The first tee shots at The Masters were struck early Thursday morning at Augusta National, with honorary starters setting the tone before a stacked field rolled through in waves.
Featured groups headlined by Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Bryson DeChambeau drew massive attention, with tee times staggered throughout the morning and early afternoon.
By midday, the leaderboard was already volatile, as names like Sam Burns and Tommy Fleetwood surged, while contenders traded momentum in firm, fast conditions that demanded precision.
But as the opening round unfolded, the conversation took a sharp and unexpected turn, away from birdies and toward backlash.
Because while DeChambeau’s round was unraveling at Augusta, the reaction online may have been even harsher.
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DeChambeau entered the 2026 Masters as one of the betting favorites, fresh off strong LIV Golf form and sitting near the top tier of outright odds alongside the game’s elite.
He was widely expected to be in the mix deep into Sunday.
Instead, Thursday turned into a nightmare.
The breaking point came at the iconic 11th hole, where DeChambeau needed three attempts just to escape a greenside bunker, carding a triple bogey that instantly knocked him off pace.
And it didn’t stop there, his struggles compounded, leading to multiple disastrous holes and a scorecard that spiraled well out of contention, ending the first round at four over par.
Within minutes, social media lit up.
Fans piled on, mocking the bunker sequence, questioning his decision-making, and pushing back on the competitiveness of LIV.
“Go back to LIV. Y’all aren’t prepared to play real golf,” one user wrote.
“Not easy when he’s used to playing the flat resort courses on LIV,” another added.
“He’s being incredibly stubborn, insisting he has to draw every single iron shot,” one other fan replied.
“Guess he needed yesterday’s caddy,” another commented.
“Probably time to lay off Temu club challenges,” another wrote.
“It’s like he got the yips all of a sudden,” one other user observed.
“Bryson better on YouTube than at Augusta,” another replied.
DeChambeau has long walked the line between innovator and agitator.
Known for his “mad scientist” approach, he stirred headlines earlier in the week by doubling down on his belief that he could essentially engineer his own clubs.
To some, it’s genius. To others, it’s arrogance.
At Augusta, triple bogeys are killers. Stacking them? That’s usually a death sentence for any realistic shot at the green jacket, and it may have just cost DeChambeau his chance to contend