Bryson DeChambeau drills patron with tee shot, can't escape bunker in rough first round of the Masters

DeChambeau hits patron, triples 11th in Masters opener

Bryson DeChambeau finished his first round at the Masters with a 4-over-par 76 after striking a patron with a tee shot on the sixth hole and taking triple bogey on the 11th following bunker struggles. The 32-year-old from Clovis, California, pulled his 180-yard par-3 tee shot left on the sixth, hitting a spectator in the leg before the ball settled off the green. DeChambeau covered his mouth upon impact, later gave the patron a golf ball and shook his hand, then chipped to three feet from 24 yards out to save par.

DeChambeau remained even par through 10 holes at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. His approach on the 11th avoided the pond guarding the green but landed in the greenside bunker. He advanced the ball just three yards on his first sand shot, appeared to miss it entirely on the second, and finally escaped on the third try, leaving it 15 feet short before two-putting for triple bogey and dropping to 3 over.

DeChambeau three-putted the 16th for bogey, reaching 4 over, then birdied the 17th with an eight-foot putt after an iron from rough. He closed with bogey on the 18th. Last year, he opened with 73, rallied to enter the final round tied for the lead with Rory McIlroy, and finished tied for fifth.

DeChambeau, a LIV Golf player, tees off Friday at 1:20 p.m. ET in the second round on April 9, 2026.