Bryson DeChambeau fell in there.
That’s what he said after his round of 3-over 75. There were a lot of fireworks in this round, but there were also some heavy emotions.
Despite falling off the leaderboard, DeChambeau still has a chance, even if his poor scores indicate that.
It was all thanks to one shot.
The 2020 U.S. Open champion hit an embarrassing drive on the 18th hole, nestled deep in the trees. His ball ended up in a similar spot to where Xander Schauffele had made a great par moments earlier.
But unlike Schauffele, DeChambeau didn’t have the shot to hit the green. He had to chip out to the side as another bogey loomed. At this point, he was 2 under for the championship and 4 over for the round. A disappointing back nine left him completely out of the wind and it looked like he was defeated.
But one move changed that.
dechambeau Hole out from 77 yardsI scored an unlikely birdie and gave myself an overwhelming feeling of joy.
“It’s not easy when the course conditions aren’t in your favor and even just a break doesn’t go your way,” DeChambeau said.
“You have to stay positive no matter what. I had a great day off on the 18th, so I’ll take any day off of the week.”
Before arriving in 18th place, DeChambeau made a series of mistakes on the back nine against Augusta National.
He three-putted 11 but couldn’t get up or down to save par from the side of the green on the 12th. On the next hole, he hit the par-5 13th in two, but again it was a three-putt.
A birdie followed on the 14th, but his excitement on that hole didn’t last long.
DeChambeau made a terrible mistake on the par-5 15th hole. Chunk the third shot It fell into the water and resulted in a double bogey of 7 strokes.
This mistake also happened after officials gave him relief.
“I was trying to hit a shot into the bunker,” DeChambeau explained.
“It was just cutting out a tree and shooting it back to the right. Luckily I was saved, but I ended up dropping it into a fluffy little lie and I thought it was a strong wind, but it wasn’t. There was no.”
DeChambeau was fed up with another three-putt on the 16th hole.
Scottie Scheffler’s chances of winning the Masters plummeted as the group in front of him reached 7 under at the same time. He entered the 18th hole five shots behind.
“16, a three-putt. 17, almost a three-putt. On the 18th, I thought it was easier than the putt — obviously I was kidding,” DeChambeau said.
“You can’t use the green book here, so we had to learn and adapt. It’s just a step. When the greens are this hard and crisp, we can control the speed a little bit better. We have to find a way to do it.”
Despite a rough day on the greens, DeChambeau still has a fighting chance. A miraculous birdie on the 18th hole gave him momentum heading into Sunday’s final round as he started the day with a four-shot lead over Scheffler.
“It’s very difficult to chase, but I have to do everything I can on this golf course and make putts,” DeChambeau said.
“If I can make the putt tomorrow, I think I’ll have a chance.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through.Be sure to check it out @_PlayingThrough Cover more golf. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko In the same way.
