The Players: Bryson DeChambeau says he’s never hit a shot like this

Bryson DeChambeau said he thinned it. Others just thought he topped it. NBC analyst David Feherty said it was “nearly a shank.”

Whatever DeChambeau did with his tee shot on the fourth hole Sunday at The Players Championship, the one thing everybody could agree on was this: It was not what he wanted to do.

And, as DeChambeau said later, it was something he had never done before.

"“Not in competition,” he admitted."

The player who’s turning the PGA Tour on its head with his prodigious drives and ridiculous distances throughout the bag had entered the final round at TPC Sawgrass hoping to catch leader 54-hole leader Lee Westwood for the second straight week.

But unlike his winning performance a week ago at Bay Hill, DeChambeau couldn’t muster a similar kind of performance.

Trying to explain his tee shot at the fourth

His tee shot at the fourth was the truest indication it was not his day. Using a hybrid on the 382-yard par-4 hole, DeChambeau’s drive went 143 yards into an area of the water hazard not exactly used to seeing golf balls from world-class pros.

DeChambeau ultimately suffered a double bogey that was too difficult to make up, as his 1-under 71 left him tied for third at 12 under, two shots behind winner Justin Thomas.

"“I fought really hard,” DeChambeau said. “It just seemed like something wasn’t going my way today for some reason. Just I could feel it. It was weird. Just numerous putts that I hit, it was like, OK, that’s a really good putt, and it didn’t go in.”"

But the weirdest shot of all was his tee shot at the fourth.

"“I was trying to hit more of a low bullet and just kind of caught the heel a little high on the thing,” he said. “It was really a top. It was more like a thin ball that just had no spin on it and just knuckled. If there was a top there, it would’ve been down on the ground. …“Just one of those things I tried to squeeze and hit too hard, got on top of it and hit it thin. Caught the grass below it and just never got any height.”"

To make matters worse, his next shot (his third after taking a penalty) flew into the trees.

"“My 4-iron cracked,” DeChambeau explained. “I looked at the bottom of the thing, I couldn’t use it all day. It sounded really weird and just come off horrifically, and I’m like, oh, and there’s a line in the bottom of the club.”"

Whatever disappointment DeChambeau was feeling for not winning for a second consecutive week seemed to be masked by simply being in contention at a course that doesn’t necessarily suit his power game.

Despite the hiccup at the fourth, DeChambeau did play well on a back nine that included a couple of birdies and an eagle at the 16th to at least make things interesting. And he still leads the FedExCup standings.

As for his takeaways from the week, DeChambeau replied:

"“I can play on golf courses that don’t really suit me. That’s a big lesson. I’d also say no matter what happens, not matter if I pop a shot, not matter if I think, whatever it was …“I’m still never out of it for the most part. I know my game is good enough in most facets to get it back and compete with the best of them.”"