AUGUSTA, Ga. – Bryson DeChambeau will make the cut at the Masters, but only just barely.
And he’ll go into the last two laps even though he doesn’t feel 100 percent.
“Not good, to say the least,” he said of his piece. “The last time I felt a little weird was two nights ago, and I came out yesterday and was mostly fine. As I continued to walk around, I felt a little dizzy. I don’t know what was going on, a little weird.
“So I got checked for COVID last night and I was fine, nothing,” he added. “But I had to do the right thing and make sure there wasn’t anything serious. I don’t know what it is or what happened, but for the past few days I’ve felt really, really weird and just not one hundred percent. Some of it is played into it. I just feel boring and numb out there, just not fully aware of myself, and I’m sure to make some stupid, stupid mistakes. ”
After leveling his last two holes for a 2-over-74 game, DeChambeau needed help from Jordan Spieth on the 18th hole and Rafa Cabrera Bello on the ninth. If one of the two birdies had made, he would have moved the cut to 1 under par and eliminated everyone at the same level.
Spieth lost his drive in the trees and had to fight to make the cut himself. The 2015 Masters champion rolled in a 15-foot par putt to keep his tournament alive.
“You know, sometimes it’s more nerve-wracking to make the cut than to win the tournament,” said Spieth.
Cabrera Bello missed the ninth green but went up and down for par and also made the cut.
Augusta National announced on Monday that the Masters cut would no longer apply the 10-shot rule and would only be changed to the low 50 and the ties. DeChambeau was part of an 11-way tie for 50th place, as was Collin Morikawa, the PGA championship winner.
The winners of the last two majors survived as did Tony Finau (69-75) and the former champions Zach Johnson (73-71) as well as Charl Schwartzel (73-71) and Spieth (74-70).
Notable to miss the cut include:
Matthew Wolff – Second at DeChambeau at the US Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic, Wolff got off to a hot start in his first Masters but 70-77 points wasn’t good enough.
Tyrrell Hatton – Winner of the Mastercard-presented Arnold Palmer Invitational never clicked Augusta National, shooting 73-74 to finish 3 and miss by three.
Francesco Molinari – was in control of the Masters last year until double bogeys sent him to a T5 finish on the 12th and 15th, two behind Tiger Woods. Shot 72-78 this time to miss the cut by six.
Jason Day – The trending pre-tournament selection had four top 10 finishes in the Masters, including a T2 in 2011, but blew up with a 78 in the second round to say goodbye at 4 too early.
DeChambeau fought with a miss in round 2 and only hit 11 greens in regulation in the second round in a row. He turned the 13th hole twice in the first round and threefold the third hole with par 4 in the second round. The third and 13th holes are two of the shortest on the course.
Exactly where his tee shot landed on the third hole – he had to take a lost ball and return to the tee to hit three – is unknown. It is believed that the wet grass is clogged.
“It just seems like a lot of things are not going right,” DeChambeau said. “I have certainly played the worst golf and won golf tournaments. You know, it’s one of those things that golf is about. You can’t control everything as well as you try.
He had an eagle putt when he returned to the 13th hole at 7:30 am on Saturday to finish his second round but he missed it and opted for a birdie to be equal. A birdie at age 14 that missed his drive but stepped back into the fairway from a tree put him in the red.
However, further driving problems left him on the par 5-15 course in the right trees, where he had to be content with par. A birdie on the par 3-16 course seemed to give him room to breathe, but he finished with bogeys at 17 (missed again with his drive) and 18 (green by airmail from 150 yards on the fairway).
As for his health, he said he got dizzy Thursday night.
“Yeah, every time I bend down and come back up, I want to lose my posture a little,” he said. “So I don’t know what’s going on. I need to get blood tests, get checked and find out what’s going on this off-season. “
