Bryson DeChambeau credits putting tip and YouTube for best Masters start

Bryson DeChambeau claimed becoming a social media star and new putting style were the secrets to . The double US Open champion led after the first and second rounds last year after scores of 65 and 73.

This year the LIV sat a shot behind clubhouse leader after 36 holes but has gone lower with rounds of 69 and 68.

has built his popularity by posting videos blending golf content with fun challenges with 12.5m views on TikTok to see his bid to hit a hole-in-one over his house. He has 2m followers on and 1.8m followers for his channel. And he claimed he had brought the same sense of fun to his day job.

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“It's great,” DeChambeau said. “YouTube golf has made me feel like a kid again. When I started out, I was like, man, this is going to be a lot of work.

"And once we started putting in challenges that were fun and interesting and different, it kind of made me feel like I was that, you know, 11-, 12-year-old going out with your friends and just trying to play as good as you can and do something crazy and different.

“I'm actually focusing myself and saying: ‘Hey, you're on camera, you have to execute. There's nothing else you can do besides play your absolute best. So it gets me in a really cool mentality, as well. It's been a great benefit.”

DeChambeau, who finished tied sixth here last year, leads the driving distance stats with an average of 331.6 yards. And he has taken only 51 putts in his first two rounds after a tip from his manager Connor Olson.

“For me, I had not been putting great this season,” he said. “A little streaky for me. Just not starting it on my line, feeling that same pull like I did last year. Tried everything in the book.

"And then Connor, my manager, and I were just talking about it, and he goes: ‘Why don't you just feel like you open the face but take it down the line more and don't let it go inside? it just worked. Felt like I wasn't pulling it anymore. So sometimes it's just one little thing.”

DeChambeau’s strong performance here last year was followed by a runners-up finish at the US PGA before beating Rory McIlroy to win the US Open.

“Experience always helps,” he said. “Winning the U.S. Open gives you a lot of confidence. You just have to hit the right shots under the right conditions at the right moment in time, and that's what allows you to win.

"A couple things at the U.S. Open last year that doesn't go my way, I don't win, right. And it went my way. You've got to have a couple things go your way this week, but I'm going to give myself as much of a possibility as I can to play my best golf. So we'll see.

"I'm going to keep it simple. I'm excited. Very excited for the weekend. This is what golf is about. Got a lot of great names up there, and looking forward to an unbelievable test of golf. I'm just going to give it my absolute best, and whatever happens, happens.”