Bryson DeChambeau Makes Slam Dunk Eagle With New Wedges As He Targets Masters Challenge

Bryson DeChambeau says just a 5% improvement in his wedge play will give him a better chance of winning The Masters this year - and the early signs show he's heading in the right direction.

DeChambeau changed his wedges last week and it worked wonders as he won the LIV Golf Singapore event despite still trying to figure out what his final set-up will be.

Unusually for DeChambeau he's switching to more regular sized wedges, but more true to form he's "trying anything and everything" in terms of grooves and bounce to figure out his best configuration.

After "starting from scratch" in finding his best wedge set-up, he said he improved in Singapore and felt even better in the opening rounds in South Africa - and showcased that with a slam dunk chip-in during Friday's second round.

"We're just going through everything as much as possible and trying to isolate the biggest problems in my wedge game," said DeChambeau.

"If I'm five more percent consistent, I have a better chance than what I did last year at the Masters.

"I took that last Masters as an opportunity to learn how to become a better iron play and a better wedger. I feel like most of it was there. Just a couple fine-tuning moments and continue to ball strike it the way I have and hopefully I give myself a good chance."

DeChambeau finished T5 at Augusta last year when playing in Sunday's final pairing alongside winner Rory McIlroy, when his approach play stood out as his major flaw.

The two-time US Open champion actually led the field in Strokes Gained: Around The Greens, but was third-worst out of everyone who made the cut in terms of SG: Approach.

So it's no surprise DeChambeau has targeted iron play and wedging into greens as his focal point for improvement, and despite building from the ground up he's happy with the progress.

"After Hong Kong I said, I have to throw all my wedges away and let's try it again. Let's start from scratch. So I started from scratch," DeChambeau explained at LIV Golf South Africa

"I went to short wedges with a steel shaft and a lot of bounce, no bounce, different groove textures in the face - it went quick because the testing process should not be a long process.

"It should be one or two golf balls, that didn't work or that did work, and you move on to the next one, and then you start to wean it down to the last few and all of a sudden you're like this one is out-shining everything. That's what I've done with the driver.

"Long story short, to say I felt something a lot better in Singapore and then I've just worked on it and it's gotten a little bit better.

"Sometimes it's just trying anything and everything to find that one percent. Like Anthony Kim talks about, getting one percent better every day.

"But it's definitely helped having more bounce, and I got pretty lucky, so we'll see. I've got two sets and one has got lower bounce and one has higher bounce for Augusta, depending on conditions. So we'll see."

DeChambeau's short game has certainly been on in South Africa as he shot 63-65 to lead by two heading into the weekend.