DeChambeau wants to 'retire' Tiger

"Absolutely incredible.

It has never been done before ”.

It could be anyone's words about the '97 revolution. In April of that year, Tiger Woods forever changed golf with such a display at the Augusta Masters that many of his records still stand: youngest winner (21 years and 104 days), greater margin of victory (12 strokes), lower score (270) ... In those four days, El Tigre inaugurated a new sport.

He sent everyone to the gym, specialized each part of the game and made a rain of millions fall that has not stopped until today.

"Absolutely incredible…".

And yet, those are the words of Tiger himself before the Masters that begins this Thursday, and to whom they are directed is one who wishes to be like him, devour Augusta, give a name to another revolution.

Bryson DeChambeau wants to be like Tiger Woods in 1997 in 2020. A before and after.

Woods, the myth, 44 years old, winner of 15 majors, five green jackets, to one of Jack Nicklaus, the owner of 18 majors, is the tiger who defends his champion crown with claws, the Masters that he achieved last year, the summit of a resurrection never seen.

Around him, the applicants multiply in a melancholic tournament due to the absence of public but passionate for the battle on the green: Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka ... and whom everyone watches and everyone fears, DeChambeau.

The golf world is wondering: How far can you go with your cannon shots at Augusta National?

At 27, the American arrives at the Masters as the man who conquered the last US Open by bursting the ball from the tee.

DeChambeau packed himself with muscle during confinement - three hours in the gym and seven protein shakes a day - and has pushed the recipe of hitting as hard as possible to the limit.

The bites that he gives to the field are huge.

Of course, you also run the risk that the missile will drift (the higher the power, the more difficult it is to control).

If it goes straight, it will have on a green jacket sleeve.

For the Augusta assault, DeChambeau has a secret weapon: a 48-inch (1.22 meter) driver, the maximum legal length allowed, a bazooka with which he wants to send the ball at an exit speed of 340 kilometers per hour and 370 meters away.

25 years and five Masters victories later, Tiger Woods has left an indelible mark on Augusta National.

#themasters pic.twitter.com/pMCExXEud8

- The Masters (@TheMasters) November 10, 2020

Tiger left little Augusta in 97. His average with the driver was 295 meters, 20 more than the next in that section.

But 20 less than the record with which DeChambeau today leads that list on the American circuit (315), and 40 less than that achieved in his last tournament, the Shriners.

The greatest gunboat in the kingdom of that time is no more than a private today.

"I had speed," explains Tiger longingly.

“At the age of 20 it was when he was fastest.

Then I started not going that far, but I improved my game.

At that time we did not have the technology of today.

The material was being changed and it was very important to hit the ball in the middle of the face.

Today you can optimize the club and use the driver as a weapon to give it as hard as you can, but what Bryson has done to transform his game and hit like that has never been done.

Incredible ”, assumes Woods.

You can attest.

On Monday they trained together.

Lots of gym

Bodybuilder DeChambeau explains his method: “Every day I try to get faster and stronger and go as far as possible.

And I have no idea where the end of this is.

I've only seen improvements in increasing strength.

I'm hitting further now than the Shriners and the US Open, and I'm testing the new driver.

It's promising, but I'm not sure if I'm going to use it because of how unknown it is.

If I win the Masters, I think people would find that hitting further is an easier way to play.

The physical part is the most important in sport.

It is not about me wanting to be different, but about trying to be better every day.

There are many hours in the gym, on the driving range, hitting as many balls as possible.

Instead of dining out or hanging out with friends, I would train.

It has been a process that has lasted four or five years ”.

DeChambeau likens the shot at the ball to the explosion of a baseball player's blow, "hitting as hard as you can to hit the home run."

Think less and hit hard.

"I can hit as far as I want, but then I have to chip well and kick well," he clarifies.

Since 1997, Augusta has stretched almost 500 meters.

Now he waits for another hitter who already warns that the fields will have to adapt to the new times.

He even sees an advantage in the absence of the public because he will be able to direct his ball to areas that were previously almost prohibited by the proximity of fans.

DeChambeau has the whole meadow ahead.

From the roars of last year to the silence of this one, Tiger will try to retain a jacket that due to the pandemic has kept 19 months in the closet and that within six will be put back into play.

The Masters is the last great of the year and will be the first of the next.

Woods clings to this tournament like no other, aware that Augusta is almost his only hope of getting closer to Nicklaus.

If the gates of paradise are closed to him, today's golf will have no mercy on a legend with an overly fragile skeleton.

Tiger has only played eight tournaments this 2020, and his best result has been a ninth place.

"I had doubts about whether to play again because of the pandemic and when I returned I have not managed to put all the pieces of my game together," he admits.

Augusta is for Woods the fountain of eternal youth.

25 years ago it debuted in its hills.

In 20 editions played, not a single cut has failed.

Like Nicklaus, it has expired in three different decades.

From its explosive version of the 90s to last year's calculator.

From the embrace of his father to that of his children.

Tiger lives sportingly for Augusta.

Play past tournaments thinking about what shots you will need at the Masters.

Without a green jacket to fight for, who knows if I'd already said enough.

Tv (Movistar Golf): Thursday: 4.30 pm to 11.30 pm.

Friday: 17:30 to 23:30.

Saturday: 4:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Sunday: 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Pairings and schedules of the first day (six hours more in Spain).