Meet Bryson DeChambeau: the Rob Gronkowski of golf

Bryson DeChambeau is your favorite golfer. You didn't know this before, but you do now.

The 22-year-old amateur started his first Masters on Thursday by giving the Fonzie thumbs-up to a camera and mugging for the crowd — all while stroking a declarative even-par for the first round.

As The Big Lead's Michael Shamberger concurs, Bryson DeChambeau is an American treasure:

That is an amateur clowning at the Masters. You already owe this man more than you could ever repay him just for these images alone. But you probably have some questions you need answered before accepting Bryson DeChambeau as your one and only favorite —€” quandaries like:

"Where did this golfing Gronkowski come from?"

"What's up with that swing?"

"Is that a Newsies hat?"

The short answer to these questions: 1) California. 2) His swing is 90 percent robots. 3) Hell yeah.

The slightly longer answer: Bryson DeChambeau is a golf prodigy with fresh ideas on the game and staunchly old-school sensibilities.

A native of Clovis, California, DeChambeau is finishing up an undergrad degree in physics at Southern Methodist, where he played for the Mustangs golf team and destroyed the collegiate ranks. In 2015, DeChambeau won the U.S. Amateur championship and the NCAA title, making him only the fifth golfer in history to win both tournaments — a feat previously only managed by Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ryan Moore.

DeChambeau's amateur title earned him a spot at this year's Masters, which is why his Matthew McConaughey lookalike face is on your screen this week.

About that: Bryson DeChambeau is Matthew McConaughey.

So, just to recap: DeChambeau has Gronk-fun, looks like he gets older while these girls stay the same age and is on a mercurial rise in the greater golfing world.

The reason for this ascent, at least in part, is for things that couldn't be further from Gronk-esque: DeChambeau's success is inexorably tied to his clinical — €“literally scientific — €“approach to the game.

It starts with the clubs — all of DeChambeau's irons are an identical 37.5 inches long. They also all have their own nicknames:

DeChambeau is only player at the Masters with identical-length irons, and he's the first golfer since Masters co-founder Bobby Jones to play the tournament with such a set.

Per the Associated Press, this all started in 2009 when DeChambeau became engrossed in the physics of equal-length clubs. Ever since, he's dedicated himself to developing a "single plane" swing, and the marriage of club and swing has given birth to his "golf machine"-like cuts.

It's weird but consistent, and moreover, it works. And somehow, DeChambeau's robo-swing isn't even the first thing you notice about him.

That distinction belongs to his gear. DeChambeau is old-school and unyieldingly vintage with his Ben Hogan-style caps. In short, the dude has old man swag.

And that, friends, is a crash course in Bryson DeChambeau: a weirdo with a strange swing, cool hats and a Rob Gronkowski-like joy for the game. If at this point you're not literally standing on your couch rooting for this kid to burn Augusta to the ground, I don't know what to tell you.

Maybe you'll listen to Phil, who also loves DeChambeau and his oddball-ness.

"He comes at the game from such a different point of view," Mickelson said after a practice round with DeChambeau this week. "He has such well-thought out opinions as to why and how it should be played a certain way, a different way, the way that he plays it."

"He's a terrific player," Mickelson said. "Fun to be around."

Ridiculously talented, a complete oddity with huge upside — and almost certainly turning pro next year.

Yeah, Bryson DeChambeau is your favorite.

Dan is on Twitter. He comes at golf from the angle where you drink beers and try not to break any windows.