Only four players shot a better opening round than Bryson DeChambeau at this year’s Masters, so you might think he’s fairly satisfied with his day’s efforts and the equipment used.
But he’s not known as the ‘Mad Scientist’ for nothing.
Unsurprisingly, Bryson led the field in driving distance, averaging 340 yards, but even more impressive is that he did so hitting 11 of 14 fairways. Only 20 players were more accurate off the tee, and of those 20, only five averaged more than 300 yards.
But making equipment changes mid-tournament is far from unusual for Bryson, we only need to recall last year’s US Open to see that. Prior to heading to the tee for his final round, he was seen changing driver heads on the practice range before taking the new model with him to the first tee before going on to beat Rory McIlroy by a single stroke.
Speaking to the press post-round, DeChambeau’s driving statistics came up and a reporter remarked that he didn’t expect Bryson to be changing his driver head before round two.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he replied. “Who knows?”
DeChambeau, who uses a Krank Fire driver, brings multiple heads with him to tournaments, but in contrast to most other players who become accustomed to one piece of equipment and loathe change without being forced, the minor differences in the heads’ construction, combined with the incredible clubhead speed he generates, means that he often switches as heads become damaged or as minor differences in swing dictate.
“Yeah, my buddy has got a nice little backpack of driver heads. It’s funny, the manufacturing process,” he added. “It’s unique. They don’t all come out the same. So I’m working to resolve that here shortly.”
Whichever driver he decides to put in the bag on Friday, he’s on the hunt for his second major championship and as much as he’s enjoying being 15 yards longer than the next closest average, he’s intent on getting himself into the mix on Sunday.
“Great, I guess,” he shrugged when asked about his joy at outdriving the competition. “The plan is to give myself a great chance on Sunday, but hitting it far is a lot of fun, as well, definitely.”
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