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HONGKONG LIV-GOLF American professional golfer, Bryson DeChambeau during a game in Fanling Golf Course where LIV Golf Hong Kong is being held in Hong Kong, March 5, 2026. NEXPHER/Vernon Yuen HONG KONG
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HONGKONG LIV-GOLF American professional golfer, Bryson DeChambeau during a game in Fanling Golf Course where LIV Golf Hong Kong is being held in Hong Kong, March 5, 2026. NEXPHER/Vernon Yuen HONG KONG
Bryson DeChambeau once again stumbled at the Augusta National Park. But this time, the 2x U.S.Open Champion doesn’t have to wait for the final round to see his master plan unravel.
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Despite entering the week as a heavy favorite, DeChambeau’s Masters campaign was dealt a massive reality check before he even reached the clubhouse on Thursday. He arrived at the 11th hole at even par, having managed a resilient string of consecutive pars on the front nine. However, “White Dogwood” quickly became the site of his total collapse.
At even par after 10 holes, Bryson DeChambeau hit a 347-yard drive down the fairway on the par-4 11th hole. But from 191 yards away, his approach went wrong and ended up in the bunker on the right. Things only got worse from there, as he couldn’t get out of the sand on his first two tries. He finally got to the green, but it was too late. He had a triple-bogey 7. Justin Ray, a statistician, shared that this was his seventh score of 7 or worse at Augusta National.
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DeChambeau then failed to take advantage of the two par 5s on the back and was sitting at 3-over through 15 holes, a devastating position for a pre-tournament favorite.
And before that, on the par-3 6th hole, he also hit a patron on a tee shot that sailed wide left, after which he went over and handed the fan a ball as an apology.
😮🏖️⛳️ #ISSUES — Bryson DeChambeau had a lot of trouble getting out of this bunker
He finished the hole with a triple bogey @BrysonLegion pic.twitter.com/qxmC4HlHnx
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) April 9, 2026
All this is happening when other tournament favorites like Rory McIlroy and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler are moving up the leaderboard at 5-under and 3-under, respectively. But this is far from the first time DeChambeau has collapsed under the pressure of Augusta.
Last season, he entered the final round in the final pairing with his rival, Rory McIlroy. He even briefly held the lead after the second hole before collapsing on the back nine. He also faced a tense moment on the 9th green that became the turning point of the game. After a minor argument over who was “away” and should putt first, McIlroy drained a long birdie while DeChambeau missed his own effort. The momentum shift was fatal.
DeChambeau faded quickly on the back nine, recording a double-bogey on 11 and a bogey on 12 to exit the championship hunt. He eventually finished T5 after a disappointing 3-over 75, while McIlroy marched on to complete his career Grand Slam.
But this recent collapse is particularly jarring given DeChambeau’s red-hot form entering the week. Coming off back-to-back LIV Golf victories in Singapore and South Africa, he was a betting favorite alongside Scottie Scheffler. Before the tournament, DeChambeau said that his game was in the best place of his career and experimented with a complete equipment overhaul. Recently, he signed a deal with SWAG Golf for new headcovers and was playing with a custom 5-iron he 3D-printed himself.
But as of writing, everything seems to be going against him.
And fans are simply unforgiving with this collapse
After watching the collapse at the 11th, one fan added, “So hard to watch 🫣.”
Indeed, it was. By taking three shots to exit a bunker, DeChambeau made a mistake that common amateur golfers usually make.
So one fan who feels it’s the club makers, not DeChambeau, was the actual culprit added, “Whatever company is 3D printing Bryson DeChambeau’s Golf clubs is pulling off the greatest heist in history. This man is shitting down his leg.”
Before switching to his self-built 3D-printed irons, DeChambeau was dominant on the LIV circuit. He won back-to-back trophies and expected these new clubs would be a game-changer at Augusta, yet the moment he faced the high-pressure greens of Amen Corner, the reality suggested otherwise.
“That’s what happens when you play on piss-easy courses week after week,” one fan added.
This is a common criticism of the LIV Golf circuit’s scoring difficulty. While DeChambeau flourished on the courses in Singapore and South Africa, Augusta National remains a different kind of beast. Speaking on the same, Tom Watson said ahead of the Masters: “if you want to play the PGA Tour again, you come back, and you must play the Korn Ferry Tour for a year to qualify for it.”
That’s why one fan even predicted, “Well, that pretty much does it for him. You can’t have a bad day at this place.”
Since 2005, only two golfers have come from outside the top 10 after Round 1 to win the Masters – Tiger Woods in 2005 and 2019, and Rory McIlroy in 2025. It’s too tricky a course to rely on the last two or three rounds, which makes the first 18 holes extremely important for winning. Sitting at T58 (+4), DeChambeau has effectively blown his chances on Day 1.
Finally, one fan added, “Go back to LIV. Y’all aren’t prepared to play real golf.”
It stems from the collective struggles of other LIV stars in Round 1. Past Champion Jon Rahm, who dominated the LIV season with one win and several top finishes, opened his round with a bogey and struggled to a 3-over start. Similarly, Carlos Ortiz, a top performer on LIV, collapsed to T84 (+8). These collective struggles only strengthen the narrative that the transition from LIV to Major Championship conditions is not easy.
Though there’s still plenty of time remaining, as it’s just Day 1 and the tournament is ongoing, history suggests DeChambeau is in deep trouble. We have seen players like Rory McIlroy, who was 27th after Round 1 last year, make a historic charge to win, but Bryson’s current situation is far more dire.
