AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bryson DeChambeau was once the mad scientist, calculating barometric pressure and the decay of spin rate in altitude while trying to figure out how to best play the game.
Then he became the incredible bulk, adding 40 pounds of mass with a diet of some 3,500 calories a day in an effort to muscle up, swing the club faster and hit the ball farther than anyone.
The third iteration he showed at the Masters on Thursday might be the most daunting.
“The golf phase,” DeChambeau said after opening with a 7-under-par 65 at Augusta National Golf Club, his best start in a major and his lowest score at the Masters. “Trying to be the best golfer I can be.”
DeChambeau, who competes in the LIV Golf League, was plenty good in a relentless wind, taking a one-shot lead over PGA Tour star Scottie Scheffler, who hasn’t changed at all. The No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking was practically flawless from tee to green.