U.S. Open Day 3 Winners, Losers: Bryson DeChambeau dominates, can Rory McIlroy win?

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 the earth, punishing poor pictures whereas rewarding good ones.

Therefore, solely eight gamers sit in pink 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 in the course of the pandemic.

So after one other enjoyable day at Pinehurst, listed below 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 super strategy on the 14th gap all added as much as a 3-under 67.

He appears like probably the greatest golfers on the earth, counting on his energy and short-game finesse to take a commanding lead going into Sunday. He did hit upon the sixteenth gap, the place he made a double bogey, however that didn’t part DeChambeau in any respect. He bounced again with a birdie on the seventeenth gap, because of 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 primarily, we float golf balls in an answer to ensure that the golf ball shouldn’t be out of steadiness,” DeChambeau defined.

“There was a giant factor again within the day the place golf balls are out of steadiness, 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 sides. 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 steadiness 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 properly documented. However what amazes me about McIlroy, a minimum of 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 desires 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.

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 in every single place—hope, and hope is a tremendous drug.

Losers:

Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg

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

Every golfer performed a sport of ‘ping-pong,’ chipping forwards and backwards throughout the inexperienced, which took them out of rivalry. Even when every participant walked away with a bogey, they’d 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 ‘Stay From the U.S. Open’ after the spherical:

Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler performed significantly 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 possibilities 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 might have simply shot a rating within the mid-60s.

Tempo of Play

My god. The ultimate two teams performed at a snail’s tempo, with Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau as the principle 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 strategy to the sport, DeChambeau has to dissect each single shot he performs, even putts from inside 18 inches.

As such, the USA Golf Affiliation (USGA) ought to have levied a penalty. They supposedly offered 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 Enjoying By. Make sure to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You’ll be able to observe him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.