Bryson DeChambeau takes three shot lead at Pinehurst
A more engaging and relaxed DeChambeau appears to be having its impact – image USGA
Bryson DeChambeau has taken the US Open by the scruff of the neck with a best-of-the-day third round of 67 and leads by three heading into tomorrow’s final round at Pinehurst No 2.
A double bogey at his 16th hole when leading by four gave those chasing a glimpse of hope, but he did immediately birdie the 17th after another outstanding iron (a wedge from 180 yards) to move three ahead. When when he parred the last he was ahead by three over Rory McIlroy, Matthieu Pavon and Patrick Cantlay.
Not that it is all over by any stretch of the imagination despite the near-flawless display by DeChambeau. Pinehurst has shown her capacity to give with one hand and take as much or more with the other and tomorrow’s final round promises plenty of twists and turns before the winner is decided.
DeChambeau again showed he is a different individual to that who won the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot. He appears more engaging with the crowd and even more unflappable than ever before; the results indicate such a change.
Gone is the overdone hulky physique although the power he displayed with such has not deserted him, only Rory McIlroy ahead of him in overall distance this week and although he hit only 8 of 14 fairways today his power to escape some difficult lies saved him on many occasions.
DeChambeau’s putting has also been outstanding this week, sitting in second position in putting, his outstanding touch, especially, on display in today’s third round.
Each of the eight players remaining under par will feel they still have a chance tomorrow but much will depend on just how DeChambeau handles the significant lead he has built.
“Made a lot of great putts today,” said DeChambeau. “I’ll tell you that. Pleased with how I struck it for the most part. Got to work on that just a little bit, but I feel pretty confident over the tee shots.
“Just going to say it, tomorrow it’s the same quote I’ve said all week: Trying to have boring golf. Middle of the greens never moves, so I am going to try and hit a lot of the greens, give myself some good looks on some holes and two-putt a lot.
DeChambeau took time during the middle of the round for a session with a physiotherapist to work on what is a hip issue and it could be seen late in his round that he was limping slightly but the leader was quick to downplay the problem.
“It was tougher to get through on a couple shots. It’s okay. I’ve had it for a long time now. It’s just something that popped up.
“I’ve been playing a lot of good golf lately, and working on my house, trying to get my house finished, so I haven’t really had time to rest like I want to. The two weeks I had off after PGA, I was really grinding and focusing on some stuff there. I wasn’t really able to rest.
“I’ve just been pushing myself a little bit, pushing the horse a bit. Consequently that’s going to happen. But I’ve got a great team around me to help fix some stuff up. Ryan Overturf is here. Does a bunch of MAT on me, and he’s going to fix me right up.”
Clearly DeChambeau is presenting a new personality on the golf course and mentioned what it now means to him
“I mean, it’s meant a lot to me. Just thinking back three years ago, the landscape was a lot different. I tried to show everybody who I was. I didn’t do it the right way and could have done a lot of things better.
“I’m lucky enough to have a great team around me to help me move in the right direction with the content that we’re producing, social media, and then also just a great perspective on life.
“That combination of things has allowed me to not only have a new perspective but an opportunity to show myself in a different light and to entertain the fans out there on the golf course.”
36 hole leader Ludvig Aberg struggled to match his playing partner DeChambeau in round three and is now five behind, a triple bogey at the short but dangerous 13th proving very costly.
“Yeah, I mean, he was playing well all day. He was getting the ball up and down from the bunkers, hitting the shots very well. That’s nothing I can do anything about.
“Obviously what happened to me on 13 is not ideal. It doesn’t necessarily change the way that you try to approach this golf course. I think there’s only a certain way you can play it. If you don’t play that way, you’re going to get punished. That’s what I did.
“Basically the whole day wasn’t as sharp as it was yesterday. I didn’t feel like I executed the shots the way I wanted to. It’s just one of them days that the environment, the situation, I guess the golf course kind of bites back. It is what it is.”
Rory McIlroy might yet prove to be DeChambeau’s greatest threat tomorrow. McIlroy got within one of the lead through 14 holes but two late bogeys have him three back but very much a danger to the leader.
“Yeah, just a really difficult U.S. Open Saturday,” said the 2011 champion. “I think everything we expected it to be.
“The course is getting crispy. Some of the pin positions are pretty tricky. Felt like a lot of them were cut on little crowns. There was a lot of uphill putts but then after the hole it went downhill, so pretty tricky to get the pace right. It caught me out a couple times.
“I love the test that Pinehurst is presenting, and you’ve got to focus and concentrate on every single shot out there. It’s what a U.S. Open should be like. It’s obviously great to be in the mix.”
Min Woo Lee is the leading Australia at 4 over par following his third round of 2 over 72, Cameron Smith at 5 over, Adam Scott at 8 over and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox at 11 over.
