Friday

6:30 a.m.-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live
6:45 – 8:15 a.m.: Twitter
Noon-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: Golf Channel

Saturday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Sunday

8 a.m.-3 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Groups)
8:15-9:40 a.m.: Twitter
1-3 p.m.: Golf Channel
1-6 p.m.: SiriusXM
3-6 p.m.: PGA Tour Live (Featured Holes)
3-6 p.m.: CBS

Bryson DeChambeau uses ‘B-game’ in opening-round 66 at Rocket Mortgage Classic

Bryson DeChambeau posted a 66 in the opening round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic, but he said he’s playing with his B-game.

DETROIT — Bad news, PGA Tour. Bryson DeChambeau has already been the best player, if you use a silly stat like scoring average to judge, since the Tour returned to action about a month ago.

And after posting a 66 in the opening round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic — placing him a shot behind leaders Doc Redman, Scott Stallings and Kevin Kisner — DeChambeau said he’s not particularly thrilled with his game right now. The barrage of birdies, the drives of 350-plus yards, the consistent rounds in the 60s … it’s all slightly above average in his eyes.

The report card is on its way home and DeChambeau the teacher (and mad scientist) insists that DeChambeau the student is nothing special.

Yet.

“Playing the golf that I want to play, if I was to give myself a grade, and I know people are going to say things about this and people are going to chirp and chime in on what they think — oh, he’s playing unbelievable golf — I’d really say it’s B-game right now,” DeChambeau said, after posting seven birdies and an eagle at Detroit Golf Club. “It’s not 100 percent, but it’s not bad, either. I’m still able to get it in, I’m able to score, which is great, but I still have to refine some things.”

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While DeChambeau might not think his game has been stellar, his feats are becoming the stuff of legends. For example, on the 571-yard No. 15, DeChambeau bombed a drive 376 yards down the left side of the fairway, knocked an iron into the green, then dropped a 33-foot putt for eagle.

Earlier, he said he “ballooned” his shot on No. 13 — to the tune of 351 yards. DeChambeau was trying to reach the front of the hole, about a 370-yard poke, and was miffed that he didn’t hit it exactly the way he wanted.

Not surprisingly, DeChambeau is second in strokes gained off the tee after the event’s first round, but here’s something that might surprise you — he was first in strokes gained putting.

And he continues to explain that he’s simply using his new-found distance advantage to play the odds, plodding until the time is right for luck to come his way.

“I’m again trying to be the casino and give myself the best opportunity to win. Having 9-iron into those par 5s, it’s definitely nice to be able to attack par-5 flags rather than kind of move away from them,” he said. “There’s a couple holes where I can get it up close to the green and just chip it on there and make a putt. I’ve just got to keep hitting my driver good and getting more comfortable with the driver and if that happens, it’s going to be a fun week.”

His training regimen has become legendary, too. DeChambeau claims to drink at least a half-dozen protein shakes a day and consumes 3,500 calories to keep adding on to a frame that’s 40 pounds heavier than it was at Christmas.

It’s not like DeChambeau was chopped liver before this recent fitness frenzy. He’s already been in the winner’s circle five times on Tour, not to mention that he won the 2015 U.S. Amateur, and he’s only 26 years old. But to keep bashing the ball ahead of the field — his average drive on Thursday was a whopping 358 yards — it’s hard to believe that DeChambeau doesn’t believe his game is near its peak.

When he puts stretches together like he did on Thursday — making the turn at 35, but then posting four birdies and the eagle on the back, only a bogey on No. 18 keeping him out of the lead — there are few in the world who can keep him down.

“Well, I know it can spark at any time, just like this back nine, besides that final bogey that really got me a little agitated, you know. It’s going to put a little fire in my belly for tomorrow,” he said. “I feel like I’m in a good place. It’s fun to be able to play good golf not having your A-game.”

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