Bryson DeChambeau spent a long time with media and gave some fascinating insight into his mind after a superb 65 on Thursday to take the early lead at The Masters.
The LIV Golfer, winner of the 2020 US Open, has led at Augusta before but you need to cast your mind way back to 2016 for his best finish in the year's first Major - back when he was an amateur.
Many will point to his 'par 67' comments about Augusta prior to the 2020 Masters, which he touched on after his round, admitting that he messed up on that occasion.
He also spoke of his respect for Rory McIlroy, Greg Norman being on-site, his new digital presence as a YouTube star and a number of other topics.
On his infamous Augusta 'Par 67' comment:
"Again, the comment was definitely misinterpreted. I said it, and I respect people's opinions on it," he said.
"For me, I have a level of respect for this golf course that's a little bit different than a couple years ago, and clearly today was a great test of golf, and I was able to conquer a very difficult golf course today.
"Regarding the 67 comment, you know, you mess up. I'm not a perfect person. Everybody messes up. You learn from your mistake, and that was definitely one.
"It was a perspective I had, and it cost me a lot of slack, I guess you could say. It definitely hurt some things.
"But look, I'll say this again. I shot 65 today, and that was one of the best rounds of golf I've played in a long time. There's three more days to go, and I'm not losing sight of that fact; that it's right there in front of me. Just got to go execute."
On LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman being at The Masters this week:
"I think it shows he cares, first off. Look, I've not had any poor interactions with Greg my entire career," he said.
"He was with Cobra for a long time when I was with Cobra, as well, Cobra Puma, and he was always great to me and he's been great to me through LIV.
"I respect him coming out here and showing support. I think the people can view it multiple ways. I just look at it as a sign that he cares and nothing more than that. And if people have a different perspective on that, then that's up for them to decide.
"But in my opinion, it just shows that he really cares about the game in general."
He's appreciated Rory McIlroy's comments on hope for big names playing together again:
"I appreciate him saying that, first and foremost. He is a huge voice for the game, and I respect his voice and respect his opinion," DeChambeau said.
"Him saying that definitely, hopefully shines a light in this game that is pretty divisive right now where we can all kind of hopefully come back together at some point and say, look, how do we make this work for both sides; how do we make this work for the fans, Patrons here, but fans outside of here.
"I think it's the most important thing we can do for the game of golf moving forward. We now have a duty to make sure that this great game continues and grows in a positive manner now compared to the divisiveness that's occurred over the last few years. I personally think that we could figure that out quickly if we just sit down and hash it out for a week."
People are shouting 'thanks for the content':
"What's been really nice and helpful for me is doing a lot of content on YouTube, as crazy as it sounds, it's been really awesome to see how I can affect a lot of people's lives, junior golfers' lives, middle-aged men, even, they are coming out shouting: 'Thanks for the content. Appreciate what you do online.'
"Look, I'm just trying to promote the game of golf in the best way I possibly can, YouTube being one of them, whether it's Instagram, X, or even Snapchat.
"I mean, it's crazy, I've gotten a crazy amount of love on Snapchat. Getting over like a million views a day on Snapchat and these people coming out of nowhere and Patrons saying, I love your Snapchat.
"Like really? They are loving it that much? That's awesome."
Hints that he's no longer close with Tiger. On getting advice from past champions:
"Unfortunately, I don't think I have," he said on receiving advice from past Masters champions.
"I've talked to Tiger a little bit. When we were close, we talked quite a bit about the golf course, and that was really cool.
"Talked to Mr. Nicklaus a little bit. He just tells it as it is. Just hit the fairways and greens, yeah, the putts break towards Rae's Creek and that's about it. But for the most part, no."
Now settled into his equipment and trying to replicate his LIV Greenbrier 58:
"I think I've gotten equipment that is performing a little differently for me, and I'm settled on that," he said.
"I'm just saying to myself day I get up, just swing the same way you have been for the past seven, eight months since I put it in play at Greenbrier and just go back to those feels every single day. I know that works. I mean, I shot 58 with it.
"And I know this game is ever-changing and it's always moving. It's a moving target. But for me, it's going back to that day, those few days I played shooting 61, 58 on the weekend and going, all right, what did I do there that was so good, and how do I keep doing it?
"And just looking back and reflecting on that and making sure I'm feeling that same motion that I've settled in on."
After science and bulk phases, he's now in the 'golf phase':
"The golf phase. I'd say the golf phase for sure. Trying to be the best golfer I can be," he proclaimed.
Last 8 months have been building up to Masters:
"When I shot 61, 58 on the weekend, I looked at G-Bo [his caddie Gregory Bodine] and go, "I can't wait for April." It's exciting. You never know what this week is going to bring. You never know how things are going to shake out, but it certainly is exciting to see some good golf with the equipment that I have."
