PINEHURST, N.C. — Standing on the 13th tee box in the third round of the 124th US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 on Saturday, Bryson DeChambeau told his caddie, Gregory Bodine: “I’d love to go for this green “.
Someone in the gallery shouted, “Yes, you should!”
DeChambeau had second thoughts and told the fans before hitting a long iron, “Don’t boo me, I’m sorry.”
They were just cheering on DeChambeau, the LIV Golf League captain who has won the hearts of golf fans with his on-course high fives and YouTube videos. With a powerful combination of length off the tee and skillful green placement, DeChambeau opened up a 4-stroke lead on the back nine before shooting a 3-under 67 for a 3-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Sunday.
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Both a showman and a golfer, DeChambeau loved every minute.
“Yeah, it was amazing,” he said. “I can’t thank them enough. It was a blessing. Man, they irritated me. It just gives me a boost in my adrenaline and allows me to focus more on delivering for the fans, myself and my family. It just inspires me.”
Matthieu Pavon, who is trying to become the first French golfer to win the US Open, is 3 shots behind after posting a 1-under 69. So is Rory McIlroy, who is trying to end a drought of almost 10 years without a major tournament. championship victory, and Patrick Cantlay, who is trying to win his first. They shot 69 and 70 in the third round, respectively, to stay in the hunt.
It’s DeChambeau’s first lead through 54 holes in a major championship. It is only the second time he will play in the final pair in the final round of a Major. At the 2020 US Open, he was 2 behind Matthew Wolff and shot a 3-under 67 to win his first major championship.
With two holes left to play on Saturday, it looked like the other contenders might close in. After DeChambeau sank a 9-foot birdie putt on the 14th, he made a mess of the 16th and recorded his first double bogey of the tournament to drop to 6 under, 2 ahead of Pavón, McIlroy and Cantlay.
Undeterred, DeChambeau hit his tee shot on the par-3 17th to 11½ feet and made another birdie to get back to 3 in front. It was his 23rd one-putt of the tournament. He made an easy par on the 18th.
That wasn’t the only drama. On the ninth hole, DeChambeau asked a USGA official to call his physical therapist. He was dealing with tightness in his right hip; He lay on the ground in the woods and stretched before hitting his tee shot at No. 11.
“Yeah, it was harder to get it on a couple of shots,” DeChambeau said. “It’s okay. I’ve had it for a long time. It’s just something that came up. I’ve been trying a little bit, pushing the horse a little bit. Consequently, that’s going to happen. But I’ve got a great team around me to help me fix some things.”
When DeChambeau captured his first major championship victory at the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in New York, he swung his driver as hard and fast as he could — tight fairways be damned. DeChambeau’s strategy seemed reckless to others, but after 72 holes, he was the only golfer in the red and took a 6-stroke victory over Wolff.
A lot has changed for DeChambeau in the nearly four years since then. He is now a highly paid captain in the LIV Golf League and has modified his body as much as his clubs, going from bigger and stronger to slimmer.
DeChambeau’s biggest transformation might have occurred between his ears. When he arrived at Pinehurst No. 2 this week, he vowed to play “boring golf” in his quest for a second major championship, knowing that the vast native areas and devilish green complexes of architect Donald Ross’s masterpiece in the hills of North Carolina North they would not. I won’t give you the chance to grab it and rip it.
That’s what DeChambeau did for the first 54 holes. He shot 12 of 14 fairways en route to a 3-under 67 in the first round. He was more erratic off the tee in the second round, but needed only 27 putts for a 1-under 69. On Saturday, he gained more than 3 strokes on the field in putting.
DeChambeau will carry that same game plan into the final round.
“I’m just going to say it, tomorrow is going to be the same quote I’ve been saying all week: trying to have boring golf,” DeChambeau said. “Half the greens never move, so I’m going to try to hit a lot of the greens, look good on some holes and make a lot of two-putts.”
McIlroy will enter the final round of the US Open inside the top 10 for the sixth consecutive year, which is the longest streak since Ben Hogan did it 12 straight times, from 1940 to 1956, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
McIlroy was just one stroke behind DeChambeau after making a 9½-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole. But after making another birdie on the 14th hole, he made bogeys on the two par-3s, the 15th and 17th, after Hit your tee shots. towards the green bunkers.
“The last few holes are being very, very difficult,” McIlroy said. “Even on 17, it’s downwind, but with that pin cut in front, it’s hard to get the ball close, and even on 18, where the hole location is. No matter what, I feel like 2 shots, 3 shots, 4 shots “I have a great opportunity for tomorrow.”
Swede Ludvig Aberg, who began the third round with a 1-stroke lead, posted a 3-over 73 and is tied for fifth with Hideki Matsuyama at 2 under. Aberg, who had been methodical in hitting fairways and greens in the first two rounds, was defeated by a triple bogey 7 on the par-4 13th.
Aberg, a former Texas Tech star, is seeking to be the first player to win the US Open on debut since Francis Ouimet in 1913.
Tony Finau also scored a triple bogey 7 on No. 13. He finished 2-over 72 and is tied with England’s Tyrrell Hatton for seventh place at 1 under par.
Only eight players were under par after 54 holes, as Pinehurst No. 2 continued to brown and strengthen in the scorching heat.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who was 5-over after 36 holes and missed the cut on the number, struggled for the third straight round and posted a 1-over 71. He is tied for 42nd at 6-over.
Scheffler, who had won in five of his last eight starts, has never had four straight rounds over par in a tournament as a professional.
“Golf is a mental torture chamber sometimes, especially the US Open,” Scheffler said.
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