American golf star Bryson DeChambeau is reportedly using a custom set 3-D printed irons at the Masters this week.
The 30-year-old, who opened at Augusta National Golf Club with a 7-under 65 in the first round to hold the solo lead, is playing with single-length irons designed by clubmaker Avoda and made by 3-D printing.
A reported by Golfweek, the clubs weren’t approved by the USGA until Monday, having been rejected as recently as last week due to not meeting specifications around groove sizes.
“The faces have some bulge to them, they are one-of-a-kind,” DeChambeau’s longtime coach Mike Schy told the publication.
“What happens if you hit it on the toe? It hooks a lot, right? What happens if you hit it on the heel? It cuts a lot. When you have bolts, that offsets that.”
DeChambeau said after his impressive first round: “I put new irons in this week. I think that’s a pretty big change. And been using this new driver, 3-wood and 5-wood.
“So pretty much my whole bag is different since Greenbrier of last year, and putter is the only thing that’s remained the same.”
He added to Golf Channel later: “It’s a speed thing… when I miss hit on the toe or the heel it seems to fly a lot straighter for me and that’s what has allowed me to be more comfortable over the ball.”
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LIVE MASTERS LEADERBOARD: Dechambeau leads after first round
RORY BRINGING ‘BORING’ APPROACH
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy vowed to bring discipline, patience and a “boring” approach to his bid to win the one major that has eluded him so far and largely kept to that plan with a one-under 71 in Thursday’s first round of the Masters.
McIlroy would complete a career grand slam with a Masters victory.
“It was OK,” McIlroy said.
“I held it together well. It was a little scrappy. The conditions are tricky. Hard to fully commit to shots out there at times just because the wind is — if it’s across, it feels down at one point and then into. It’s hard to commit to where the wind direction is at times.”
There were worrying signs early in McIlroy’s round, where on the par-5 second he drove off the tee into the trees and then, after laying up, put his third shot into the crowd behind the green and ended with bogey.
He bounced back with a birdie on the par-4 third but another bogey followed on the par-3 fourth, hinting at perhaps another messy start to a tournament where he has missed the cut in two of the last three editions.
But a birdie at the eighth saw him enter the turn level and birdies on the 12th and 14th promised better only for a bogey on the 17th, after some missed birdie opportunities, left a slightly sour taste.
“I think after the slow start sort of making a few birdies around the turn was good,” McIlroy said.
“A little wasteful coming in. I had a good chance for birdie on 15 in the middle of the fairway and didn’t take that. Missed a shortish one on 16 and then the bogey on 17. Probably turned a 3-under into a 1-under there at the end.
“But overall still not a bad score, and obviously a lot of golf left to play.”
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Round 1 tee times
The ten groups (30 golfers) that did not complete their first round on Thursday will resume at 7.50am local time (9.50pm AEST).
Those remaining groups are:
Akshay Bhatia, J.T. Poston, Shane Lowry
Bubba Watson, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Schenk
Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama
Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon, Tyrell Hatton
Adam Scott, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim
Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala
Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood
Round 2 tee times
All times AEST, Australians in bold
10pm: Lee Hodges, Adrian Meronk, Grayson Murray
10.12pm: Camilo Villegas, Denny McCarthy, Cameron Davis
10.24pm: Mike Weir, Ryo Hisatsune, Neal Shipley
10.36pm: Vijay Singh, Si Woo Kim, Emiliano Grillo
10.48pm: Fred Couples, Adam Hadwin, Stewart Hagestad
11pm: Justin Rose, Eric Cole, Peter Malnati
11.12pm: Akshay Bhatia, JT Poston, Shane Lowry
11.24pm: Bubba Watson, Nicolai Hojgaard, Adam Schenk
11.36pm: Patrick Reed, Sungjae Im, Kurt Kitayama
11.48pm: Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon, Tyrrell Hatton
12.06am: Adam Scott, Sam Burns, Cameron Young
12.18am: Tiger Woods, Jason Day, Max Homa
12.30am: Brian Harman, Brooks Koepka, Tom Kim
12.42am: Jordan Spieth, Ludvig Aberg, Sahith Theegala
12.54am: Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood
1.06am: Erik van Rooyen, Jake Knapp
1.18am: Jose Maria Olazabal, Taylor Moore, Santiago de la Fuente
1.30am: Danny Willett, Austin Ackroat, Stephan Jaeger
1.42am: Charl Schwartzel, Luke List, Christo Lamprecht
1.54am: Gary Woodland, Thorbjorn Olesen, Bryson DeChambeau
2.12am: Zach Johnson, Corey Conners, Jasper Stubbs
2.24am: Sergio Garcia, Chris Kirk, Ryan Fox
2.36am: Lucas Glover, Byeong Hun An, Harris English
2.48am: Phil Mickelson, Sepp Straka, Tony Finau
3am: Nick Taylor, Joaquin Niemann, Russell Henley
3.12am: Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Rickie Fowler
3.24am: Hideki Matsuyama, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas
3.36am: Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Nick Dunlap
3.48am: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
4am: Wyndham Clark, Viktor Hovland, Cameron Smith
ROUND ONE LEADERBOARD (as of close of play day one)
1: Bryson DeChambeau -7 (F)
2: Scottie Scheffler -6 (F)
3: Nicolai Hojgaard -5 (15)
T4: Danny Willett -4 (F)
T4: Max Homa -4 (13)
T6: Ryan Fox -3 (F)
T6: Cam Davis (AUS) -3 (F)
T6: Tyrrell Hatton -3 (14)
AUSTRALIAN LEADERBOARD
T6: Cam Davis -3 (F)
T17: Cam Smith -1 (F)
T32: Jason Day E (13)
T42: Adam Scott +1 (13)
T54: Min Woo Lee +2 (F)
T87: Jasper Stubbs (amateur) +8 (F)
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