Bryson DeChambeau's patience (and equipment) will be put to the test in 10th Masters start

DeChambeau is the best player without a green jacket, but he's slowly learned to accept the demands of Augusta National

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- A decade ago, a 22-year-old Bryson DeChambeau introduced himself to the golf world when he earned low amateur honors with a T21 finish in the 2016 Masters. A week later, he launched his professional career with a T4 finish in his PGA Tour debut at the RBC Heritage to affirm his place as a rising star. 

That performance in his first trip to Augusta National Golf Club put DeChambeau on fans' radar, and the expectation was that he would eventually add a green jacket to his low amateur trophy. However, his first visit stood as his best finish over his next six trips to the Masters. Despite his ill-fated "par 67" proclamation in 2020, DeChambeau struggled to figure out the puzzle created by Dr. Alister MacKenzie and Bobby Jones.

After consecutive missed cuts in 2022-23, DeChambeau went back to the drawing board with his approach. Augusta National is designed to tempt players into attempting spectacular shots, but those who perform best at the Masters know that aggression must be opportunistic. 

Patience was the biggest lesson DeChambeau needed to learn at the Masters; he needed to find a willingness to play to the middle of the green regularly, avoiding plastering big numbers onto his scorecard.

"I think focusing on hitting the bigger parts of the greens, making sure I'm missing it in the right places to certain flags is really what's adjusted my mindset in a positive way," DeChambeau said. "In times past, I'd just be going right for the flag, and it quite honestly would get me in a lot of trouble." 

The result? Consecutive top 10 finishes. DeChambeau, who stands 10-1 to win the Masters per FanDuel (second-best in the field), is finally starting to make good on the promise of that auspicious debut a decade ago; however, while last year's T5 marked his best finish at the Masters, his 72 holes concluded on a sour note.

DeChambeau briefly held the lead in the final pairing on Sunday after Rory McIlroy stumbled out of the gate. It was suddenly DeChambeau's tournament to win, but some errant iron shots doomed him to a final=round 75 that dropped him out of contention by the end of Amen Corner. 

With that result, DeChambeau now stands as the best player in the world without a green jacket. His peers in the consensus top four -- McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm -- all commiserated together at the Champions Dinner, while DeChambeau had to make other plans Tuesday night.

As he prepares for his 10th Masters, DeChambeau is starting to face the questions McIlroy finally shed with his victory in his 17th try. 

On Tuesday, a year removed from that heartbreak, DeChambeau reflected on how he processed last year's performance.

"It was a great learning lesson," DeChambeau said. "Leading or being tied for the lead and having the lead, that last group final round, gave me a lot of perspective on it. Then losing it and having things not go my way as they finished out, and Rory completed the grand slam. Like I said last year, he earned it, right? It was really cool to see in person.

"Secondarily, I think, as I reflect back on it, the one thing I can take from it is I can put myself in those positions. The more I put myself in those positions, the better opportunities I'm going to have to win. It's just been a gradual learning process. You never know what this week may bring, but I certainly hope to give it my all and put myself back in that position because I want to feel it again."

DeChambeau knows patience is key, but executing on that plan is most important. What's particularly fascinating about him is how much he focuses on his equipment as a critical part of his game. Almost every professional golfer is particular about their equipment, but no one talks about it as fervently as the Texan. 

It is, quite literally, the first perspective he brought up when asked what would be required for him to break through at Augusta National.

"It's a combination of a lot of things, but for one, I can say it's the equipment. Two, it's the mentality," DeChambeau said. "Yeah, those are really the two biggest things."

DeChambeau has had a rocky history with equipment manufacturers due to his uncompromising demands and constant desire to push clubs to their limits. After his latest abrupt breakup with LA Golf, he's now designing his own tools, which gives him more control but creates additional variables.

He has found recent success with consecutive wins on LIV Golf, but DeChambeau won't know whether that equipment will perform under the ultimate pressure of the Masters until he traverses that arena. That raises the question of whether he will trust that equipment in those critical moments, something even DeChambeau seems a bit uncertain about.

The weather forecast is as good as it gets for the Masters this week, which means Augusta National will be able to push the course as far as it wants to test the best golfers in the world. DeChambeau has won in similar conditions, highlighting his execution and patient approach when he conquered Pinehurst No. 2 at the 2024 U.S. Open. 

Even then, he raised some doubts about whether his equipment would allow him to replicate that performance. 

"If it's firm and fast, the greens are going to be even more difficult to hit than they already are," DeChambeau noted. "Looking at it from a perspective of hitting the big parts of the greens and sometimes giving myself 30-footers, even though you feel like you're losing a quarter of a shot, kind of sticking up for yourself and going, 'No, this is a great shot, hitting it over here and having my caddie be on that same level.'

"That's what I did at Pinehurst that suited me so well. I was focused more on hitting in the middle of the greens. It may play in my favor. If my irons aren't doing what they should be doing, then it won't."

Confidence is currency in professional golf. DeChambeau has never lacked that when it comes to his physical abilities, and he seems to be trusting that he has learned the right mental approach, particularly at Augusta National.

The biggest question may be whether he can maintain confidence in his equipment. A year ago, he got rattled after a few misjudgments on distance over the weekend. As quickly as he put himself in position to win the Masters, he took himself out of it and seemed unable to regain the faith that he was going to execute the shot he was trying to hit. 

Coming into the 2026 Masters, there's no question DeChambeau is playing fantastic golf. That's buoying his confidence, and he believes he's figured out what caused him problems on a few major weekends in 2025.

"I feel like I have my golf swing a little bit more under control than I have in years past, last year definitely until the last couple of rounds when it started to go a little awry," DeChambeau said. "I think I know what that is now, and hopefully I can overcome that." 

Now he has his first real chance to prove he's found that fix under major pressure. He's spending his preparation focusing on playing shots into different winds and understanding how it impacts his golf ball, after struggling mightily with distance control in gusty conditions in the past. 

That's admirable and probably the right way for DeChambeau to go about his process, but for as much as he's improved his mental approach and patience, his biggest hurdle is learning how to roll with the punches. 

DeChambeau wants so much control over every part of his game. It's inherent to him as a person. From equipment to the elements, he wants to take away all unpredictability, but the unfortunate reality of golf is that there are always going to be situations out of one's control. 

If he's going to join his peers and rivals at the 2027 Champions Dinner, DeChambeau will need to learn from the experience he had in last year's final round. 

Instead of digging too deep into what he did, he might do better by attempting to mimic what he saw from McIlroy down the stretch in 2025. McIlroy, haunted by second nine collapses, found a way to dig deep and shrug off miscues that would have once derailed his tournament. 

DeChambeau will have to do the same, and in the process, may have to relinquish a little bit of that control he constantly seeks.