'Bryson's in the Backyard': DeChambeau's Legend Grows as the Guy Who Did Some Night Putting With Him Tells His Story
"Let me tell you a little story. I once knew a guy who could have been a great golfer, could have gone pro, all he needed was a little time and practice. Decided to go to college instead. Went for four years, did pretty well. At the end of his four years, his last semester he was kicked out. You know what for? He was night putting. Just putting at night. With the fifteen-year-old daughter of the Dean." - Ty Webb, Bushwood CC.
Sometimes the Caddyshack references just write themselves. But this story about night putting has nothing to do with Ty's old friend Mitch Cumstein. It's about Bryson DeChambeau. And while it got a brief mention on The Masters broadcast as Jim Nantz was killing time searching for just the right moment to rhyme "Rory" with "glory," it needed some embellishment.
It had something to do with DeChambeau on Friday night, spotting a putting green in someone's yard and hanging out with the guy for a little nocturnal practice. Thanks to ESPN, we have closure on that anecdote. And in no way does it disappoint:
Source - Paul Pearman is used to a nonstop party on Masters week. The 64-year-old lifelong resident of Augusta has seen it all. ...
An avid golfer, he's even built a world-class putting green in his backyard, with an impressive lighting array.
It's so bright that it acted like a Bat-Signal to attract one of the world's best golfers.
On Friday night, Pearman returned to his home and flipped the lights on. He saw a group of guys walking across a bridge next to his house, then watched their heads snap as the green was illuminated. They turned toward the house and greeted Pearman.
"You guys play golf?" he asked.
"Hi, I'm Bryson DeChambeau," one of the guys replied from the dark corner of the driveway.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Jack Nicklaus," Pearman replied.
Then his guest stepped into the light, and he realized it wasn't just a lookalike. "Oh," he said. "I'm not really Jack Nicklaus." ...
At Pearman's place, DeChambeau fired 72-degree wedges high into the night sky.
"It was like someone was flying over with a Goodyear Blimp and dropping golf balls onto the flags," he said.
He picked what Pearman calls his "Liberace putter," a giant clear block of Lucite with a head akin to a block of soap.
"Like those cheesy things that have a scorpion inside," Pearman said. "Like you'd win if you're employee of the month."
Pearman hustled inside to tell his wife, Michele, to change back out of her pajamas. Get up! Bryson's in the backyard.
"You're full of s---," she replied.
But he wasn't, and Michele said she instantly fell in love with DeChambeau and how polite he was to everyone, including her beloved Rottweiler. "He was so sweet," she said. "He introduced himself, shook my hand. And he was all over Rosie, and she was loving it."
First of all, if you're going to have something like this happen to anybody, let it be to people like Paul and Michele Pearman. Any couple who's going to carve a fully-luminated putting green in their backyard Field of Dreams-style deserves to have a two-time US Open champion over to try out the Liberace putter and charm the bejeebers out of Rosie the dog. A fecking Rottweiler, no less. And any lady who'll sign off on a massive building project like that - according to the article, "71 feet by 41 feet, the kidney-shaped behemoth has its own drainage system 'with nine French drains and 15 catch basins,'" - in the shadow of AGNC and still not hesitate to tell her husband he's "full of shit" can't have enough incredible things happen to them.
But this is about DeChambeau. I like McIlroy as much as the next guy. There's a reason he's admired and respected on every continent where golf is played. (Maybe Antarctica, too. I can't confirm.) What he did Sunday was unforgettable. I'm in a golf-centric text thread with some friends, one of whom is saying it was the best, most satisfying sporting event he's ever witnessed. I'm still going with the Miracle on Ice, but I'm not going to argue. McIlroy is a champion in every sense of the word.
While DeChambeau, a champion in his own right, has quickly and unmistakably established himself as The People's Champion. You don't get a green jacket for that. But you do get rows of thousands of outstretched hands on either side, every time you walk through the ropes. Hundreds of Sharpies handed to you, with the business end pointed at some piece of Masters merchandise. And nice, golf-obsessed old couples inviting you onto their high-maintanence property to roll it around the backyard with novelty putters. That makes this particular champion one of a kind in his chosen sport.
We'll all be living off the drama of the 2025 Masters for a while. But they can't tee it up at the PGA (May 15-18, Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte) soon enough. Let's just pray we get another Rory and Bryson final pairing.