AUGUSTA, Ga. — For Paul Pearman, Masters week in Augusta is usually a big party. This 64-year-old, who has lived in Augusta his whole life, has seen it all.
Pearman is an artist with a unique home on Lake Olmstead that`s like a museum. He`s often in the middle of the Masters celebrations. He knows a lot about the history of Augusta, especially the local stories around Augusta National. He loves golf and even built an amazing putting green in his backyard with bright lights.
These lights were so bright, they acted like a signal, attracting one of the best golfers in the world.
One Friday night, Pearman came home and turned on the green`s lights. He noticed a group of people walking across a bridge near his house. When the green lit up, they stopped and looked over. They walked towards Pearman`s house and said hello.
`Do you guys play golf?` Pearman asked.
`Hi, I`m Bryson DeChambeau,` one of them answered from the dark driveway.
Pearman joked back, `Nice to meet you, I`m Jack Nicklaus.`
Then, DeChambeau stepped into the light, and Pearman realized it really was him. `Oh,` Pearman said, `I`m not really Jack Nicklaus.`
DeChambeau, who scored a 69 on Saturday and is in the final group with Rory McIlroy, is only two shots behind McIlroy. He has a good chance to win his third major tournament and his first green jacket. His wedge shots have been excellent, leading the tournament in strokes gained around the green. Maybe this is partly because of his practice in Pearman`s backyard the night before.
At Pearman`s home, DeChambeau was hitting 72-degree wedge shots high up into the night.
`It looked like a Goodyear Blimp was flying overhead and dropping golf balls onto the flags,` Pearman said.
DeChambeau used Pearman`s `Liberace putter,` a big, clear putter made of Lucite, with a head like a bar of soap.
`Like those cheap things with a scorpion inside,` Pearman described. `The kind of prize you might get for employee of the month.`
Pearman rushed inside to tell his wife, Michele, to get dressed. `Get up! Bryson`s in the backyard.`
`You`re kidding me,` she replied.
But he wasn`t. Michele said she immediately liked DeChambeau and how polite he was to everyone, even their Rottweiler. `He was so nice,` she said. `He introduced himself, shook my hand. And he was very friendly with Rosie, and she loved it.`
DeChambeau is a unique figure in golf. At tournaments, he often practices more in the evenings after his rounds are done. He uses a launch monitor even on the putting green. He also has a YouTube channel and is quite successful at it. He tries many things that other golfers might find unusual.
Like practicing his short game with random clubs he found in the shed of a backyard putting green.
Pearman was curious why DeChambeau was wandering around Augusta so late and found his practice green just minutes before. DeChambeau told Pearman he couldn`t sleep. `I don`t blame you,` Pearman replied.
Pearman`s unique personality has led him to meet many interesting people. In 1989, he broke Tony Alva`s world record for the longest skateboard jump over barrels, earning a Guinness World Record. He`s also a third-degree black belt and has won state and national amateur kickboxing titles. He makes mosaics and belt buckles by hand, selling many to famous musicians and celebrities.
Rory Sabbatini once wore one of Pearman`s belt buckles during a Masters round. Jeff Knox, a well-known player at Augusta National, wore one when he played better than McIlroy in a 2014 round.
Because of this, Pearman knows many people. And his backyard green is not ordinary. It`s 71 feet by 41 feet, kidney-shaped, and has its own drainage system with `nine French drains and 15 catch basins,` Pearman said. `It`s probably the biggest artificial green in town.`
He built it with extra slopes and curves so he wouldn`t get bored with it quickly. He said this is what caught DeChambeau`s attention.
`This is really cool,` DeChambeau told Pearman. `Usually, they are very small and flat.`
Pearman, as an artist, has always liked DeChambeau, who is known for his high energy and constant adjustments to his game and equipment. Now, Pearman has seen DeChambeau`s approach up close. He watched someone who had already hit about 1,000 practice shots at Augusta National that week spend his Friday night looking for more answers in his backyard.
And it seems he might have found something helpful there.
On Saturday, Pearman and his friends watched DeChambeau make a 45-foot putt for birdie on the first hole from Pearman`s backyard `golf shed`. Later that day, even more people gathered to watch DeChambeau birdie three of the last four holes, including a 48-foot putt on the 18th hole. This secured his place in the final group for Sunday and gave him important momentum.
`I might cry if Bryson doesn`t win tomorrow,` Michele said.
Paul mentioned that his biggest yard problem is clover, but his yard is full of four-leaf clovers. Maybe it means something, he thought.
`It`s just lucky out here, man,` he said. `Clearly, one lesson was all it took.`
After his successful Saturday round and his Friday night practice, DeChambeau was asked how he avoids getting tired from working on his game so much.
`The most important thing is to relax and have a fun night,` he said. `Spending time with friends and family, and just being myself. … The more I can be myself, the longer I can keep going.`
