Bryson DeChambeau entered the Masters hoping to improve on his last two seasons of top-10 finishes. To that end, he introduced a 3D-printed golf club to his arsenal, only for his opening round of the tournament to be terribly disappointing.
DeChambeau scored a 76 in the first round of the Masters on Thursday due in no small part to a brutal triple bogey on the 11th hole. He likely needs to finish the second round under par just to avoid getting eliminated. His chances of winning the whole thing are near the bottom.
Naturally, reporters were curious about how his 3D-printed 5-iron was holding up for him and how it works in general. Oddly enough, DeChambeau was rather dismissive of the question and appeared even a little annoyed when asked about it.
“That’s a longer conversation,” DeChambeau said, via the New York Post. “Not for here.”
DeChambeau and 3D Printing
DeChambeau was willing to explain how the process works. He said that it can take as long as eight hours plus another three to four hours working with the machine. The start to finish process can be a day and a half.
“And then you have to do a bunch of other stuff,” DeChambeau said. “You can have something in a day and a half.”
DeChambeau seemed pleased enough with how his club handled on the seventh hole. He also made it clear that the club, despite not being made in the traditional fashion, does conform to USGA standards.
“No. It has to be USGA conforming, there’s this whole process you have to go through,” he said.
Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Friday will be a critical round for DeChambeau. Even one bogey could sink his chances of making the cut and playing at Augusta National Golf Club over the weekend.
Let's hope his clubs hold up for him.
DeChambeau's tee time is 1:20 p.m. ET.
