Seeking strength in numbers
Dechambeau, a stats whiz, hopes it adds up to an Augusta victory
To call Bryson Dechambeau one of the more unusual golfers in this week’s 87-player Masters field is akin to saying that the grounds of Augusta National are well-manicured.
Dechambeau’s uniqueness goes beyond his Ben Hogan-style cap, which he has used since he was 13, and “one-length” clubs. Having absorbed algebra when he was 6, he has a mathematical approach to golf. He uses a system called vector putting, computing a green’s break and speed.
Whether that will work this week at the Masters, where things can be less conventional than for a PGA Tour event, will be a storyline worth following. There are no green-reading books available here, so conquering Augusta National’s biggest challenge will put Dechambeau, who majored in physics at Southern Methodist University, to the test.
“It obviously changes a lot of what we do,” he said Monday. “I practiced trying to understand what 1 percent is, what 2 percent is, based on my eyes. That’s all I can do out here is look at the slope, walk over and try and find the low point and do my own process that allows me to understand where straight relatively is.
“Then I gauge based on how far I am, how high the hole is relative to my perception, and that gives me a gauge of how much slope there is in that area. Is it as precise as the greens books? Absolutely not. We still have to feel and sense with our eyes what it’s going to do.”
That explanation is the clubhouse leader for the most complicated way to read a green here. It fits well with Dechambeau’s personality, which is a bit complex.
He is the only one on tour
whose shafts on his irons are the same length — 371/2 inches, or the standard length for a 6-iron. Unusual shouldn’t be confused with unworkable, since Dechambeau is No. 6 in the Official World Golf Ranking and has won twice already this year.
Even with that success, Dechambeau, 25, said he has been tweaking some of his wedges.
“We are now starting to understand how shafts truly work, what they do based on the mass of the club and the design of the shaft and how it creates a certain launch condition,” he said, “which has been super beneficial for us in the one-length wedges because that’s always been something I struggled with. I’ve done well with it but I’ve struggled in being able to control it as well as a guy like Kevin Na or someone out here that’s an incredible wedger.”
Only the fifth player to win the NCAA championship and U.S. Amateur in the same year — a group that includes Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Ryan Moore — Dechambeau is playing in his third Masters.
He was low amateur in 2016, the year after he won the NCAA and U.S. Amateur, and said he was disappointed with his 21stplace finish.
“The coolest part of that experience was being able to step up on that tee with everyone thinking I’m pretty darned nervous,” said Dechambeau, who tied for 38th last year in his only other Masters appearance, “and
I get up there and I just smiled, because I was prepared. I had played over a dozen rounds here in 2016 and was, I thought, ready to win the tournament.
“I had a chance to win it and I knew I did, and after 35 holes I was right there.
Unfortunately, that holly bush, from the last hole, the 36th hole of the tournament (triple bogey), cost me a little bit, but other than that it was a fantastic ride and being the low amateur champion was fantastic.”