AUGUSTA, Ga. — Bryson DeChambeau believed his golf game was in good enough shape to win the Masters.
He certainly thought he could do it after he leapfrogged Rory McIlroy to take the lead two holes into the final round Sunday.
But perhaps the fact that he hit more golf balls on the practice range at Augusta National than anyone else in the field — by far — was a sign that all was not right with golf’s quirky, long-hitting technician.
DeChambeau couldn’t hit his irons where he was looking and couldn’t keep pace with the leaders. He fell behind McIlroy as quickly as he jumped in front on Sunday, and a double bogey on the par-4 11th pretty much ended the two-time U.S. Open champion’s chances of putting on the green jacket for the first time. He finished four shots behind McIlroy and Justin Rose, who went to a sudden-death playoff that McIlroy won with a birdie on the first extra hole at No. 18.
“If I just had somewhat of good iron play this week,” DeChambeau said, “it would have been a lot different outcome.”