Bryson DeChambeau opened the 2026 Masters with a 4-over 76 after a wild first round that featured a fan hit on No. 6 and a bunker disaster at No. 11.
Bryson DeChambeau’s 2026 Masters start had a little bit of everything, and not much of it went the way he wanted.
The LIV Golf star opened Augusta with a 4-over 76 on Thursday, putting himself in an early hole after a round that mixed recovery shots, missed chances and one costly collapse at Amen Corner.
For a while, DeChambeau looked like he might survive the chaos. One of the strangest moments of his opening round came at the par-3 sixth, where his tee shot veered left and struck a patron before kicking back toward the green.
Instead of letting the break go to waste, DeChambeau regrouped, got up and down, and walked away with a hard-earned par. He even stopped to greet the fan after the shot, a brief light moment in an otherwise uneven day.
The round changed at the par-4 11th. After safely favoring the bunker over the pond with his approach, DeChambeau couldn’t solve the sand.
His first blast barely moved, his next attempt failed to escape, and by the time he finally got out on the third try, the damage was done. He eventually carded triple bogey there, turning a steady round into a scramble.
There wasn’t much of a recovery after that. DeChambeau gave away another shot with a bogey at the 16th, answered with a birdie at 17, then dropped one more on the closing hole to sign for 76.
The number left him well off the early pace as Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns shared the clubhouse lead at 5-under 67.
The good news for DeChambeau is he’s been here before. He also opened last year’s Masters with a shaky round before working his way back into contention.
This time, though, he’ll need a much cleaner Friday if he wants to make the same kind of weekend push.
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