The quiet exit of DeChambeau a far cry from his boisterous arrival

FOR someone who loves to talk in the build-up to a Major, Bryson DeChambeau sure resembled a man unwilling to attend the inquest. After the American shot a 75 to post a five-over total, he slipped quietly away, ever so conveniently through an exit where the press were not waiting.

In five months, DeChambeau (right) has gone into two Masters commanding a sizeable portion of the hype and has left with the observers wondering what they had made all that fuss about.

In November, the reigning US Open champion finished 18 shots behind winner Dustin Johnson and the only aspect of interest to his many admirers this time around was if he could finish closer.

It is a shame he did not stop to discuss what went wrong, if only because his reasons are invariably intriguing.

In November, after boldly claiming that Augusta was not a par 72 for him, but a 67, DeChambeau excused his two-under total (two-under on a par 72 that was; 18-over on a par 72) by claiming he had dizzy spells.

DeChambeau proceeded to go through more medical tests than the average astronaut embarking on a lunar mission.

They included, but were by no means restricted to, CT scans, MRI scans, ultrasounds and every blood examination imaginable. They all came up negative and the spinning was put down to a poor breathing technique.

So he knows how to hit the ball 400 yards, but at 27 he has yet to work out how to get the required oxygen to the brain.

Of course, the world No 8 was not the only big name to fall pathetically short at the 85th Masters.

Johnson missed the cut, as did Rory McIlroy and Brooks Koepka.

DeChambeau advanced to the weekend, courtesy of a 67 that seemed to have put him firmly in

the picture. There followed a pair of 75s and he was out the back door.

“Look, my numbers may not be showing it, but I still think this course sets up great for me, going into all the par fives with short clubs and able to attack the 350 yards fourth hole with driver,” DeChambeau said after Saturday’s round.

“But I’m still learning the subtleties of Augusta, and until I do that I’m not really going to be able to use my length to its full advantage.

“I will get there eventually, and when I do I may have to go back to my original idea of what represents par for me at Augusta.”

The par fives remain a mystery to him.

On the 510-yard 13th he walloped a 336 yards drive around the corner of the sharp dogleg, and left himself a mere flick into the green. The approach to six feet booked him in for an eagle.

Yet when he tried the pull off the same trick on the 530-yard 15th, the magic had strangely gone away.

There was nothing wrong with the 315-yard drive – maybe a tad short for someone of his length – but his approach was undercooked, just about carrying the water, before rolling back down the hill into the hazard.

The double-bogey seven meant that he was level par for those two par fives and sums up his issue with the National rather perfectly.

“I don’t think you can ever figure this place out,” he said earlier in the week.

“There’s so many things going on around here. The wind makes it diabolical. It’s flying around through these trees and bouncing off the trees and making it feel into the wind when it should be downwind, and vice versa.

“I don’t think you’ll ever be able to figure it out, but I’ve just got to be more comfortable.” (© Telegraph Media Group Limited 2021)