HONOLULU, HI – JANUARY 12: Bryson DeChambeau looks on during the third round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 12, 2019 in Honolulu, Hawaii. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

By Brian Wacker
HONOLULU — If there’s one thing that Bryson DeChambeau has proven in his young career it’s that he’s a different sort of cat when it comes to how he approaches the game. But underneath all that science is something more old fashioned: Hard work.

 

Case in point: On Friday, the 25-year-old five-time winner practiced well into the dark at the Sony Open in Hawaii, at one point bringing out a small set of lights and a high speed camera to the putting green as he tried to straighten out the face angle of his putter at impact. The extra work paid off.

 

Saturday, DeChambeau made eight birdies and just one bogey en route to a seven-under 63 to climb into the top five on the leaderboard (though he is still well back of runaway leader Matt Kuchar).

“I wasn’t going to leave until I figured it out,” DeChambeau said.

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It didn’t take long. DeChambeau birdied six of his first 12 holes at Waialae CC, including four in a row at one point. He was also significantly better with the flat stick from a day earlier, going from 0.058 in strokes gained:putting in the second round to 0.788 in the third. He also took four fewer total putts with 27.

“It means we’re going in the right direction,” DeChambeau said. “It’s just frustrating that it didn’t happen Thursday.”