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"It's a bit of a comfort thing. It's not a
superstitious thing," said DeChambeau, whose caddie had a
backup. "I just left it in the car. Usually I'm not going into a
car before playing my round. Must have fallen out when I got
out. Is what it is. Luckily I got it back thanks to the
officers."
The brief mishap did not rattle DeChambeau, who started on the
back nine and had a birdie on the par-four 13th before chipping
one in for birdie on the 18th hole.
The hard-hitting DeChambeau used his powerful drive to hoist the
trophy at Winged Foot four years ago and looked every bit the
veteran as shaved two more strokes off his score with birdies on
the par-four third and par-five fifth.
His only stumble of the day came at the par-four seventh, where
he overshot the green for bogey.
"From a mental exhaustion perspective, this was probably the
most difficult that I've had in a long, long, long time," he
said. "I can't remember the last time I mentally exerted myself
that hard to focus on hitting fatter parts of the green instead
of going for flags. I did that quite nicely until the last few
holes."
DeChambeau, who settled for second at last month's PGA
Championship, said he would load up the dinner plate with
carbohydrates in preparation for the battle ahead.
"Recovery is going to be key. I'm going to go hit a couple
balls, make sure it's all dialed in and ready for tomorrow," he
said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York. Editing by Gerry Doyle) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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