LOUISVILLE, Kentucky – Bryson DeChambeau would have preferred to have teed off the 18th green early Saturday night, such was the smooth grass between him and the hole.
Save one for a problem: a sprinkler.
It was right on his line, so DeChambeau had no choice but to take out his 56-degree wedge and chip. No problem: he knocked the ball over the impediment of his line, landed it softly on the green and watched it roll like a putt toward an eagle hole.
The crowd roared and DeChambeau pumped his fist, a big boost for the 2020 US Open champion, who has been frustrated that his score wasn’t better and that he’s not actually closer to the lead… even though he’s still Pretty close after three rounds of the PGA Championship.
Bryson DeChambeau EAGLES on the 18th 😱
He’s ONE BEHIND the leader!#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/9vODJiMbXF
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2024
“It’s exciting,” DeChambeau said of the eagle that leaves him with a chance to win his second major title. “I haven’t felt like this in a long time. The only other time I felt that was when I shot 58 at the Greenbrier. That was very exciting there. He was quite enthusiastic.”
No doubt. DeChambeau was referring to the final round 58 he shot last year to win the LIV Golf Greenbrier event, one of two victories for him in 2023 on the controversial circuit.
The eagle marked a 4-under 67 at Valhalla Golf Club and left him two shots behind 54-hole co-leaders Colin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, who lead by one stroke over Sahith Theegala.
DeChambeau is in a three-way tie for fourth place along with Shane Lowry, who shot a record-tying 62 for the major championship, and Viktor Hovland, who finished second to Brooks Koepka in the PGA Championship last year.
Koepka was the first reigning LIV player to win a major title and DeChambeau could join him as the second. (Jon Rahm won last year’s Masters before joining LIV, as did Cam Smith at the British Open before joining LIV in 2022.)
Koepka fell out of contention Saturday with a 74, tied for 47th.
South African Dean Burmester, who received a PGA invitation, shot 68 and is four strokes back and in ninth place. Smith is the next closest LIV player and moved back with a 70 that left him tied for 38th.
DeChambeau has had something of a resurgence after finally recovering last year following a year of injuries and turmoil associated with his move to LIV Golf in 2022. Last year, he tied for fourth in the PGA.
He was also a first-round leader this year at the Masters, where he shot 65 and ultimately tied for sixth.
“It’s been a long time coming, it would mean a lot,” he said. “I really thought after 2020 I was going to cry, and then the injuries happened and life happened. “It’s a little frustrating, but you know what, I’m happy to be here, honored to be here, blessed to be here and I’m excited for tomorrow.”
DeChambeau is in the tournament based on the five-year exemption for winning the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot, where he was the only player to finish under par and won by six strokes.
It seemed easy then, as DeChambeau built himself up into one of the longest hitters in the game.
But after winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2021, enduring what now appears to be a trivial dispute with future LIV golfer Koepka and competing a few more times the rest of that year, while missing the Olympics due to COVID-19 , DeChambeau fell into difficulties. in early 2022.
He suffered hip and wrist injuries and was never well the rest of the year, playing poorly after his move to LIV Golf.
Last year he finally got a pair of wins, winning the Greenbrier event with his final round 58 and again in Chicago, and captaining his Crushers team to the team title.
This year, DeChambeau has four top-10 finishes at LIV Golf without a win, all before the Masters. Since then, he has ranked 26th in Adelaide and 27th in Singapore.
“I have a good chance,” he said. “I’m not playing at the level I know I can, but I’m playing well enough to give myself a chance, obviously.
“I have to keep strategizing on this golf course and putting the golf ball in the right areas and missing it in the right place and hitting a lot of greens here. It’s an iron game. The key is iron play this week and I haven’t done my best, but I’ve been up and down very well. I made a couple of clutch shots when I needed to.”
DeChambeau leads the field in driving distance, is ninth in strokes gained off the tee and from tee to green, but only 44th in strokes gained off the tee. He bemoaned his iron play after the round and feels he needs to be smarter to have a good chance on Sunday.
“It’s been user error today and the last few days,” said DeChambeau, who hit just 12 greens Saturday but still found 40 of 54 on the week.
He will be in the penultimate group with Hovland.
Keynote USA
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