AUGUSTA, GA.— Phil Mickelson launched his drive to the middle of the 18th fairway and handed his club to his caddie. Bryson DeChambeau hit three balls, the last a drive that almost cleared the famed bunkers down the left side.
"I find that very attractive," Mickelson said.
Mickelson and DeChambeau played nine holes together on Wednesday morning at Augusta National in preparation for the first round of the Masters on Thursday. There could be no more fascinating duo to find in the final pairing on Sunday.
That may be a long shot. DeChambeau tied for 34th at the November Masters. Mickelson tied for 55th and hasn't finished in the top 15 at the Masters since 2015.
But Wednesday at the Masters is for dreaming, and DeChambeau and Mickelson would be the dream final pairing, if you like science, art, drama and on-course conversations.
DeChambeau has developed unprecedented power by lifting weights, eating like a sumo wrestler and striving for raw swing speed. His practice swings on the 18th tee on Wednesday sounded like rotating helicopter blades. Mickelson, at 50, has maintained impressive distance by working out in his own way, and relying on a long, flowing swing.
Their differences are obvious. Their similarities are more interesting.
Both constantly tweak their equipment, often defying conventional wisdom. DeChambeau is the only prominent golfer known to use the same length shaft in all of his irons. He has experimented with extra-long driver shafts. He is using a driver this week that has been reconstructed by Cobra to give him better results on strikes toward the toe.