Bryson DeChambeau admits he was surprised to hear Rory McIlroy reveal that he had damaged his swing by trying to gain distance off the tee following the US Open, with the Northern Irishman turning to coach Pete Cowen in an attempt to rediscover his top form.
“From my perspective, I wasn’t trying to change anybody else’s game – I was just trying to play the best golf I could,” he said. “I knew there would be people there to be influenced, I didn’t think it would be Rory.
“I think he’s a pretty smart, talented individual that knows how to play the game potentially better than me. It’s honouring and humbling hearing him say it’s a difficult task.
“I think as time goes on, there’s not much more to gain from the technology side of golf club manufacturing. There are little things we can do, but where the massive gains will be is in athletes.
“Once you get somebody out here that’s a seven-foot-tall human being and they are able to swing a golf club at 145 miles an hour effortlessly, that’s when things get a little interesting. That’s when I’m going to become obsolete potentially even.”
DeChambeau ultimately chose not to use a 48-inch long driver – the longest allowed – in November’s Masters after experimenting with it on the range, but does have something else up his sleeve.
“Obviously there’s something in the bag this week that’s very helpful,” the world number five said.
“I won’t go into specifics of it. But just know this has been a few years in the making and I’m very excited for it. Whether it helps me perform at a higher level, I’m not sure, because it’s golf and you never know what happens.
“Definitely what I’ve seen on the driving range and what I’ve seen the last week in practice, there’s some tremendous benefits to it.
“I’m still going down numerous rabbit holes and I will never stop, not only to win golf tournaments but to definitely win this tournament.
“This has been on my radar since I was a kid, and now that I’ve accomplished winning the US Open, this is the next goal for me.”
DeChambeau began November’s Masters as the favourite after blasting his way to a six-shot win in the US Open, only to suffer from dizziness during the second round on his way to a tie for 34th.
The list of clubs the 27-year-old hit into each hole in practice – the longest being a six iron to the par-five eighth – raised plenty of eyebrows, as did his claim that he was viewing Augusta as a par 67 due to his length off the tee.
And although his best result in four Masters appearances remains a tie for 21st in 2016 while still an amateur, DeChambeau remains committed to trying everything possible to claim a coveted green jacket.
“I think I’m trying to see how far right I can go, over the trees, on the first,” DeChambeau said. “That is the line I do want to take.
“Number 11, I can squeeze it down the right side pretty far. Number nine, I can take it over the left trees and get into that big expanse of grass, which is cool.
“On five, I hit it over the bunkers into the wind. On three, try and drive the green this year. It’s a little firmer this year, so be able to do that.
“I think this is a place where I do put an expectation value that, yeah, I think I have a good chance to play well here.”
