Bryson DeChambeau came to Augusta National as a newly minted major champion, and the betting favorite to beat the field and claim his first green jacket. He spent the weeks leading up to the Masters teasing his otherworldly ball speed on social media, and even said he planned to play the par-72 course as a par-67, indicating that he’d make short work of Augusta’s longest holes.
By Friday afternoon, however, DeChambeau found himself in danger of missing the cut, through a combination of poor shots and bad breaks. DeChambeau salvaged an opening-round 70 after carding an early double-bogey that could have been even uglier.
He got off to another shaky start to his second round – after his booming drive on the third hole strangely went missing in the rough. DeChambeau hit his opening drive left of the fairway, carrying the set of bunkers that line the left edge of the rough. It was difficult to tell exactly where the ball landed from the television replay – and when he arrived to where the ball approximately landed, DeChambeau (and the rest of the group) couldn’t find the ball. Players are only allowed to search for their ball for a set period, and DeChambeau eventually had to give up, take a cart back to the tee, and hit a second drive.
Bryson DeChambeau finished with a triple bogey on No. 3 after losing his tee shot in the rough. He followed with a bogey on No. 4 and sits two shots below the projected cut line.
Friday’s rounds are live now on ESPN ⛳️ pic.twitter.com/S2PQUWv7hu
— ESPN (@espn) November 13, 2020
DeChambeau would go on to card a triple-bogey 7 at the par-4 third hole, and went on to post back-to-back bogeys over the next two holes.
How do you hit a ball just off the fairway at the Masters – and LOSE it? With a gazillion cameras & loads of people around? Ridiculous. #dechambeau pic.twitter.com/2pWjTMyR2P
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) November 13, 2020
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