Bryson leads by 3 heading into Sunday at U.S. Open
Major championship golf doesn't feature walkout music like other professional sports, but if the U.S. Open wanted to break tradition and play "The Greatest Show" on Sunday for Bryson DeChambeau, no one would complain.
The sport's most entertaining player put his outrageous skill set on full display Saturday at Pinehurst No. 2 with a sizzling 3-under 67 to grab a three-shot lead with 18 holes to play.
DeChambeau poured in four birdies over his final nine holes to pull away from the field and open the advantage on the trio of Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, and Matthieu Pavon.
| Place | Player | Total to par | Round 3 score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryson DeChambeau | -7 | 67 |
| T-2 | Patrick Cantlay | -4 | 70 |
| T-2 | Rory McIlroy | -4 | 69 |
| T-2 | Matthieu Pavon | -4 | 69 |
| T-5 | Hideki Matsuyama | -2 | 70 |
| T-5 | Ludvig Aberg | -2 | 73 |
| T-7 | Tyrrell Hatton | -1 | 70 |
| T-7 | Tony Finau | -1 | 72 |
| T-9 | Collin Morikawa | Even | 66 |
| T-9 | Corey Conners | Even | 71 |
| T-9 | Tom Kim | Even | 71 |
The 30-year-old battled hip issues throughout the round, at one point getting stretched by a physio between holes on the back nine. However, the ailment did not affect his play, as his 67 was the day's second-lowest round.
As per usual, DeChambeau held the launch codes with his driver, averaging an absurd 344.1 yards off the tee. However, brute strength only gets you so far around Pinehurst's diabolical greens, and DeChambeau was absolutely dialed with the putter. He led the field with only 25 putts in Round 3 and is fifth for the week in strokes gained: putting.
McIlroy was within one stroke of DeChambeau at one point on the back nine, but the four-time major winner bogeyed two of his final four holes to fall three shots off the pace. Sunday will mark the 10th time in his career that he's within the top three spots on the leaderboard with 18 holes to play at a major. The 2011 U.S. Open winner will be looking for a final-round charge to end his 10-year major drought.
Cantlay will play alongside McIlroy in a highly anticipated pairing after birdieing the 17th hole to get to 4-under. The two will play together for the first time since the explosive incident at the Ryder Cup between McIlroy and Cantlay's caddie, Joe LaCava.
Pavon was firmly in the mix after a brilliant 32 on the opening nine but struggled to get the clubhouse unscathed on the back nine. The Frenchman bogeyed two of his final eight holes but made clutch pars at Nos. 17 and 18 to ensure his place in the final group with DeChambeau.