BRYSON DECHAMBEAU is known for thinking outside the box in a bid to give himself an advantage – and he went one step further by sensationally using a 3D-printed club at the Masters.
The American, 32, shot a four over par 76 to leave himself adrift of joint-leaders Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns on day one.
But DeChambeau, who was tipped to get his hands on the Green Jacket by a supercomputer earlier this week, took the science behind his game to a whole new level at Augusta National.
The two-time US Open champion took to the iconic course with a 3D-printed five-iron.
He used the innovative piece of equipment to tee off on the seventh hole – and revealed it does not take long to put one together.
DeChambeau said: “It prints in eight hours. Machines, they’re three or four hours.
Masters 2026 – all the info
The Masters returns to Augusta National this week!
Golf’s biggest stars will compete in the first major tournament of the year, with the iconic Green Jacket the prize for the winner.
Rory McIlroy returns to Augusta as the defending champion for the first time after he ended his 11-year wait for an elusive fifth major title.
The pressure of completing the career grand slam is now off the Northern Irishman as he looks to become the first player to win back-to-back Green Jackets since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
Other big-name contenders for the first major of the year include Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm.
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“Then you have to cut grooves in it and do a bunch of other stuff, so you can have something within a day and a half.
“It has to be USGA (United States Golf Association) conforming. There’s a whole process you have to go through.”
DeChambeau has picked up the Mad Scientist nickname because of his analytical, physics-based approach to golf.
And he has been trying to build his own clubs for a number of years in a desperate attempt to give himself an edge.
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The LIV Golf League captain has been working with new wedges that have “a bubble on the bottom” and more head weight.
His bag includes a Krank driver, fairway woods, Avoda irons and Bettinardi wedges as well as the self-made 3D-printed five-iron.
And DeChambeau has already hinted that his creativity will not end there as he chases more major wins.
He told ESPN: “There’s this nature that I have about myself where innovation is a habit of mine.
“I really find and take pride in that ability to learn – even through failure, even through making a bad decision or a good decision – what I can get from that.”
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