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Bryson DeChambeau murders the golf ball. USATSI

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Bryson DeChambeau stood in a bunker over the 9th green at Colonial Country Club on Thursday during the first round of the Dean & DeLuca Invitational. He'd just pushed his tee shot, overshot his approach and now had a tricky up and down to a cup pretty far below his feet 65 feet away. So the former U.S. Amateur champ dug in, swiped it out and stuck it to two feet.

Good up and down, right?

DeChambeau stared at his Bridgestone, turned to his caddie, waved his arm, looked back at the hole and stared some more. He was pissed.

And this is why DeChambeau is going to be great -- because he expects to be great.

I'm projecting, of course, and DeChambeau has found the PGA Tour to be more difficult than he probably thought it would be after finishing in the top five at the RBC Heritage in April. He's missed three straight cuts and only registered one round in the 60s in that time. He shot an even-par 70 on Thursday at Colonial and sits just inside the top 50 after the first round, so he has some work to do on Friday to play the weekend.

I hadn't seen DeChambeau up close yet, and I was curious about the most interesting man in golf not named Miguel Angel Jimenez. The phrase that stood out to to me came from friend of the blog Tron Carter -- that DeChambeau "compresses" the golf ball. After walking with him at Colonial on Thursday, I can confirm the validity of this statement. But it wasn't the ball flight or the length of his drives or anything like that that stood out to me. It was the sound.

Sound has always been one of the dominant senses through which to properly experience golf. Purists can tell when Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy are on the driving range even if they have their eyes closed. They way they hit it just sounds different.

The best way I can describe the sound DeChambeau's driver makes when it connects with his golf ball is that it reminds me of the noise a watermelon makes when it hits the ground from the top of a three story building. He thumps it.

DeChambeau uncorked one on the 7th hole, a straight par 4. It went 321 yards, and it looked easy. DeChambeau's swing doesn't make sense. The grip on his driver looks like it's supposed to be on a baseball bat. It looks like he can barely wrap his hands around the thing. When he takes it back, it looks like he's swinging one of those training clubs that detaches when you don't swing it correctly except that that's exactly what he wants.

It's bizarre to watch and even more outrageous when you see the end result. DeChambeau pumped drives of 304, 306, 314 and 321 yards on Thursday. And again, these are not stressful yards; they are effortless. It seems unfair that somebody who has molded his career around being accurate can be this long as well.

DeChambeau is going to be a star on the PGA Tour. It might not happen next week or next year, but it's going to happen. Woods (and to a lesser extent Spieth) has altered our expectations for what young stars are capable of achieving. There is a learning curve for any new pro, and DeChambeau is not exempt.

But the resume is undeniable and so it the attitude.

DeChambeau stood on the 7th tee at 2 over on Thursday as Spieth birdied the 9th hole just behind him to get to 2 under. It was loud. Spieth has a lot of followers -- a lot more than were following DeChambeau. I couldn't help but wonder if that roar frustrated DeChambeau. He knew who ahead of him both on the course on this Thursday and from a career standpoint. Spieth is the standard DeChambeau is chasing. And he chased him down the back nine shooting 33 to Spieth's 34.

I'm of the belief that DeChambeau sees himself on par with the Golden Child. He would never say that publicly or out loud, of course, but I can't help but wonder if DeChambeau fumes in private because he knows he can be as great as the current No. 2 player in the world.

In a way, I hope he does because that belief is one of the many steps he has to take to actually getting there.