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American Bryson DeChambeau has once again come under fire for his slow pace of play during the opening round of the Masters.
No stranger to copping criticism for his chronic slow play, it caught the eye of many with Aussie Cameron Smith on of those impacted during today’s play.
After American Paul Casey withdrew from the Masters due to back issues, Smith was paired with DeChambeau. The two were ahead of Tiger Woods’ group, which included Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann.
The 28-year-old Australian’s opening round at the Masters started and ended with double bogeys. In between came eight birdies and ultimately a 4-under 68 that vaulted him to the upper reaches of the leaderboard, a surge fuelled by the kind of creative and calmly fearless play that guided Smith to a steely one-shot victory at the Players Championship last month.
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He spoke about just how much of a mental battle it was.
“I feel like today was a very long day,” Smith said.
“Given that Bryson (DeChambeau) and I were just playing by ourselves, lots of waiting, lots of mental energy was exhausted today.”
Meanwhile, DeChambeau was left to cop the criticism of being slow from several of golf’s leading voices.
Australian golfer Cameron Percy was among many to take aim at DeChambeau.
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Yet during the long lags in play, Aussie Smith kept it loose, mostly chatting with caddie Sam Pinfold about the Brisbane Broncos, Smith’s hometown rugby team. Anything but the task ahead. Besides, he’s grown comfortable among the Georgia pines, never missing a cut in five starts and putting together a runner-up finish to Dustin Johnson in 2020.
“I love this place,” Smith said. “I think my short game has definitely got me out of a lot of bad spots around here, but at the end of the day I think you just need to give yourself opportunities. You need to hit your irons close, and you need to be really good with the putter.”
– with AP
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