Simpson, DeChambeau contend in different ways
HILTON HEAD ISLAND,
S.C. — Webb Simpson spent two days at Harbour Town watching bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau swing out of his shoes and realized his own brand of golf works just fine.
They traded birdies Friday morning in the RBC Heritage until Simpson got the last word with a 6-footer on his final hole for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot lead over DeChambeau (64) and Corey Conners (63).
DeChambeau made six birdies on his final nine holes, missing a 5-footer on No. 9 .
“It’s very satisfying knowing I’m not near as long as some of these guys and I’m able to kind of use my skills of distance control and shot shape to pick me back up when I’m 40 yards or 30 yards behind these guys,” Simpson said.
“I would like to hit it further,” he said. “I set out on a journey three years ago to get stronger, hit it further, but do it a lot slower than Bryson. But he’s made it look easy and seamless.”
Simpson was at 12-under 130, and scoring remained bunched. Thunderstorms rolled through the island late in the afternoon and halted play. Matt Fitzpatrick was at 9 under with three holes to play.
Rory McIlroy made sure he was still in the game. He ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch around the turn and finished with a 66 to make the cut with one shot to spare, though he remained seven shots behind.
The two players right behind in the world ranking, Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas, did enough to make the cut on the number. Jordan Spieth had another good finish with two birdies over his last four holes, but all that did was salvage a 70. He was six behind.
DeChambeau stands out like the lighthouse behind the 18th green.
He decided at the end of last season to get stronger and bigger so he could swing faster and hit it longer, and the transformation has everyone’s attention. Even while adding 40 pounds of mass, he hasn’t lost his love for science. That was evident on his final hole.
DeChambeau had the honors and let Simpson go first so he could figure out what to do. Simpson poked his hybrid 221 yards down the fairway on the 334-yard ninth hole. DeChambeau opted for a 3-wood, mainly because he feared his driver would go well over the green.
He took two violent practice swings, and huffed out breath like an Olympic weightlifter preparing for the clean and jerk. He sent it soaring only to say, “Ah! Too much spin, dang it.”
It found a bunker in front of the green, 309 yards away, and he was far more bothered missing the short birdie putt, even though his 64 left him right in the mix again.
He hasn’t finished worse than a tie for fifth since February — only four tournaments because the pandemic shut down golf for three months.