DeChambeau picks up big paycheck in pro debut at RBC Heritage

Bryson DeChambeau’s first PGA Tour paycheck will total $259,600. It could have been even bigger.

The Californian shot a 3-under 68 in Sunday’s final round of the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing, climbing nine spots to a tie for fourth. He was 5 under for the tournament, four behind winner Branden Grace.

“I can tell you it’s been quite a journey so far these past couple of weeks,” DeChambeau said. “It’s an honor to be playing out here with these big boys, trying to do my best. Hoepfully, I can keep competing out there, and hopefully I can get a couple of wins out there.”

The finish moved DeChambeau a little closer to earning exempt status on the PGA Tour. It also meant he qualified for next week’s Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio and won’t have to use a sponsor’s exemption.

“I think it’s more about winning championships and doing my best each and every shot,” he said. “If I can accomplish that, that’s all that matters.”

DeChambeau was the low amateur at Augusta, where he played as his ailing father followed in the gallery. And as the shadows grew longer on Sunday afternoon a week later, he found himself in contention on Hilton Head Island.

He stepped onto the 16th tee box at 5 under, just a couple shots off the lead. His caddie pulled a bright blue driver from the bag and handed it to him, and the 22-year-old SMU alum blasted his ball down the right side of the fairway. A perfect shot, beyond the tree that sits in the middle of a fairway that bends to the left. DeChambeau stared down the flag from 106 yards. He hit a wedge.

“Didn’t sound good,” a fan behind the roped-off fairway said.

The fan was wrong.

DeChambeau’s ball landed softly on the green, to the right of and above the hole, to set up a seven-and-a-half-foot birdie putt.

“Go get it, pro!” someone called out to him.

DeChambeau walked to the green. When it was his turn, he stalked around the putting surface, counted his paces and consulted his yardage book. He was deliberate, looking like a detective investigating a crime scene. He lined up his putt and stroked the ball. A miss. He bent at the waist in agony. He tapped in for par.

The missed birdie opportunity at No. 16 was followed by another on the 18th. DeChambeau walked off the course with a 3-under-par 68, which took him to 5 under for the tournament and tied him with Kevin Na for fourth place. If he had made one of those birdies, he’d have upped his prize money by almost $150,000. Still, not a bad outing for his professional debut.

“Confidence,” he said after the round. “More and more confidence each and every week. Twenty-first last week (at Augusta). Top 10 this week. And it’s getting there.”

Phil Mickelson won a tour event as an amateur but missed the cut in his professional debut at the 1992 U.S. Open. Tiger Woods finished 60th at the Greater Milwaukee Open in his 1996 pro debut. Rory McIlroy tied for 42nd at the 2007 British Masters, his first tournament as a pro. And during his professional premier at the 2013 Farmers Insurance Open, Jordan Spieth missed the cut.

DeChambeau finished four strokes ahead of the world’s No. 1 player, Jason Day. After his round, he walked over to the kids lining the fence asking for autographs. And he spent about 15 minutes signing.

“It’s been incredible around here,” DeChambeau said of the crowd support this week. “I’m trying to be as nice to them as possible, because they’re really what makes this whole process possible.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2016 at 2:11 AM with the headline "DeChambeau picks up big paycheck in pro debut at RBC Heritage."