DeChambeau loses more of Masters mojo with third-round 77

Whatever chance there was that Bryson DeChambeau could become the first amateur to win the Masters, it appeared to have slipped from his grasp Saturday.

From a bogey that opened the former Clovis East High School star’s third round, when he failed to get up and down from short and right of the green, to an unforced three-putt on the short par-4 third, “moving day” at Augusta National saw DeChambeau move south rather than north.

DeChambeau, after a pair of 72s in his Masters debut, shot a 5-over 77 and fell out of the top 10 and eight strokes behind front-running Jordan Spieth.

There were a couple of bright spots, including when he got up and down from the front bunker of the par-5 second, emphatically pumping his fist when the birdie putt dropped. The crowd cheered and his former Southern Methodist University golf teammates shouted, “Come on Bryson, baby!”

“It was great. It was good, (but) I misclubbed all day,” DeChambeau said. “That’s ultimately why I didn’t execute.

“There were three or four places out there where I just missed … a 6-footer on 7, I missed a 6-footer on 8, I made a 6-footer on 10. Twelve, I made a bogey – excuse me, no, 13 I’m making bogey. Fifteen I’m making double. And then 18, I’m making double.

“I mean that’s six or seven shots right there. Otherwise I’d be right there by the lead.”

As he spoke, the pain became very apparent in DeChambeau’s eyes as he glanced across Augusta National’s landscape from the elevated hill near the clubhouse, seemingly reliving all of those crucial mistakes as he sighed.

Who wouldn’t be frustrated on such a magnificent stage, with unparalleled opportunity staring you in the face?

DeChambeau’s swing coach, Mike Schy, knew just how dedicated his client was going into this event and empathized with the 22-year-old’s frustrations.

“Bryson prepared for this tournament like no one else in the world,” Schy said, going on to mention that DeChambeau played the course 13 times since December – each time trying, relentlessly, to understand various nuances.

Alas, the Clovis native has left himself with a stern mountain to climb Sunday if he’s to somehow mount a charge and make the history with which he’s become so obsessed since his U.S. Amateur win last summer.

Down the stretch on Saturday’s back nine certainly offered no momentum. A major turning point could be the layup on the par-5 15th, then promptly hitting his third shot onto the green’s severe false front and into the water.

“I hit a good drive on 17 in the right rough, barely, and hit a great shot on there, and barely missed a putt,” DeChambeau said. “And then, unfortunately, (I) did the same thing on 18. I pulled the drive in that bunker and got it out there and made a good bunker shot up there. And I wasted so many shots in putting that it’s sickening.”

DeChambeau looked queasy as he gave his three-minute interview to the assembled press outside the clubhouse. One doesn’t want to use the word crushed, but in those few moments, he appeared devastated.

Among the his former SMU teammates in attendance this week is Austin Smotherman, who also made the trip all the way from California – in his case, Loomis.

“It’s fun having them around to support me,” DeChambeau said. “I love it. It’s great. It gets my mind off of some things. But at the end of the day I still shot 5 over today, which is pretty pathetic.”

Those were DeChambeau’s last words to reporters Saturday. Schy told The Bee he was headed over, immediately after the round, to practice with DeChambeau.

This story was originally published April 9, 2016 at 8:28 PM with the headline "DeChambeau loses more of Masters mojo with third-round 77."