MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 8, 2025

Bryson DeChambeau

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Very pleased to introduce Bryson DeChambeau to the interview room. Bryson, welcome back to Augusta National.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Q. Before he won the U.S. Open last June, Bryson contended here in April for the green jacket. In fact, he shot a 65 in the first round and led after that day. Bryson, what have you learned over your years here, and how has it influenced your preparation for this week?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I haven't learned enough, obviously. I can tell you that it's definitely grown over the course of time. Each year I learn a little bit more about winds and how it affects the golf ball on a certain hole or a certain slope around a pin location, just little things that continue to improve my knowledge around the golf course.

Q. When you were first here in '16, what's your biggest change in maybe the philosophy you've brought with you into this golf course?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: What a great question. I think as an amateur, I felt like I knew the golf course pretty well, but I didn't know how to control a lot of the nerves that flowed through my body, and that was something that I still work on today.

Even last week, I felt nerves last week and going into Sunday, and learning how to control that better and better each time, and I feel like that's what's changed the most is getting more comfortable with shots around this golf course. The second shot on 10, second shot on 9. Just key little moments that can help with momentum throughout the round. I think that's what's changed the most since 2016 for me.

Q. Can you tell me a little bit about the emotional challenges of working this course, even though you come back here year after year, if you can talk to us about the process in which you try and deal with it.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, it changes quite a bit every year where the conditions are always a little different. They're never the same. I think that's what's so cool about this place. You get different gusts of wind, and that's what presents the most challenges for me out here is trying to control that wind to the best of my ability.

I think the emotional challenge is just keeping yourself patient. I said it last week and even this week. Last week the winds were blowing 20 miles an hour at the Blue Monster, and I told myself to be patient, it's great prep work for this week. So I felt like I was really patient last week and gave myself a good run. Hopefully that pays off this week.

Q. Is there a specific hole that bothers you more than the others?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: All of them (laughing); how about that?

Q. Can you give me one?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: No. They're all a unique challenge.

Q. Obviously a lot of the golf fans are frustrated that they're only seeing you guys playing the rest of the top players in the world four times a year, which obviously this is the first week of it. I'm wondering for you, other than this being a major, as special as it is at Augusta, is there a different energy when you are here and playing against Scottie and Rory, et cetera? What does it do for you as a competitor?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: For me as a competitor, no matter where I'm playing, I try to play my best. Whether it's a major, whether it's an event I'm playing last week or whatnot, I'm still focused on trying to win.

I don't try to look at it too much differently. I don't want to add pressure to myself. That's a thing that I want to stay away from and just focus on executing the shots I know how to hit around a golf course.

That's kind of the mindset I take into this week with I would say more of a focus level, just a determined focus level to make sure I'm taking care of the golf course the way I need to and managing myself the best I can.

Q. Is there any part of you that does miss being around and competing against the other guys, other than the four weeks that we have?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I mean, anytime I get an opportunity to play against everyone, the best players in the world, it's great. I think that's what we're all hoping for at some point is for that to be figured out. That's beyond me and beyond my scope, unfortunately.

I think at some point if the players get all together, I think we could figure it out. But it's a lot more complicated, obviously, than what we all think. Hopefully one day it'll get figured out and we can make that happen.

But for me, I just focus every time I'm out on the golf course to be the best I can possibly be. I'm actually playing the golf course, not necessarily playing the competitors. I focus more on the golf course more than anything.

Q. Last week was a great test. As you said, the wind was blowing. It almost looked like you were ready for the British Open, but it's the Masters this week. You spoke about it, but how much will the wind affect the golf course over here?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, considering I felt pretty good last week in the wind, I hope the wind blows a little bit this week, and hopefully I can take what I learned from last week into this week.

It's so funny because golf courses are interestingly dynamic and every single one you go to is different, and you have to conquer that test. Last week was a bit of Bermuda rough, and this week is a different test.

And I think that's the cool part about it. Who adapts the best; who can change quickly to those conditions. Scottie has done a great job of that the past couple years, and Jon has played really well at the courses we've played at. I'm aspiring to be more like that; can I adapt to those conditions.

Yeah, the wind was a great test last week. I'm glad I was able to play pretty well. Didn't get the job done. A little disappointed, but that's golf. We lose more than we win. But it was a great learning experience, and hopefully I can take that into this week.

Q. Just putting your content creator's hat, and I know it's almost impossible to create content inside the golf course, but how much do the juices start flowing when you see a golf course like this, and what would you like to do over here if you were given a chance?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Are you talking about from a content creation standpoint?

Q. Yes.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Oh, my gosh. I don't think it's appropriate to talk about right now.

Oh, man, if I got the opportunity, it would be great to just film something that -- I don't even know. I'd love to talk about the history of this golf course. I think it would be really cool to showcase all the past champions and what Mr. Jones had done for this community and this place and Mr. Roberts, and just the history of it would be really cool to showcase. That would be a cool, aspiring opportunity for me.

But if that happens, that's amazing. If it doesn't, no problem. I'm still here to play the Masters and compete to hopefully get the job done this year.

Q. Bryson, it looked like you were testing a bunch of different driver heads today on the range and marking them with a red Sharpie.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, just right on the bottom.

Q. Let us know what that was all about.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Man, it's just trying to get that dialed-in head, that perfect head. Been working a lot on some equipment stuff, and super close. Super close with some of the driver stuff we've been working on.

But for my speeds, it's just so tedious, and they have to be so precisely measured and defined. It's tough; the manufacturing process is not easy. It's one of those where for speeds of my caliber, it has to be super precise. So I'm testing different heads to see how it reacts, how I feel, how it feels in my hands. I'm swinging it really good right now, so I'm just trying to get the most precise thing in my hand for this week.

Q. What do you mark? What do you write?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I'm just defining, okay, that spins too much or it misses left or it's hanging out to the right so I can kind of identify, okay, this one probably has too much CG here or whatnot.

Just trying to find that driver that acted like when I shot 58 at Greenbrier. If that driver, that would be great. But I don't want to use it because I don't want to change the face curvature and change the dynamics. I want to have that head just as it is. I don't want it to change.

Q. Do you allow yourself to think about what it would be like to have a green coat or a spot at the Tuesday night dinner or a locker up in the second floor?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Everyone dreams of that opportunity. I don't think there's a player out here that doesn't think about that.

Q. You've dealt with criticism basically your entire career, so I'm not directing this question --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: All good, my man. Throw it at me. It's okay.

Q. There is a narrative that professional golfers are a little more sensitive to criticism than, say, other professional athletes. Do you think that's a fair or unfair assessment?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: I can't speak for all of golf. I definitely know early on in my career I was very sensitive to it. And as time has gone on, I just continue to try to inspire a bunch of kids to play the game of golf and inspire a bunch of people to pick up a golf club and try this great game out because that's all that matters for me.

But yeah, there was a time where it was definitely more difficult to hear. And I think as time has gone on, I think you realize that we're all human and it's okay if somebody has a perspective. And you just try to show them through your actions, not what you say, but through your actions of what you're doing for this great game of golf. That's all I focus on now.

Q. As a multiple major champion now, do you feel as though the major tournaments are easier?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Oh, no. Major championship tests are -- that's why they're major championship tests. They're the most difficult tournaments that we as professional golfers face and will face in our careers, and I think that's why they're so revered to win.

I think there's a little bit less pressure, but no matter the tournament, I'm still -- the last nine holes of the tournament I'm going to feel nerves. I'm going to feel nervous. I'm going to be focusing on how to control those nerves. And I think everybody kind of gets that way as well. I don't think anyone is immune to it.

But it's a joy for that test to come about. Even though I get nervous, it's a joy for me.

Q. What would a green jacket mean to you? How do you think it would change your life?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: A lifelong dream come true. Something I dreamt about as a kid.

Q. You talk about tinkering with driver heads. Is there anything else that you can shed a little light on that you've been maybe experimenting with, whether it's equipment, fitness, diet, anything that you've been toying around with that you can share?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I mean, we're figuring out new methods to make equipment a little more precise than even what's out there right now, and I think that's personally what's inspiring to me is that there is more room to grow and more room to learn.

We don't truly know what happens at super fast speeds, and that's something I'm keen on figuring out this next year. It's going to be a yearlong testing protocol for something that I'm working on.

I'm not going to be testing it. I want someone that's even more precise than me. It'll be fun. It'll be fun to see what that information presents us and how we can improve in all facets of the game, whether it's the driver, 3-wood, 5-wood, the irons, wedges, putter, we're going to test everything, you name it, shafts, golf balls, everything.

I'm really excited for that testing protocol come later this year.

Q. We've seen a lot of players playing a super high standard and then changing a lot, whether it's swing or clubs. The most famous example being Tiger after 2000 changing his golf swing. Knowing that you like to go down rabbit holes by nature, how do you balance that drive to want to improve without chasing perfection?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, it's optimization. I think I'm looking at it in a much different lens than I have in the past where I'm tinkering, tinkering, tinkering, trying to find the ends of the parameters and go one extreme to the next extreme. I'm actually starting to kind of hone in on my true nature of what works best for me and then optimize my equipment around that.

That's kind of my strategy now. I've tried a bunch of stuff. I've tried getting really strong, really big really quickly, backtracked off of that. I was super thin in college. Tried swinging a bunch of different ways.

But I found kind of what naturally works for me, and now it's just a mechanism of how do I optimize all the variables a little bit better and just continue to work on those small parameters. Because I want to be the best that I possibly can be for myself. What better way than just to continue to optimize.

That's what I'm focused on now. Now we have machinery that can help get us to the micron level of precision, and then we've got robots that can test at higher speeds. And for me it's just going to be information gathering and how to optimize my equipment to where I can perform the best. Then after that, it's just keep playing and having fun and competing.

Q. Bryson, coming up in Northern California, how did all those great amateur tournaments help you get to this place?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, there were a few great junior golf associations, the Junior Golf Association of Northern California, JGANC, and then the Northern California Junior Tour that I played on, as well as a few others. But those are the tours I mainly played on. Those are the ones I could afford, and those are the ones we could travel to.

The other tournament that was big for me on my radar, albeit it was in Southern California, was Junior World's. That was like the tournament I had to qualify for. I did it a few times and was fortunate enough to play, play well. Beau Hossler kicked my butt. But it was certainly a bunch of fun.

Growing up in Northern California, what great golf courses, playing Pasatiempo, Monterey Peninsula, Poppy Hills, every once in a while Spyglass Hill. You name it, there's just incredible golf courses around that area.

Growing up, it certainly prepped me for some high-end caliber golf as well as just competing every weekend. Every weekend, what was the next tournament: Okay, we're going to Lemoore; okay, we're going to Visalia; okay, we're going to Monterey.

I was just continually trying to win as many tournaments as possible. I think it's a part of the reason why I personally love playing competitive golf, because it's just that little fire that I have in me every time -- okay, how do I stack up against everybody.

I think for anybody, and this is kind of a pivot point from this question, but for any parent out there that wants to get their kids into golf, first off, you've got to make sure that they have fun doing it, but go put them in tournament competitions and see if they love it.

Because I certainly fell in love with the competitive side of it. I love practicing, I love hitting golf balls, but I love competing as well, seeing how low I could go. So the JGANC and Northern California Junior Tour were two massive helpful tours that led me to be where I am today.

Q. How does the testing that you're working on factor into the roll-back of the golf ball that's potentially coming?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Well, I hope they don't roll it back. I don't know what's going to happen. If they do it, obviously it's going to be what it's going to be, and we'll be testing for probably another six months with the new golf ball with that variable introduced. We're just leaving sort of things constant, introducing new variables to see what effects it has, and then just optimizing off of that.

Once that golf ball gets presented, we'll test and see how to optimize it even more efficiently.

Q. Who are you doing that with, the testing?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Me. Me, myself and I.

Q. How do you balance the content creation side of your work with the golf side of the work? And has there ever been a time where you've said, I'm spending a little too much time on YouTube?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, I'd say, man, especially when you play with guys like Bob Does Sports, I'll tell you, it's tough to keep going along with those -- no, I'm kidding. I love them.

For me personally, I think there are times I've gotten a little overzealous and been like, wow, I need to focus on my game a little bit. But I'll also tell you I've built my YouTube channel, I've built my content creation around how do I get better as well, kind of become more efficient in that regard.

Sometimes the content that I create actually helps me focus for the next week. For example, a course record series, it gets me in that mindset, more focused on, hey, I've got to absolutely play my best golf if I'm going to break the course record. So it gets me in that mentality.

So over the course of time I've kind of learned to focus myself and prepare for a tournament while doing content creation. Early on it was difficult; I didn't know what to do. I was like, what am I doing to create, what am I going to do, how does it relate to golf?

I think as time has gone on, I've become a little more efficient with my team and how to prioritize and focus when I can do weird, quirky challenges, like an Amazon set Wal-Mart set or whatever, to now where I'm focusing a week before a tournament, that Friday, we're going to go play a course and try to break the course record, so it gets in that mentality.

I'm really strategizing and planning out what's going to work best for me. It's just a thing that's happened over time. Something you've got to learn yourself.

But I certainly love it. I won't stop. I'll continue to do it because I think it's hopefully inspiring for people. That's all I care about.

Q. We can track every ball you guys hit on the range this week --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Oh, great.

Q. You hit more than anyone else today --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Surprise!

Q. I was curious about the flow of these longer practice sessions. It looked like a few times you ramped up to a driver, then dropped down to wedges. How do you manage, I guess, fatigue and also getting the stuff you need to get done?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It's planned. It's strategic. So I know what I'm going to do during the week based on where I need certain things to be. I'm testing some drivers right now to find the best thing that I can use for me this week. It's not the full answer, but we're getting really close. I'm excited about that.

The flow of it, it just depends on what I feel is not going well or going really well. I'm swinging it pretty darned well this week, feeling great. Just trying to get those reps in and make sure nothing is falling. Sometimes I almost try to break things on my own just to see what would happen with the ball flight, where is it going to go if I do this or do that. It's just seeing the sensitivity level of my game and how sensitive the swing is.

Then going and chipping, hitting bunker shots and practicing that, it just ebbs and flows. It's based on what I sense I need. It's a requirement that I have for my own personal feeling of comfort.

Q. Like many top players in the world, you like traveling, too, and you added India to the list this year, and people were mighty pleased about it. You said winning here would be a dream come true. Talk about traveling all over and come back to this one major which is held at the same course every year like a tradition.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Yeah, so you're talking about other majors and they change --

Q. Just comparing traveling all over the world and then coming to Augusta every year.

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It's a special place. I think a lot of players revere this one. They want to win -- this is the tournament to win because it's held at the same place, the way they take care of players, the way they talk about the competition. I don't know any other way to describe it other than it's an incredibly special, unique place that we all feel there's just different energy that's here, and we all want to be a part of it.

Q. What does traveling mean, traveling to so many courses around the world, taking the game --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: It's great to showcase the game of golf in different corners of the world. That's why I'm doing what I'm doing, whether it's content creation or LIV or whatnot. I think there's a really big opportunity there.

And for me personally, I enjoy it. I enjoy going over to a place like Singapore and seeing a kid just absolutely jump for joy when he gets an autograph from me. That to me feels amazing, just as amazing as I'm able to sign an autograph for a patron here at Augusta, at the Masters. Being able to sign for a kid, it's the same feeling, and I want to do that across the world.

It's just fun. Look, at the end of my time, I don't want to be just known for winning a bunch of tournaments. I want to be known for entertaining and inspiring and hopefully growing the game of golf in some capacity, in whatever way that is, whatever new way I find.

I think it's fun going globally and playing golf, competing around the world; but then coming back to here, you get this different type of feeling and energy, which is cool.

Q. What is one thing you took from India?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: The food actually was really good, first off, and the golf course was a brutal test of golf. DLF is a tough test of golf. But the people were amazing. They were fantastic, too.

Q. Basically in the first three majors last year, 12 straight rounds, you were in the mix every day. High level of play. Where is your game now compared to that? Are you at that same level? Are you missing something that you had then? Where would you say?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Knock on wood, I feel like I'm in a great place. I don't know what else to say. I'm not going to say something to get an article or something. I just feel really good headed into this year.

I'm excited. I played well last week, and hopefully that translates into this week. You never know, right? Every week is going to be different for a Tour player, but hopefully I have all the pieces dialed in together before Thursday.

Q. Is there any fine line that you've experienced this year in the difference between not winning and obviously like last weekend you were close, obviously you had some other good results but didn't win? Has there been something you focused on that has been the difference?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Sometimes in golf it's a putt here or a shot there or whatnot and just being a little bit more repeatable. That's what I work towards and strive every day to do is be as repeatable as possible. I don't want to have any deviation, a little left, a little right. I just want to go exactly where I'm calling it to go.

I think that's really the difference. Last week I was one swing away from lapping the field, and I messed up on 4 and brought everybody back into it, and I was struggling to get back in front of it.

That's just the game of golf. It's not easy. I strive to be a better version of myself in golf every single day, and that's all I can do. I haven't won. Yeah. Would I like to win more? Yeah. Everybody would. But it's not easy to win, no matter what place you're at.

Q. Clearly you find joy in a lot of different ways playing golf, and you do so in different ways, in content creation. I wonder if you could compare and contrast the emotions that you feel versus winning a big tournament as opposed to hitting a ball over your house multiple times --

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: Or breaking 50. When I hit the ball over my house and made the hole-in-one, I was definitely excited. I had the adrenaline running through my body, chills in my body because we just knew it was going to be a cool piece of content.

Not as cool as winning a major championship, but it's up there. I'd say it's 90 percent there.

Q. You have talked a lot about controlling your nerves, and I'm wondering how. How do you control your nerves when you're on the golf course? And what would you say to a younger player who's beginning to play tournament golf of how to maintain that level of control?

BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU: One, I think your skill set can always be a little better. If you are more precise and you're able to swing your golf club more consistently than others, that skill set will take care of itself.

Two, you can do some breathing techniques to help calm the nerves down, but ultimately you've got to get up there and face the fear of those nerves, of that adrenaline going through your body, going, okay, I'm all right, how do I take control of this in the best way I possibly can and just let go, let go and execute the shot the way you know how to on the practice range?

That's the best piece of advice I could give someone. But it's skill set, breathing, and then you've got to let go.