Bryson DeChambeau, who has suddenly turned himself into a fan favorite, is in prime position to capture his second major championship on Sunday afternoon.
DeChambeau, fresh off his dominant win on Saturday, enters the final round at No. 2 Pinehurst in North Carolina with a three-shot lead over the field. He carded a 3-under 67 on Saturday, nearly matching the low round of the day, to all but run away with the U.S. Open.
Although he started the last round with a clear advantage, it did not last long. Rory McIlroy – still searching for a major title after a nearly decade-long drought – quickly closed the gap to just one stroke on the front nine, although a bogey on the fifth dropped him by two strokes again.
Mathieu Pavon, who is in the last group with DeChambeau, and Patrick Cantlay, shone early. Only Hideki Matsuyama, Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg were below par for the week as they all came close to the turn.
The way Pinehurst has played so far, the championship is still up for grabs for anyone.
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Drama at 8 and 9
What a scene at 8 and 9:
At 9, Rory McIlroy had a birdie putt to reach 5 under. So did Patrick Cantlay. A few steps away, Bryson DeChambeau faced a slippery slide to avoid bogey at eight. How did things go?
McIlroy hit it…
DeChambeau advanced brilliantly to give himself an 11-footer to save par. He drained it with a powerful fist pump to keep his lead at one point.
Cantlay missed.
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DeChambeau leaves the door open
Bryson DeChambeau had opportunities to put distance between himself and the field, but he couldn’t capitalize on them. The most recent came at No. 7 when he had a 341-yard drive that left him just 88 yards from the pin. He hit a solid approach, a little hot, leaving himself a 14-footer for birdie. It could have been better, he knew it. Then he burned the edge of his birdie putt, and settled for par again.
This may end up being good enough – he still has a two-stroke lead – but he certainly knows that the problem can be found quickly, and it would certainly be nice to have a cushion when/if it happens.
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Cantlay suffers a stroke
If you’ve watched any of this tournament, you might think Patrick Cantlay has been out of it 15 different times… and yet, here he is now, in a tie for second after a birdie at No. 7, just two shy of No. 7. DeChambeau.
The whole Cantlay tournament is exactly what the US Open is supposed to be, grinding out par after par after par, hitting a birdie here and there, avoiding the crooked number.
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You’ve done this before, Ludwig
Golf is about adaptation. You have to hit from weird angles, hit the ball under your feet, over your feet, and sometimes you have to turn around and hit with your left hand (if you’re right-handed) and vice versa. Then there was this lie that Ludvig Åberg encountered at No. 7…
He has continued to blow the hole and is now six years old.
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Spot on the Olympic team on the line
Four Americans will head to Paris next month for the Olympics. Two of those players are locked – Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele. There are two more places up for grabs, now belonging to Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa. However, if Patrick Cantlay can get into the top three today, he will earn a spot.
Despite some struggles and missed shots, Cantlay continues to persevere. It’s at -3, tied for third place at the moment.
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How does Pinehurst play?
Actually… a little easier than in the first four days:
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While we wait…
… To get the leaders into play, here are some stories to read from Jay Busby on the floor at Pinehurst:
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So how does the course play out early?
Fifty-two players in the tournament…12 under par.
Where do birds come from? The par-5, short par-4th and par-3 13th holes.
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Five stories from Round 4
Round 4 is underway, although we still have a few hours before the leaderboard kicks in. So so you’re all prepared, here are the top five stories as we see them:
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Bryson DeChambeau, a man of the people, has emerged as the face of golf.
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Rory vs. Patrick. McIlroy and Cantlay haven’t been paired together since the Ryder Cup when things almost turned to blows. How will these two interact today? It will be interesting.
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And speaking of Rory, is this the day he finally breaks his 10-year-old main streak? Or could it be Cantlay, perhaps the best player in the world to never win a major (now that Xander Schauffele is out)?
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Welcome to the show, Ludwig Aberg. Playing in only his third major, Åberg has already been tapped to be the next big thing. why not? He finished second at the Masters in April, and now has a real shot at winning his 124th US Open.
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Is it Celine Pinehurst? The guess here is that the course will play similar to how it has been all week – challenging, but obtainable in some locations. DeChambeau has to feel like he’s on par in order to get the job done.
Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there. Enjoy the US Open on Sunday.
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