PINEHURST, N.C. — Maybe there was a time when Bryson DeChambeau felt like an afterthought. When he made the jump to LIV Golf, slowed his mad milkshake routine, stopped streaming his workouts and started looking more like the player who won both the NCAA Division I championship and the U.S. Amateur in the same stretch, DeChambeau’s profile waned.
After yet another impressive showing on Saturday at Pinehurst No. 2, however, DeChambeau’s star appears to be burning as bright as ever.
In a day filled with drama, including a mysterious physio treatment in the woods, DeChambeau showed he’s still a horse, pulling out of the third turn of the 2024 U.S. Open with a sizable lead. In the process, he posted his seventh consecutive round of 69 or lower in major championship play, and if he ties the record of eight (held by Rickie Fowler and Greg Norman), he’ll almost certainly hoist yet another trophy.
DeChambeau’s big day was just one of five things you should know after the third round of the U.S. Open.
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Bryson DeChambeau's physio session makes the difference
Coming to the 10th tee, DeChambeau was tied with Matthieu Pavon at 6 under, but soon after his hip started to tighten. Per the rules, the 2020 U.S. Open champ called for physio help and after a session that was caught by overhead cameras, he came back to boom a pair of his best drives and subsequently took command of the tournament.
By day’s end, the session seemed a turning point as the SMU product stretched out to a three-stroke lead, and he’ll now enter Sunday with a second major title well within his grasp.
As for the magic session, DeChambeau said it was fairly routine, and even insisted some renovations to his home could have contributed to the tightness.
“It was tougher to get through on a couple shots. It’s okay. I’ve had it for a long time now. It’s just something that popped up,” he said. “I’ve been playing a lot of good golf lately, and working on my house, trying to get my house finished, so I haven’t really had time to rest like I want to. The two weeks I had off after PGA, I was really grinding and focusing on some stuff there. I wasn’t really able to rest. I’ve just been pushing myself a little bit, pushing the horse a bit. Consequently, that’s going to happen.
“But I’ve got a great team around me to help fix some stuff up.”
Can Matthieu Pavon make his mark in America?
Pavon is a PGA Tour rookie, but he’s not a newbie to big-time golf. The Frenchman has been playing on pro circuits for over a decade, including the last several on the European Tour. But now the 31-year-old, who earned his Tour card by finishing 15th in the Race to Dubai last year, finds himself in position to make a major splash on this side of the pond. He also won this year’s Farmers Insurance Open.
Pavon was even with DeChambeau after 10 holes and slipped a bit down the stretch, but still finds himself in a tie for second at 4 under with Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay, and will be part of the final pairing.
So if he does win, what will Pavon want Americans to know about him?
“Nothing special. I just love golf. That’s the thing. I’m just so happy to compete here in America. It has been a remarkable journey for me. I just love so much competing here, and this is what I like people to know about me. I’m a pretty regular guy, and it’s just awesome to be here,” he said. “It’s so much different. The golf courses here feels like — playing the signatures so far, it feels like we play majors every week.
“This golf course, there is nothing even close on the European Tour. Nothing which comes even close. This is really different. I’m not really used to hitting it in the rough and not being capable to go to the green.”
Another 'frustrating day' for Scottie Scheffler
Moving day didn’t mean much for Scottie Scheffler, who stayed in nearly the same position after posting a 71. The Texan is in an uncharacteristic tie for 42nd at 6 over for the tournament.
“The game of golf is a mental torture chamber at times, especially the U.S. Open,” the reigning Masters champion said. “Another frustrating day. Today was a day where I thought I played a lot better than my score.”
Scheffler barely made it to the weekend and he hasn’t improved on his position since then, losing more than 5 strokes on the greens this week.
“I’m having a lot of trouble reading these greens. I had a lot of putts today where I felt like I hit it really good. I looked up and they were not going the way I thought they were going to go,” he said.
When asked if the greens were “borderline,” Scheffler laughed at the question but insisted the setup hasn’t been the reason for his surprising numbers.
“When it comes to the U.S. Open, ‘borderline’ is such like a trigger word,” he said. “No matter what I think, you have a pretty good understanding of where you’re trying to hit the ball. It’s when I start not hitting the ball into the places where you should hit the ball, that’s where things get tricky.”
Wild ride for Tom Kim
Tom Kim’s front nine was anything but boring as the South Korean star opened birdie, double, bogey, par, birdie, bogey and then finished the front with three straight birdies.
After finishing with a 71 he finds himself at even par and in a tie for ninth. Although he’ll need some help, the 21-year-old can certainly make a run at the leaders if he gets hot on Sunday.
Of course, with difficult conditions and lightning-fast greens, an aggressive mentality could be dangerous.
“I feel like when you grind it out and you make tough pars, you definitely gain a lot,” Kim said. “I feel like you gain two more shots than the rest of the other tournaments, if that would make sense. For example, 4, 16, they’re playing monstrous into the wind. Five something. Basically par 5s. When you make par on those, it feels like you made two birdies. Guys have made mistakes on those holes, feels like you gain a ton of shots. I shot 1-over par. You don’t get that anywhere else.”
Ludvig Aberg made one major mistake
It’s been an impressive U.S. Open debut for Ludvig Aberg, the former Texas Tech star who held the lead after 36 holes at Pinehurst No. 2.
But Aberg had one hole get away from him and it dropped him back in the pack. On the par-4 13th hole, Aberg pulled his drive into a native area, then chipped over the green into a bunker, then watched his bunker shot roll through the green, almost back to where his original shot sat. He ended up with a triple-bogey and finished the day with a 73. Still, he’s 2 under for the tournament and just five shots off the lead.
“Obviously what happened to me on 13 is not ideal,” Aberg said. “It doesn’t necessarily change the way that you try to approach this golf course. I think there’s only a certain way you can play it. If you don’t play that way, you’re going to get punished. That’s what I did.”
