Bryson DeChambeau lets clubs do talking with opening 65 in Masters

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler already lurking ominously on leaderboard at Augusta National

Bryson DeChambeau let his clubs do the talking at Augusta National for the first time since foolishly opening his mouth and claiming the par for him here was 67. On that basis, the American opened with two-under effort in the 88th Masters but, in actual fact of course, a 65 represented a splendid seven-under-par opening salvo.

On a day when the start of play was delayed by two-and-a-half hours due to the weather and led to a group of players, including five-time champion Tiger Woods, being unable to complete their rounds, it earned DeChambeau a one-shot lead in the clubhouse over the 2022 winner and world No 1, Scottie Scheffler, as the duo shone in windy conditions.

Scheffler’s effort was bogey-free – it highlighted why he’d started out as a red-hot favourite this week – in the company of career grand slam-chasing Rory McIlroy, who recovered from a sluggish start to finish in red figures, a peach of an up-and-down par at the last seeing him sign for a 71, two better than Jon Rahm after the defending champion finished bogey-bogey.

Bryson DeChambeau hands his club to his caddie on the first green during the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Picture: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images.

DeChambeau’s claim about the Georgia venue effectively being too easy for him came after he’d opened with a 66 in 2019 then returned the following year for a November assignment during the Covid pandemic as the US Open champion after landing a major breakthrough at Winged Foot a couple of months earlier. Since making the outrageous remark, he’d only matched his self-professed number once in 12 rounds and the actual one only three times.

"The comment was definitely misinterpreted,” said of setting his personal par here. “I have a level of respect for this golf course that's a little bit different than a couple years ago, and clearly today was a great test of golf, and I was able to conquer a very difficult golf course today. Regarding the 67 comment, you mess up. I'm not a perfect person. Everybody messes up. You learn from your mistake, and that was definitely one.”

Now one of LIV Golf’s star signings, DeChambeau had missed the cut on his last two trips up Magnolia Lane - he slumped to an 80 in the second round two years ago - but this was more like it from the 30-year-old. After that delay due to worries about an armageddon that didn’t materialise as the worst of Mother Nature’s medicine moved through to the south of the Georgia venue, he signed for an impressive eight birdies, including three to start his round and a second hat-trick from the 15th. His sole blemish in a score that equalled his lowest round in a major was a bogey at the ninth.

On a day when LIV Golf’s CEO and commissioner Greg Norman was back at Augusta National as a patron – he’d claimed that “hundreds of people, even security guards” had been congratulating him out on the course when he was there on Wednesday as well for setting up the Saudi-backed breakaway circuit – it was exactly what the former world No 1 would have been hoping for after Brooks Koepka had done likewise 12 months ago in the opening exchange of the season between the LIV legion - 13 are in the field on this occasion - and players from the traditional tours.

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler speaks with his caddie, Ted Scott, on the 14th hole during the first round of the 88th Masters. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“It's always great getting off to a hot start, three under through the first three holes kind of gets you settled,” said DeChambeau, the low amateur here eight years ago. “I knew it was going to be a tough day today with the wind. So a lot of patience is required around this golf course and making sure you're just stroking on your line, putting it good, hitting good iron shots and driving it well. In order to win major championships, especially out here, you've got to do everything well.”

His highlights since becoming a LIV Golf man include shooting a 58 en route to winning an event at The Greenbrier last August. “Winning at Winged Foot helped me understand how to win big tournaments,” he replied to being asked how his game had evolved over the past few years. “My game has progressed, but I've tried to be a little bit smarter out there on the golf course and not try to go for broke and go for every flag.”

DeChambeau was a PGA Tour poster boy before he was lured to LIV Golf for a reported $150 million. “It's been a journey, to say the least. One that I have thoroughly enjoyed, but also it's taken a big toll on me in numerous situations,” he admitted. “I will say that I've learned a lot from it, and a lot of it was things that weren't really in my control at that point in time. I won't go into it. But I'm in a place now where I've figured some stuff out with my golf game, golf swing. I'm just in a comfortable place where I'm doing the same thing every single week and that's what I feel like has accumulated into playing some really good golf.”

The Californian has ruffled a few feathers during his career but is happy in his own skin. “Well, I'll just say this: I'm a very passionate individual, and some people can take that in a pretty negative way. Others can take it in a way of, wow, he's trying to pave a pathway and his own path. I think that's a pretty big misconception; that I'm divisive. I'm really not. I don't try to be. It may come off that way because I'm passionate about certain things and certain subjects. That's up for interpretation and opinion.”

Ryan Fox follows his shot from the fourth tee during the first round at Augusta National Golf Club. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

In a round that was illuminated by birdies at the second, sixth, 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th holes, Scheffler showed why he leads the PGA Tour in greens in regulation, strokes gained approach and scoring average this season. It was his lowest score in 17 rounds at Augusta National and first blemish-free effort. “It’s always nice round here being bogey-free and, overall, it was a solid day,” said the 27-year-old. “Teddy [Scott, his caddie} did a good job guessing the wind direction. I stole a few shots on the par 3s (he birdied three of them) and played the par 5s well.”

Equally pleased, and rightly so, with his day’s work was Danny Willett as he signed for a 68, recording the first birdie of this year’s event at the opening hole then picking up three shots in the last four holes. Yes, he’s a winner around here, having become just the second Englishman to claim a Green Jacket after capitalising on Jordan Spieth’s 12th-hole slip up in the final round in 2016. This eye-catching effort, though, came in his first outing in six months after undergoing surgery on his left shoulder following the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September.

“It's unexpected, isn't it?” said a smiling Willett afterwards. “No, practice has been good. It was never an issue of whether or not the shoulder was strong enough, it was whether or not I could hit the shots I wanted to. I had no idea what to expect, so it's obviously always nice to come in having shot a decent score, and just give yourself that little bit of confidence inside and hopefully have a nice few more days.”

The doctors told the Yorkshireman that he would probably be out for 12-18 months, but, surprising himself as well as them, he’s made it here and, remarkably, showing little sign of rust. "It was something that needed doing," said Willett of needing to go under the knife. “Week in, week out, it was painful, and you're training so much just to try and get it into a place where you can think you can be able to move and swing a golf club all week, but ultimately, when the doctors went into the shoulder, it was worse than what we thought. In the end it's a good decision, and mentally I've come around to the fact that it needed doing, and I needed to do it now. The doctors said it would take 12 to 18 months, and we're just over six. I don't think any of them really would have given me a sniff of playing this week.”

2016 winner Danny Willett pictured during the first round of the 2024 Masters Tournament. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

Willett, who has slipped to 260th in the Official World Golf Ranking, spent six weeks in a 90 degree cast that he could only take off to shower and then underwent an extensive daily rehab routine that included ice baths, saunas and gym work. "I'm a relatively gritty human being,” admitted the 36-year-old, who has Mike Burrows, who has been caddying for Bob MacIntyre on the PGA Tour this season, on his bag. "We just had a great team of people that was helping with the rehab and I made it my goal to kind of do that every day. You know, my job for three or four months was to get up and do all the boring stuff that I needed to do to make sure that the movement was there.

"I really invested in myself. I went down to London to see the specialists and did all the work with them, I had people around me that knew what they were talking about and then ultimately I put the hours in myself in the gym at the house with the saunas and the ice baths and your rehab and then the gym stuff. Just kind of really building it back up from zero. It's just time and hard work, but it's proven to work.

Willett’s DP World Tour wins include the BMW PGA Championship and the man who was victorious at Wentworth last year is also off to a good start. During the trophy presentation for the DP World Tour’s flagship event last September, Ryan Fox turned to Dean Smith, his caddie, and whispered: “We get to go back to Augusta next year.” As both smiled about that prospect, Smith replied: “Yeah. Go and win it!” It certainly wasn’t fanciful thinking because the Kiwi is a proper player and a three-under 69 was a good effort even though something better looked to be on the cards as he raced to the turn in 31, five under.

McIlroy mixed four birdies – he missed a short one at the short 16th to make it five – with three bogeys. “Yeah, it was okay,” he said of a first sub-par opening score here since 2018. “I held it together well. It was a little scrappy. But, overall, still not a bad score, and obviously a lot of golf left to play.”

Rahm’s card included two three-putt bogeys that left the Spaniard feeling sore. “Never really in a good position to give myself the best chance for birdies and ended up with what could have been a little bit better of a score. It's just too bad. Bad swings are bad swings, but I think four and 17 (where those three-putts came) could have been avoided.”

Dane Nicolai Hojgaard and American Max Homa both signed for five-under 67s after the first round resumed on Friday morning, when two bogeys in the five holes he was left to play meant Woods had to settle for a 73 before then finding himself back on the first tee for the second circuit around 45 minutes later.

Woods had admitted on Thursday night that it been “one of the most tricky days I’ve ever been a part of” due to the wind having been “all over the place” and similar conditions on Friday morning wreaked havoc as the opening round was completed.

Jordan Spieth, the 2015 winner, ran up a quadruple-bogey 9 at the 15th – he’d done the same thing in the opening circuit in 2017 – as he signed for a 79, while Open champion Brian Harman had to settle for an 81 after taking four double bogeys in his final six holes.