Bryson DeChambeau has the infamous “par-67” comments to advance in the first round of the Masters

CNN
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It was the comment that landed him in hot water Plain The fans are terribly old, but – after 13 rounds – Bryson DeChambeau He finally shot his interpretation of par at Augusta National.

Nearly three and a half years after his infamous “Bar 67” remarks, U.S Leaf golf The star tore down the legendary course with a seven-under 65 to take a one-shot lead at the 88th edition of the major championship.

Storms delayed the start of the first round A lead of two and a half hours, but the 30-year-old wasted little time finding his rhythm despite the windy conditions, coming out of the blocks with three birdies before coming home with five more across the final six holes.

It represents hard-hitting DeChambeau's best round at Augusta since he controversially claimed he viewed the course as a “67 stroke” — five strokes short of the official scorecard number — where he could “hit all five pars in two, no problem.” ”

The November 2020 comments came just two months after Famous tall driver He blossomed his way to A.J Six-shot win at the US Open To claim his first major title, but he has been chasing DeChambeau ever since.

He finished tied for 46th^y In his next major tournament round he missed the next two tournaments, shooting a two-under 74 only once – a second-round 67 in 2021.

Now, he called her a golfer once “the world” Because his willingness to test new technologies means admitting old mistakes. Although he insisted the comment had been misinterpreted, DeChambeau admitted it was a “mistake.”

“I have a level of respect for this golf course that is a little different than it was two years ago,” he told reporters. “Obviously today was a great test of golf and today I was able to overcome a very difficult golf course.

“Regarding comment #67, I made a mistake. I'm not a perfect person. Everyone messes up. You learn from your mistake, and this was definitely one of them.

Asked whether his scathing editorial proved there was some truth to his previous statements, DeChambeau, smiling, wondered whether the reporter was trying to “dump” him into doubling down on his controversial assessment.

He continued: “Look, I will go out and try to score the best result possible.” “Sure, if you want to arrange the math that way, that's the perspective you can take. That's been a perspective I've had, and it's cost me a lot of slack, I guess you could say. It definitely hurts some things.”

“But look, I'll say this again. I shot a 65 today, and that was one of the best rounds of golf I've played in a long time. There's three more days to go, and I'm not losing sight of that fact, which is that it's right there in front of me. I just have to go for it.” ”

Before the tournament, three-time Masters champion Nick Faldo questioned Jon Rahm's chances of defending the green jacket due to the relative lack of events at LIV Golf – whose 2024 season consists of 14 events played across 54 holes – compared to the PGA Tour.

Faldo Tell On a Sky Sports Golf podcast, he mentioned that the Spaniard “has been playing resort courses in shorts for the last couple of months and hasn't really been tested yet”, but DeChambeau – who… join Saudi-backed tour in 2022 – has no concerns about its intensity.

“This kind of schedule… gave me good time and plenty of time to prepare for tournaments like this,” said DeChambeau, who is seeking his second major title.

“It will be fine either way. I'm not going to take sides one way or the other. It is what it is. I've made good use of the time I've been given at LIV to work on my golf swing, work on the equipment I have, and get to a place where I feel Super comfortable during the week.

Scottie Scheffler lived up to his expectations as the tournament favorite with an inauspiciously strong start, shooting a bogey-free 66 to stay within striking distance of his leading compatriot.

The world number one arrives at Augusta in scintillating form as he looks to add to his first and only major title won at Augusta in 2022. The first player ever to defend the Players Championship Last month, just one week after his dominant win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Denmark's Nicolai Hougaard could edge both Americans before his second round begins, having sat at five under par before darkness suspended play with three of his holes left at 7:51 p.m. ET.

He is one of several players who will finish their first rounds from 7:50 a.m. ET on Friday, including Tiger wood. The five-time champion opened with a birdie and was 13 holes under, a strong start to the 48-year-old's attempt to set a new record for 26 consecutive cuts made at The Masters.

“The wind was everywhere. It was one of the hardest days I've ever been a part of,” Woods said.

“It was hard to get into a rhythm not only in the direction it was going, but also the intensity, and it kept shifting all over the place…and the timing was affecting the putts on the greens. It was a very difficult day.”

Defending champion Rahm opened with a one-over 73, as McIlroy got off to his hottest start The latest pursuit of a professional grand slamshooting 71.

At 16 years old^y Starting at Augusta National, the Northern Irishman in the green jacket is far from joining Gene Sarrazin, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods as the only players to have won all four major championships in the modern era.

The 34-year-old was pleased with his start, alongside Schaeffler and world No. 5 Xander Schauffele, who fired 72 goals.

“If you look at Scotty compared to the rest of the players, the amount of bogey-free rounds he plays and shoots is tremendous,” said McIlroy, who won his fourth and most recent title in 2014.

“That's the secret to winning major championships and winning big golf tournaments: limiting errors instead of making a lot of birdies.

“I made three bogeys today, which is good in the conditions, but just need to tidy it up a little bit to try to keep up.”