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DeChambeau ponders a putt on the final hole of the second round of the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic on Friday.

By Kent Gray
The reinvention of the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic’s defending champion, Bryson DeChambeau 2.0 if you will, remains a captivating work in progress.

The way the American 26-year-old continually tinkers with every aspect of his game, we may never see the finished product, much less during the weekend that lies in wait. But the latest iteration of DeChambeau, the melding of the most fascinating mind in golf with an experimental new physique, looks more than capable of a Dallah trophy repeat.

A ‘ridiculous’ 18-month gym regime has seen the world No.17 return to Emirates Golf Club tipping the scales at 102kg, an additional 14kg of muscle to power his drives to extraordinary places on the club’s Majlis layout. DeChambeau’s putter didn’t always co-operate during a rollercoaster Friday 67 at this 31st edition of the ‘Major of the Middle East’ but it was still a pleasing progression, three better than his windswept opening gambit.

At -7, the Ryder Cupper is just a shot adrift of halfway leader Eddie Pepperell. There will be no re-run of his record-shattering romp 12 months ago, but wresting the most coveted piece of Middle East silverware away from DeChambeau will still take some doing.

What hasn’t changed in the past year and a half is DeChambeau’s colourful self-analysis after every noteworthy round. On Friday there was more “immaculate” wedge work to wonder at, references to the imbedded “biomechanical governor” that has allowed him to make “a gigantic leap” forward with his driver even when he’s struggling to control his bulked-up body. There was even a promise to get the laser out overnight to help sort out the position of his eyes over the ball, what he believes to be the main culprit of his sometimes problematic putting. For those still hung-up on the Mad Scientist’s previously glacial pace of play, there was happy news too.

Today at the 14th hole you had your second shot in the air 17 seconds after Henrik Stenson stopped. That’s extremely fast play. What’s changed?

“Well I would say it’s getting more comfortable on the golf course, recognising the fact that I’m not perfect, I make mistakes and I made mistakes in the past, but working on improving everything,” DeChambeau said.

“That’s my whole goal for the game of golf is not only to make myself a better player but to have people have a more enjoyable experience when I’m around.

“…so that I don’t bother anybody on the golf course, that’s the last thing I want to do. I made a point to work on it and I’ve gotten a little bit better and I think it shows.”

The most obvious change to DeChambeau’s game is off the tee, highlighted by a 375-yard missile down the par-5 3rd to set up the third of his trio of birdies to open the second round. It blew 70 yards past playing partner Henrik Stenson and the Swede’s raised eyebrow and was followed by a 320-yard blow to the edge of the par-4 17th where DeChambeau recorded the last of his seven birdies.

“It’s opened new boundaries that I never thought were possible, to be up front with you,” he said. “I don’t know necessarily how to control all of it yet, but I’m getting to the place where I’m starting to learn what driver I need, under the gun… how to apply that power in a way that’s going to keep me in the fairway and allow me to have more scoring opportunities. So it’s a gigantic leap for me.”

Maybe also a game-changer in the majors where a share of 15th at the 2016 U.S. Open remains DeChambeau’s best finish in 14 starts.

“I would also say hitting a drive close to 380 on 3 helps. I’m not used to that and I’m getting more and more comfortable in certain situations of how to utilise the driver with my speed,” DeChambeau said when praised for his wedge work and putting.

“That’s a huge advantage. You look at Brooks last year at the PGA Championship, I mean he was able to hit it all the way up there and hit wedges on to the greens and that’s a massive asset to anybody’s game. That’s what I was trying to accomplish and I think I’ve done that pretty well so far.”

But that is for later. Of more immediate concern was sorting out his putter for the weekend after a pair of short strokes tugged left on 15 and 16 Friday, the first resulting in one of two bogeys and the latter allowing a birdie bounce back to escape.

“I’m going to go work with the laser and see why things aren’t really gelling right now with my eyesight to the line on the ball and the line on the putter.”

The results of the overtime on the Majlis’ practice putting green will be fascinating over the weekend.

Minus 24 isn’t going to happen this year, but do you have an idea of what might do it, Bryson?

“I’ll take what the golf course gives me. If it’s the same conditions I think 16, 17 under will definitely get the job done.”

The target has been set. How DeChambeau gets there, or not, will not be dull.