DeChambeau Set For The 2016 Masters

[PonyPride]

From SMUMustangs.com:

DeChambeau Set For The 2016 Masters
DeChambeau paired with Jordan Spieth and Paul Casey in opening rounds

AUGUSTA, Ga. (SMU) - Former SMU men's golfer Bryson DeChambeau will play in The Masters, April 7-10, at the historic Augusta National Golf Club. DeChambeau, the No. 3-ranked amateur in the world, becomes the fifth SMU alumnus to drive down Magnolia Lane and play in the prestigious tournament.

The Clovis, Calif., native received his invitation after winning the U.S. Amateur in August 2015. DeChambeau is one of six amateurs to compete in this year's event.

DeChambeau joined an elite class when he became only the fifth player ever to win both the NCAA title and the U.S. Amateur in the same year. With a 7-and-6 decision over Virginia's Derek Bard, he joined Jack Nicklaus (1961), Phil Mickelson (1990), Tiger Woods (1996) and Ryan Moore (2004) as the only players in history to accomplish the feat.

DeChambeau will be the fifth Mustang to play at Augusta, joining SMU greats Payne Stewart (1983-90, 92-96, 1999), DeWitt Weaver (1972-73), Hank Kuehne (1999) and Kelly Kraft (2012).

In the season he dubs "The Internship", DeChambeau has competed in five events in preparation for The Masters. The season has been highlighted by two top-20 finishes, including a tie for second at the Australian Masters.

During his three-year tenure at SMU, DeChambeau played in 35 events and garnered three victories. To close out his junior year, DeChambeau became the first NCAA individual champion in SMU men's golf history. The junior bettered Washington's Cheng-Tsung Pan by one stroke to become the first SMU individual champion in any sport since women's swimmer Flavia Rigamonti won the 1,650-freestyle national title in 2005.

After his junior year, DeChambeau received first-team All-America and American Athletic Conference Golfer of the Year accolades, while also being named the Arnold Palmer Award winner and earning spots on the All-Nicklaus and All-American Athletic Conference teams. He was also named to the Walker Cup, where he finished 2-0-1 as a member of the U.S. team. DeChambeau was the only American to not lose a match in the prestigious amateur tournament.

His sophomore year was highlighted by second-team All-America and first-team All-AAC Team honors, and he was named first-team All-Conference USA and the Conference USA Freshman of the Year during his first collegiate season. He was named to the All-Region team in each of his three seasons.

The former Mustang will be paired with Jordan Spieth and Paul Casey in the opening rounds of the 80th Masters and will tee off at 9:48 a.m. ET/8:48 CT. Viewers can watch the event on CBS or CBSSports, while finding live scores, updates and videos on Masters.com.

[EastStang]

Also in the Golf Digest (Master's Special Edition) there is an interview with Jim Nance. He apparently met with DeChambeau and lent Bryson some of his tapes of Masters past so that he could see things like pin placement, approaches to holes by various players, etc. He mentioned in the interview that DeChambeau is obsessed with being the first Amateur in decades to win the Masters.

[EastStang]

Teamed with Jordan Speith for first two rounds. Speith shot -6, Bryson E in Round 1. He should be taking notes with Speith.

[PoconoPony]

Bryson in second place -4 after 34 holes behind Spieth at -6. He is playing great.

[blackoutpony]

On the front page of ESPN right now. Pretty fff ing cool

[mrydel]

Tough last hole. But he is looking great. Played right with or ahead of Speith all day until 18.

[Charleston Pony]

Bryson played his way out of contention today but should still take top amateur honors and still has a shot at finishing in the top 24 which would allow him to come back next year and compete as a professional

[mrydel]

Just pars on 15 and 18 the past 2 days and he is a contender.

[horsemanx]

Rough round there for Bryson today.

[smusic 00]

He is +5 on 18. Otherwise he is even par. Pretty salty.

[mrydel]

Congratulations to Bryson. Low amateur in his first Masters.

[Charleston Pony]

and with his finishing T-21st, he will be invited back next year

[mrydel]

I think only the top 12 get invited back.

[Charleston Pony]

that's right. I just checked and they have changed the rules for qualifying. Oh well, Bryson will just have to win a tournament as a professional between now and next year's Masters. I think they said he will go pro right away

[mrydel]

He turns pro tomorrow. He is primed to win this week and be on his way.