U.S. Open Day 3 Winners, Losers: Bryson DeChambeau dominates

Pinehurst No. 2 has as soon as once more confirmed itself worthy of a terrific U.S. Open venue. It has examined the perfect gamers on this planet, punishing poor pictures whereas rewarding good ones.

Therefore, solely eight gamers sit in purple figures after 54 holes, with Bryson DeChambeau main the tempo at 7-under. He holds a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, Matthieu Pavon, and Patrick Cantlay as he eyes his second main. DeChambeau received the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in September 2020 throughout the pandemic.

So after one other enjoyable day at Pinehurst, listed here are the winners and losers from North Carolina:

Winners:

Bryson DeChambeau’s Recreation

Bryson DeChambeau entertained the golf world all day on Saturday. His clutch putts, his 350-yard drives, his spectacular shot from the sand on the thirteenth gap, and his great method on the 14th gap all added as much as a 3-under 67.

He appears like among the finest golfers on this planet, counting on his energy and short-game finesse to take a commanding lead going into Sunday. He did detect the sixteenth gap, the place he made a double bogey, however that didn’t section DeChambeau in any respect. He bounced again with a birdie on the seventeenth gap, due to an ultra-aggressive line he took off the tee.

However each gap DeChambeau performs is must-watch tv, whether or not he birdies or bogies. He’s essentially the most entertaining golfer on the planet, which explains why his recognition has skyrocketed.

In the end, if he shoots one other spherical within the 60s on Sunday, the U.S. Open is his.

DeChambeau’s Balls

Bryson DeChambeau apparently places his golf balls in Epsom salt earlier than each spherical. A reporter requested him about it after his spherical, and DeChambeau’s response about his balls is priceless:

“Thanks for the salty balls query. I respect that. Yeah, I put my golf balls in Epsom salt. I’m fortunate sufficient that Connor, my supervisor, does that now. I don’t need to do it. However basically, we float golf balls in an answer to make it possible for the golf ball isn’t out of stability,” DeChambeau defined.

“There was an enormous factor again within the day the place golf balls are out of stability, and it’s simply due to the manufacturing course of. There’s at all times going to be an error, particularly when it’s a sphere, and there are dimples on the perimeters. You’ll be able to’t completely get it within the heart. So what I’m doing is discovering just about the out-of-balanceness of it, how a lot out of stability it’s. Heavy slide floats to the underside, after which we mark the highest with a dot to ensure it’s at all times rolling over itself.”

To cite CBS Sports activities reporter Kyle Porter’s mantra, “Regular Sport.”

Can Rory McIlroy do it?

Rory McIlroy’s 10-year main drought has been effectively documented. However what amazes me about McIlroy, not less than this time, is that he’s again within the combine for a sixth straight U.S. Open. Regardless of the skin fray with LIV Golf, his goals of a world tour, and most significantly, the uneasiness of his household life surrounding a possible divorce, McIlroy nonetheless has an opportunity to win a second U.S. Open title.

Photograph by Alex Slitz/Getty Pictures

He shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday regardless of making two late bogies that stalled his momentum. And but, something can occur on this golf course, and McIlroy is aware of that. He additionally has loads of confidence going into spherical 4. Plus, he’s hitting his driver higher than anybody, so if he can clear up his irons a tad, he ought to have a shot on the finish.

All of this provides McIlroy—and golf followers all over the place—hope, and hope is a tremendous drug.

Losers:

Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg

The thirteenth gap all however ended their probabilities, as Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg made triple bogies on this brief par-4.

Every golfer performed a recreation of ‘ping-pong,’ chipping forwards and backwards throughout the inexperienced, which took them out of competition. Even when every participant walked away with a bogey, they might nonetheless have an outdoor shot at successful their first main title on Sunday. However a triple bogey is simply too damaging of a rating to beat. Finau now sits six pictures again of Dechambeau whereas Åberg, the 36-hole chief, is now 5.

Due to this, Johnson Wagner of the Golf Channel analyzed this gap on ‘Dwell From the U.S. Open’ after the spherical:

Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler performed a lot better on Saturday.

However his third spherical was a day stuffed with ‘What-ifs?’ These query marks primarily stemmed from his putter, as Scheffler couldn’t get a putt to drop all day. He gave himself loads of probabilities to climb the leaderboard, however his flat stick saved him at bay. As such, the World No. 1 settled for a 1-over 71, however he may have simply shot a rating within the mid-60s.

Photograph by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Pictures

Tempo of Play

My god. The ultimate two teams performed at a snail’s tempo, with Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau as the primary culprits. Cantlay is notoriously gradual and has been for fairly a while. Simply ask Brooks Koepka.

Equally, DeChambeau, who wanted to get stretched out on the eleventh gap, likes to take his time. Given his scientific and mathematical method to the sport, DeChambeau has to dissect each single shot he performs, even putts from inside 18 inches.

As such, america Golf Affiliation (USGA) ought to have levied a penalty. They supposedly supplied a warning to DeChambeau and Åberg, who, for what it’s value, flies round a golf course, however a steeper penalty ought to have been assessed. Tempo of play is an issue, particularly contemplating that DeChambeau’s group—the ultimate pairing—completed practically 45 minutes after McIlroy’s, who performed within the third to final group.

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By way of. Make sure to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.