AUGUSTA, Georgia (Reuters) - Bryson DeChambeau may be the most polarizing figure in golf but the big-hitting American had the packed galleries at Augusta National in the palm of his hands on Friday while he muscled his way into contention at the Masters.

The reigning U.S. Open champion, who joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit in 2022, was once viewed by many as arrogant, especially when he bulked up in an attempt to revolutionize golf and called the famed par-72 Augusta layout "a par-67 for me."