Bryson DeChambeau might have started the 2026 Masters in the worst way possible.
On the 11th hole of the first round of the competition, DeChambeau found himself stuck in a bunker. It took not one, not two, but three strokes to get his ball out of the trap and back on the green.
DeChambeau finished the hole with a triple bogey. The LIV Golf star then failed to take advantage of the two par 5s on the back and was sitting at 3-over through 15 holes.
He also hit a patron on a tee shot that sailed wide left on the sixth hole, after which he went over and handed the fan a ball.
It comes as some of the top players in the sport are off to hot starts with Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler near the top of the leaderboard with Sam Burns sitting as the clubhouse leader.
The disastrous start comes after DeChambeau finished fifth at the 2025 Masters. He entered the final day just two shots behind eventual winner McIlroy but squandered his chance at overtaking him by registering two bogeys and a double bogey on that last day.
He and McIlroy also had a tense standoff on hole 9, when both thought it should be their turn to putt due to close placements of their balls.
DeChambeau suggested flipping a tee to decide, but McIlroy stood firm, wanting to go first to put pressure on his opponent. Eventually, DeChambeau caved, and McIlroy promptly scored a birdie.
“He goes, ‘Why don’t we just throw a tee up for it to see who goes first?’ And I’m like, no, this is the final round of the Masters,” McIlroy said in a preview for the upcoming Amazon documentary “Rory McIlroy: The Masters Wait.” “This isn’t some game on a Tuesday afternoon somewhere.
“I was proud of myself for holding my ground,” McIlroy added.
McIlroy also revealed that DeChambeau’s water-bound stroke on hole 15 directly led to him switching from an 8-iron to a 7-iron, a major factor in his win. From 207 yards out, he landed six feet away from the hole.
DeChambeau finished 7-under for the tournament. McIlroy, meanwhile, claimed the win, his first major title since 2014 and his first-career Masters victory. It also completed his career grand slam, the sixth golfer to ever do so.
Entering the 2026 Masters, Scottie Scheffler is ranked the No. 1 golfer in the world, with McIlroy coming in second. DeChambeau sits significantly lower at 24th.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
