Bryson DeChambeau brings amateur career to fitting end at the Masters

After a dominant amateur career, Bryson DeChambeau put the finishing touches on his last event with an (a) next to his name as he finished the Masters with an even par 72, good for a T21 finish in an event he has revered like none other.

On a cool, overcast, and eventually sunny day at golf’s most majestic cathedral, DeChambeau – The Bee’s 2012 Prep Golfer of the Year out of Clovis East – ended his amateur career with a finishing birdie putt from about 20 feet.

“It’s been a long time coming for me, at least to get to this point,” DeChambeau said. “As an amateur, to finish it off in this way is something very special. I wanted to give a big thanks to Mr. Jones, Mr. Roberts, and all the members of Augusta National and the USGA, and everyone else – fans as well, (they’ve) been incredible.”

The Clovis resident was visibly compelled by the “love that (they) give to this great game.” As his emotions began pouring out from those constantly confident eyes, DeChambeau continued in a respectful cadence.

“Mr. Jones has been an idol of mine for a long time and to be able to have this honor bestowed upon myself has taken me aback,” and then he faltered.

“Thank you everybody, and I appreciate the love that you give this game.”

For father Jon, who spent the day navigating Augusta National’s undulating layout in his scooter, the emotion was palpable. The Clovis resident had to take his usual dialysis treatment Saturday and thus was able to get back for today’s round.

“The emotion was calm to be honest, I was fortunate,” Jon DeChambeau said. “I think the most emotion I had was when he hit the middle of the fairway on 18 today. Hitting it there after all of the disasters happened in the beginning of the week was tough.”

Jon DeChambeau seemed ultra-calm on the iconic seventh hole Sunday when DeChambeau walked down the fairway and Jon’s quiet voice somehow pierced through the 80 or so yards between the ropes and fairway that separated father and son.

“Hello son,” he almost whispered.

DeChambeau heard the voice immediately and responded with a “hey dad!”

DeChambeau even talked with gallery members in the crowd at times on the seventh. The 22-year-old looked right at home, confidently striding along the most famous fairways in the world.

“Seeing him up there, the accumulation of everything, it was a lot of pride,” Jon DeChambeau said. “Pride in knowing that we did the right thing in how we raised him, the place he’s at now, that meant a whole lot.”

The award ceremony afterward went for nearly 25 minutes, and DeChambeau and his mother Jan made the rounds and greeted seemingly every Augusta National member.

“It was just beyond incredible (this week),” Jan DeChambeau said. “It was just a pleasure to be here, an honor to be here, and it couldn’t have ended more perfectly ... well it could have, he could have won,” she smiled.

“This was an amazing experience and he has so much more ahead of him. This was the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. It was very emotional all day long.”

DeChambeau had a funny moment with fans on the very hole that derailed his green jacket hopes, the 15th on Saturday. As he drove left into the rough, a crowd gathered around his ball. As he prepared to hit, he threw a pine cone out of the way but then – in that moment – realized there were a lot of fans to be careful not to hit, after all he’s not in a college event anymore.

Sunday’s final round started in a promising fashion as he made an early birdie on 2 and approach 6 at 1-under. Two stunning up and downs later DeChambeau took a 1-under 35 at the turn – a score he desperately could have used the day before when he turned in 38.

But overall there was much to reflect on the overall performance, especially for caddie Drew Hinesley.

“There’s a reason why you measure your career by these things because it’s hard, it’s really hard to win one of these things and we got a little taste of that and we’re hungry for more next time around,” Hinesley said.

“It’s always about trying to do our work and then trying to execute it,” swing coach Mike Schy said.”He’s got a lot going on this week in terms of signing his contracts. This coming week will be an interesting week and he’s got to be running on all four cylinders as soon as possible.”

DeChambeau will drive down to Hilton Head to embark on his pro career in the RBC Heritage on Monday morning and will play a pro-am Monday afternoon around 1p.m.

So is he ready for pro life?

“I think so, I hope so,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve had six or seven months to prepare to be professional. I’ve played in numerous professional events, and traveled across the world trying to gain experience, and to end it off here at the Masters is something special, so yes.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Bryson DeChambeau brings amateur career to fitting end at the Masters."