DeChambeau goes low in final round, ties for second at Aussie Masters
Bryson DeChambeau
MELBOURNE, Australia — Bryson DeChambeau birdied three of his last six holes at Huntingdale Golf Club on Sunday to finish runner-up at the Australian Masters, a PGA of Australia event. DeChambeau was one of three amateurs in contention heading into the weekend in Melbourne, and rose above the majority of the competition to tie for second place with John Senden and Andrew Evans, two shots behind 56-year-old winner Peter Senior.
DeChambeau, the reigning NCAA Individual champion who played collegiately for SMU up until this summer, shot rounds of 69-70-72 to enter the final day five off the lead. His Sunday 67 gave him the opportunity to say he beat 2013 Green Jacket winner Adam Scott in a professional tournament.
''Anytime you get to be up near the leaderboard and have an opportunity coming into the last nine, it's special,'' DeChambeau said. ''But unfortunately I missed a couple of putts.
''I call myself an intern, an amateur intern. I'm trying to get my feet into the professional ranks and feel what it's like to be in that situation."
DeChambeau made headlines all summer, more disappointingly after capturing his NCAA crown when unfortunate circumstances amidst heavy sanctions handed down to the team's former head coach, the Clovis, Calif. native decided to leave Southern Methodist and forgo his senior year.
Because of NCAA penalties his former coach received, the Mustangs would not have been able to take part in the 2016 NCAA National Championship, thus preventing DeChambeau from defending his title.
Through 36 holes, DeChambeau was one of three amateurs inside the top 25, but Australians Zach Murray and Curtis Luck both dropped out of the top-40 with high scores during the third round. Luck shot 76 and is now T43 while Murray, the defending Master of the Amateurs champion, carded 81 and is T59 after shooting 69-71 on days one and two.
Luck rebounded with 69 on Sunday to finish in a tie for 28th place, while Murray posted 77 and placed 62nd.
The impressive amateur finish for DeChambeau comes a week after Australian phenom Ben Eccles won the New South Wales Open, also on the PGA of Australia circuit, though the event's field was not as strong as this week's.