DeChambeau battles to stay in contention
MAMARONECK, N.Y. — Bryson DeChambeau launched a towering drive on the 14th hole and watched it sail well left into Winged Foot’s deep, gnarled rough.
“Dude, I can’t stop over drawing it,” he told his caddie.
Maybe, but he and his rebuilt body can certainly overpower it.
Using a combination of muscle and mind, DeChambeau carved out an evenpar 70 Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open to remain in contention for his his first major championship. Golf’s biggest bruiser was 3 under, two shots behind leader Matthew Wolff heading into the final round Sunday.
“The round today was a huge battle,” DeChambeau said. I was proud of the way I persevered out there today. It was difficult, especially when you’re not hitting it straight in the fairway. For me it felt like I kept myself in it, scrambled really well.”
Known for his analytical approach to golf, DeChambeau spent the PGA Tour’s pandemic shutdown adding 40 pounds of muscle and began hitting moon-shot drives upon his return. He led the PGA Tour in driving distance at 322.1 yards last season and used his newfound power to win the Rocket Mortgage Classic in early July.
DeChambeau was in contention Sunday at the PGA Championship before finishing fourth and was 22nd in the 2020 FedEx Cup standings.
The beefier bomber from central California said he would stick to his big-armed guns at the U.S. Open, blasting drivers despite Winged Foot’s winding doglegs and lucky-to-find-the-ball rough.
DeChambeau hit half the fairways in each of his first two rounds to enter the third round in good position at 1 under.
Once moving day started, so did the hooks.
DeChambeau opened with a three putt on the first hole and pulled his second tee shot left, leading to a second straight bogey. He pulled his tee shot well left on the par-3 third, but got up and down with a nifty pitch shot banked off a huge slope.
Two more tee shots sailed left on Nos. 4 and 8, and by the time he hit the big hook on No. 14, DeChambeau was exasperated.
Wrong-way Thomas: After watching his 7-foot par putt skim past the edge of the cup on No. 16, Justin Thomas doubled over in frustration and then said to his ball, as if it could answer, “Why?”
It was moving day at the U.S. Open on Saturday, and Thomas was moving in the wrong direction.
Top-ranked No. 1 Dustin Johnson (72), Patrick Reed (77), Jon Rahm (76) and Jason Kokrak (77) also might have seen their major championship hopes disappear into the thick rough at Winged Foot on Saturday in a round with just seven players breaking par.
Notes: John Pak, the Florida State All-American from Scotch Plains, N.J., was the only amateur to make the cut. After starting the week with a 69, he went 76-79.
“I’m honored,” he said. “I played a very good first two days. Yesterday was just OK, but the first day I played great, and it feels good to know that I at least have one good round that I competed with some of the best players in the world. I’m so honored to be the low [amateur] for this week.”