Tiger makes early charge; DeChambeau holds 1-shot lead
Woods briefly ties for lead before settling for 68, five-shot deficit.
Bryson DeChambeau made birdies on two of the toughest holes for a 6-under 66 to take a one-shot lead into a final round at the Memorial that features Tiger Woods in contention at Muirfield Village in Dublin for the first time in six years.
Woods let another great round get away by missing short putts, had to settle for a 68 and was five shots behind.
He wasn’t alone.
DeChambeau missed 3-foot birdie putts on the ninth and 15th holes.
But he poured it on at the end to lead by one shot over Patrick Cantlay (66), Kyle Stanley and 19-year-old Joaquin Niemann of Chile, who played in the last group and each had 70.
DeChambeau was at 14-under 202 on a soft course vulnerable to low scores.
U.S. Women’s Open: Sarah Jane Smith held a three-shot lead entering the third round of the U.S. Women’s Open.
The Australian shot a 5-under 67 Friday, finishing her second round before more thunderstorms soaked an already wet Shoal Creek course in Birmingham, Ala. Half the field completed the second round Saturday morning.
Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn is second after a 70. South Korean-born Su-Hyun Oh, who moved to Australia at 8, shot a 68 and is third. She’s four shots behind Smith, who is at 10-under 134 for the tournament.
Michelle Wie is among eight players tied for fourth, seven shots off the lead. Wie had a 72 in the second round after a 69 Thursday. The third round begins with groups of three, starting on the first and 10th tees.
European Tour: Lee Slattery of England shot a 9-under 62 Saturday to take a one-stroke lead entering the final round of the Italian Open.
Seeking his first victory since the 2015 Russian Open, Slattery produced eight birdies, an eagle and a single bogey to move just ahead of home favorite Francesco Molinari and Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark.
Molinari is coming off the biggest win of his career at the BMW PGA Championship — where Slattery missed the cut.
“Coming off the back of 77 and 79 at Wentworth last week I never really expected this,” Slattery said.
Molinari extended his run of holes without a bogey to 85 before dropping a shot on the sixth. Danny Willett, the 2016 Masters champion, and former No. 1 Martin Kaymer, were two strokes back.