Key events
Two putts for Bryson DeChambeau, two putts for Ludvig Åberg, and the pair walk off the 18th in vastly different moods. A 67 for the former, a 73 for the latter, and what the young Swede would give to replay the 13th hole today. Bryson by contrast dreaming of a second title. Only eight players are under par, and while DeChambeau will of course be strong favourite tomorrow, three shots can go in the blink of an eye at a US Open, and nobody will be giving up the chase quite yet. It promises to be another exciting day at Pinehurst; please join us! Thanks for reading this blog.
-7: DeChambeau
-4: Pavon, McIlroy, Cantlay
-2: Matsuyama, Åberg
-1: Hatton, Finau
E: Morikawa, Conners, T Kim
Another wild Bryson drive, this time down the left of 18. But he’s so long, he clears all of the filth and finds some more flat ground. Slightly fortunate again, but when it’s your day, it’s your day. A few pine needles around, so he doesn’t get too greedy, and simply looks for the centre of the green. He finds it, and as he walks up the hole as the sun goes down, thanks the gallery for the ovation he so richly deserves.
Bryson rolls the right-to-left birdie slider into the cup on 17. Just the third birdie on this hole today, and what a bounce back that is. Meanwhile one of the two other players to birdie that hole, Patrick Cantlay, sets himself up with another birdie chance, this time on 18, sending his approach over the flag to ten feet. But the putt coming back sails off to the right, and he signs for a 70. He’s +4, and will be going round with Rory McIlroy tomorrow.
-7: DeChambeau (17)
-4: Pavon (F), McIlroy (F), Cantlay (F)
Rory McIlroy speaks to Sky. “Difficult … the wind was up … I gave a really good account of myself … played really well … most things were firing … I’d have taken one-under par on the first tee … I’m going to go and hit some balls and try to fix those loose iron shots … fairways, greens, that’s the mindset … it’s a grind … the US Open feels like two golf tournaments in one week … I’ll get ready for one more day of grinding tomorrow.”
What a response by Bryson DeChambeau! The pin at 17 tucked front right behind bunkers. A high fade that bounces off the shoulder of the trap and dinks left, ending up pin high, 11 feet from the flag. If he knocks that in, it’ll harsh the buzz of the chasing pack, who would have been inwardly celebrating that double bogey.
Bryson shoves his bogey putt on 16 wide right, and out of nowhere – he’d smashed a monster drive down the track as well – that’s a double. And potentially a huge fillip to the chasing pack! Par for Ludvig Åberg. On Sky Sports, Nick Faldo points out that “two shots are nothing on this golf course.”
-6: DeChambeau (16)
-4: Pavon (F), McIlroy (F), Cantlay (17)
-2: Matsuyama (F), Åberg (16)
-1: Hatton (F), Finau (F)
E: Morikawa (F), Conners (F), Kim (F)
Birdie for Patrick Cantlay on 17. Just the second on this hole today. Reward for an iron creamed straight at the flag. He joins Matthieu Pavon and Rory McIlroy at -4. Meanwhile back on 16, a chink of light for the chasing pack? Bryson DeChambeau’s second into 16 topples back off the false front, and he requires two chips to get the ball up onto the green. He’s left with a six-footer for bogey.
A closing par for Rory McIlroy. Those clumsy bogeys at the final two par-threes have cost him a place in the final group tomorrow … and us the chance of watching a Bryson v Rory mano-a-mano duel. That would have been box office. A 69 at the US Open, and he doesn’t look particularly happy about it.
Ludvig Åberg can’t get up and down from the front of 15. Bogey, and a look of extreme disappointment on the brilliant young Swede’s face. He could do with getting back to the clubhouse and regrouping, because you never know what could happen tomorrow. For the first time this week, perhaps his inexperience is costing him. Bryson gets up and down from the back for the save. He’s in total control of his game right now, though doesn’t put half as much energy in his celebration of that scramble, the tank perhaps running low after all this effort. But what an effort! Look!
-8: DeChambeau (15)
-4: Pavon (F), McIlroy (17)
-3: Cantlay (16)
-2: Matsuyama (F), Åberg (15)
-1: Hatton (F), Finau (17)
Hideki Matsuyama finds himself up against the face of a greenside bunker at 18. It leads to a closing bogey and a round of 70. He’s -2. Meanwhile a 69 for his partner Matthieu Pavon, whose dream of becoming the first French man to win a major since Arnaud Massy at the 1907 Open is not yet over. He finishes the day at -4, and there’s a fair chance he’ll be in the final group with Bryson DeChambeau tomorrow.
Bryson and Åberg leave the 15th green untroubled. The former over the back, the latter failing to get over the false front. Meanwhile up on 17, the inevitable occurs, as McIlroy can’t get up and down from the sand, though he gives it a good go, splashing out sideways, away from the flag to 12 feet, and nearly making the putt. But it’s the tee shot that cost him. He slips to -4 and DeChambeau has a four-stroke lead.
Hats off to Ludvig Åberg, who makes bounce-back birdie on 14 after walking in a 15-foot putt. No smile. Still hurting after that triple. But that’s some response. He returns to -3, and you never know. But he’s still five behind his playing partner, who teases in a right-to-left birdie putt and fist-pumps in celebration with great vigour! He’s -8, and three clear of Rory … who has just short-sided himself at the par-three 17th by sending his 9-iron into the bunker on the right.
It’s a third round of 70 for Tyrrell Hatton. It could have been a little better – that short missed birdie putt on 15 was followed by bogey at 16 – but there are only eight rounds under par today, so he’ll be happy enough when it all comes down. And at -1 he’s right in the mix for Sunday.
Bryson DeChambeau flays his drive at 14 into the gallery down the right. He cops a flat lie on grass trodden down by the punters, and again takes advantage by knocking a stunning second from 131 yards to nine feet! That’s two awful tee shots in a row, two big breaks, two carpe-diem approaches. He looked the last gift horse in the mouth; can he convert this one? Meanwhile on 16, Rory McIlroy gets up and down from sand this time, and fist-pumps in celebration at the par save. He remains two off the lead … for now.
Akshay Bhatia’s promising round came apart on the back nine. Bogeys at 13, 15, 17 and 18 have sent him crashing down the leaderboard to +2. He signs for a 73. His playing partner Xander Schauffele however managed to slightly repair things coming home; birdies at 10, 13 and 17 and he cards 72. He’s +1. Both just a bit too far away, surely, unless Bryson and Rory do the chasing pack a big favour in the next hour or so.
Bryson DeChambeau has had to wait a long time to take his birdie putt. Perhaps he’s suffered a slight loss of concentration as Ludvig Åberg zig-zagged about, because he pushes the six-footer wide right. He admonishes himself after tidying up for par, but there’s really no need, he’s suddenly got a two-shot lead and the guy he’s playing with has just taken two putts for a triple-bogey seven. The 13th, having taken a chunk out of Tony Finau, now gorges on Åberg.
-7: DeChambeau (13)
-5: McIlroy (15)
-4: Pavon (16)
-3: Matsuyama (16), Cantlay (14)
-2: Åberg (13)
-1: Hatton (17), Finau (15)
Rory can’t get up and down from the sand at 15. He slips back to -5. Meanwhile back on 13, Åberg can’t reach the green from the gorse, and ends up in Finau Country. And, well, we’ve seen this film before today, starring, eh, Tony Finau. Åberg sends his third into the bunker at the back, then the splash out comes back to where he started. Number five is played safely into the heart of the green, but he’s left himself a 25-footer for a double-bogey six. Before he can deal with that, over at 16, it’s bogey for Pavon, and everyone’s going backwards but Bryson … and he’s waiting to putt for birdie from six feet!
Collin Morikawa has had the clubhouse lead for what seems like an age, after posting his 66. About four hours, in fact. But he’s now joined at level par by Corey Conners, who signs for a 71 that briefly promised more. A 71 too for Sergio Garcia, who ends the day at +1.
Bryson DeChambeau’s got himself a good break in the bunker. A flat, clean lie. He takes full advantage of it by clipping a wedge from 150 yards to six feet! From the ridiculous to the sublime! One of the worst shots of the week to one of the best. Bryson is nothing if not box-office. Meanwhile up on 15, Rory McIlroy dunks his tee shot into the bunker guarding the front right. Moving Day is moving all right: all over the place! Marvellous entertainment.
It’s been a good time for Rory to card two birdies in three holes. That’s because the chaps in the final match have just hit two of the worst tee shots of the week at 13. Bryson takes up half the tee box in sending his iron into the native area down the right. A bunker, maybe? Åberg meanwhile hoicks his into a similarly nasty place on the left. Some work to be done here.
-7: DeChambeau (12)
-6: McIlroy (14)
-5: Pavon (15), Åberg (12)
Rory McIlroy has been quietly efficient today. A 350-yard drive down the left-hand side of the 14th fairway. Then a wedge to kick-in distance. The crowd enjoyed watching that land softly and come to an elegant halt by the pin. He moves to -6. Meanwhile back on 12, it’s pars for Bryson DeChambeau and Ludvig Åberg. And in the match in between, Patrick Cantlay sends his drive at 13 into the scrub, where it’s teed up by a little tuft. His wedge in spins off the false front, and the third shot briefly thinks about toppling back as well. But that one sticks, and then he strokes in the par saver. He’s hanging on in there. Still. He’s -3.
A magnificent tee shot by Tyrrell Hatton at the par-three 15th. Five feet. The subsequent putt, not so much. Just a par. A huge chance for birdie spurned. He remains at -2. Meanwhile bogeys for Akshay Bhatia at 13 and 15, plus dropped shots at 12 and 15 for Tom Kim, and suddenly there are only eight players in the red this week at Pinehurst.
-7: DeChambeau (11)
-5: Pavon (14), McIlroy (13), Åberg (11)
-3: Matsuyama (14), Cantlay (12)
-2: Hatton (15)
-1: Finau (13)
The wind is most certainly not in Tony Finau’s sail. His second into 13 is only a few feet short of perfect, but the ball spins back off the false front. Then he skulls his third through the green and into a bunker at the back … before sending number four trundling hysterically past the flag and all the way back to the original chipping position! He wedges number five to six feet, but pushes a nervous putt wide right and that’s a hope-dashing triple-bogey seven. He’s -1. By contrast McIlroy, whose second shot suffered exactly the same fate, gets up and down to scramble his par, and punches the air modestly in relief. He’s -5, and it doesn’t take much for a US Open challenge to unravel.
Another birdie for Hideki Matsuyama! His approach into 14 only just gets over the bunkers at the front of the green … but that’s perfection, pretty much, and he’s left with a seven-foot birdie putt towards a flag hidden away in an extremely unwelcoming position. In goes the putt, and the 2021 Masters champion moves to -3. Meanwhile it’s another fairway split by Bryson, this time on 12 … and another missed by Åberg, whose driving is beginning to get a bit messy. DeChambeau skips down the fairway, he knows this is the time to keep on keepin’ on, with the wind currently in his sail.
Bryson, his hip moving freely now, and having blootered his drive at the 11th 359 yards, wedges his second to 13 feet. His physio should ask for a pay rise. Åberg meanwhile manages to muscle his second from the filth into the heart of the green. Two putts and that’s a par he’d have not necessarily have been expecting to make when he was watching his tee shot sail off towards the oomska. Bryson then absolutely rattles his par putt into the cup, fist-pumps a couple of times, then tips his cap for good measure. After a slow start, the 2020 champ is making a serious move on Moving Day!
-7: DeChambeau (11)
-5: Pavon (13), McIlroy (12), Åberg (11)
Rory’s birdie, plus a bogey for Tony Finau, who had driven into the gorse down the left of 12, has caused a little realignment at the top of the leaderboard. Throw in back-to-back birdies for Hideki Matsuyama at 11 and 12, and it all currently looks like this …
-6: DeChambeau (10)
-5: Pavon (13), McIlroy (12), Åberg (10)
-4: Finau (12)
-3: Cantlay (11)
-2: Hatton (13), Matsuyama (13)
-1: Bhatia (14), T Kim (13)
E: Morikawa (F), Detry (11)
Whatever the physio did, it worked. DeChambeau comes back and lashes another monster drive down 11. Åberg’s effort however sails off into the filth down the left. Trouble there. But it’s a birdie for Rory McIlroy at 12, reward for sending his second pin high from 185 yards. In goes the ten-footer that remains, and he’s just one off the lead at -5.
Ludvig Åberg misreads his ten-foot eagle chance on 10. Always breaking to the left. That’s a shame, the second shot deserved more. But it’s an easy tap-in for birdie. Meanwhile it’s yet another up-and-down from a bunker for Bryson, and his birdie gives him sole ownership of the lead! Then he trots off to get some treatment from the physio.
-6: DeChambeau (10)
-5: Pavon (12), Finau (11), Åberg (10)
-4: McIlroy (11)
Matthieu Pavon sends his drive at 13 into the scrub down the left … and his ball settles directly behind a huge tuft. His caddie has to issue a specific instruction for his player to keep a tight hold of the club, such is the resistance the player will get from mother nature. It’s all he can do to power back out onto the fairway, a shot he executes marvellously. Then he wedges from 113 yards to three feet, and will surely escape with the most unlikely of pars!
Ludvig Åberg hits one of the shots of the week, a fairway wood on 10 from 286 yards to ten feet! That landed on the shoulder of the bunker guarding the left of the green, stunning the ball and sending it softly into the heart of the putting surface. DeChambeau takes a similar line, but ends up in the trap. The thin lines. He still splashes out to six feet, and will have a great look at birdie. Åberg will be putting for eagle first.
Bryson has reportedly asked for a physio. Something up with his right hip, by all accounts. There are no signs of obvious discomfort, he’s walking with a jaunty strut, smiling and chatting to the gallery, and he’s just walloped his drive at 10 nearly 350 yards down the track. So hopefully there’s nothing serious to worry about there.
It’s all happening … but none of it positive. Matthieu Pavon can’t get up and down from the front of 11 and drops back into a share of the lead at -5. Meanwhile back on 9, Ludvig Åberg pulls his tee shot into a bunker on the left. He can’t get too aggressive with the splash out, with the green sloping away dramatically … but he still needed to give it more than he does. The ball kinks off to the right and off back in the direction of the tee. The young Swede limits the damage by chipping up from 60 feet to a couple, but the bogey takes him out of a share. Bryson DeChambeau, who had seen his tee shot bounce off the green to the right, gets up and down for yet another staunch par save. All change at the top!
-5: Pavon (11), Finau (10), DeChambeau (9)
-4: McIlroy (10), Åberg (9)
-3: Hatton (12), Cantlay (9)
A wild par for Tony Finau on 10. Having sent his second through the green and into the scrub back right, he opts to putt up the swale from the sandy muck. His first effort topples back down the hill. He goes again, and his second attempt is as sweet as a putt could be, a 50-footer up and over the bank, rolling out to a couple of inches. So close to the most preposterous of birdies! He’ll take his par after all that, though. He remains at -5.
Cantlay does well to limit the damage on 9 to bogey. That threatened to get ugly when his bunker shot was disappearing down the swale. He turns in 36 and is hanging on in there a bit, though he’s hardly the only one doing that. There were 15 players under par at the start of the day; there are just nine now.
-6: Pavon (10)
-5: Finau (9), DeChambeau (8), Åberg (8)
-4: McIlroy (9)
-3: Hatton (11), Cantlay (9)
-2: Bhatia (12), T Kim (11)
Bother for Patrick Cantlay on the par-three 9th. He sends his tee shot up against the face of the bunker on the left. He’s forced to splash out away from the pin, but gets too aggressive and sends his ball down the swale on the other side. He does extremely well to bundle a chip up the hill to six feet, but there’s meat left on the bone for bogey. Meanwhile here’s Joe Pearson: “Native area: best euphemism for ‘absolutely disgusting unplayable filth’ that I have ever seen.”
Taylor Pendrith goes within a couple of centimetres of acing 15. It would have been the third hole-in-one of the week, following those by Sepp Straka and Francesco Molinari at 9 yesterday. But it sadly shaves the left lip before stopping 16 inches past. In goes the putt for birdie, and the Canadian is back where he started the day at +1. So for those of you who weren’t watching late yesterday, and missed one of the most sensational shots in US Open history …
Bryson DeChambeau sends his approach at 7 from 150 yards to 12 feet. Then, having gotten a read from his partner Ludvig Åberg’s longer putt, he steers in a right-to-left curler for birdie. The crowd go wild; that’s what happens when you stop to sign autographs, you see. Then on 9, Tony Finau and Rory McIlroy take turns to hit exquisite tee shots into the green. They land and end up in almost identical spots, the balls dropping 30 feet to the left of the flag, then turning right and dribbling down the slope (aforementioned regarding Pavon’s putt) to six feet. The balls literally side by side. In go the straight birdie putts, and two world-class players have just made a terribly difficult hole look ludicrously easy. So much for the stars of Pinehurst playing defence, huh.
A hell of a two-putt par by Matthieu Pavon on 9. His tee shot into the tricky par-three is pulled way left, and though it stops on the green, he’s left with a treacherous 60-foot downhill putt. Easy to de-green this one, like Rory did on 17 earlier in the week. But he does extremely well to tickle it down and get it to stop just eight feet past. He makes a staunch par save, and remains in the lead. That’s a great US Open scramble. And there’s another good save on 8, by Tony Finau, who leaves a 30-foot birdie effort a good ten feet short, but gathers himself to maintain his -4 status. Players are beginning to scrap now, the relatively easier holes at Pinehurst now behind them.
-6: Pavon (9)
-5: Åberg (6)
-4: Finau (8), Cantlay (7), DeChambeau (6)
-3: Hatton (9), McIlroy (8)
-2: Bhatia (10), Kim (10)
-1: Conners (11), Detry (7)
E: Morikawa (F), Henley (13), Matsuyama (F)
+1: Rai (F), Garcia (13), Schauffele (10)
Corey Conners sends a wild drive into the native area down the right of 11. He’s forced to take his medicine with a sideways chip, and the affair leads to a double-bogey six. The birdies of 9 and 10 handed back in the shortest of orders. All that good work undone. He’s back to where he started the day at -1.
Bryson DeChambeau carves an awful tee shot at the long par-three 6th wide right. He’s lucky to catch the bunker as opposed to the native area. The stroke of good fortune is grabbed with both hands, as he splashes a long sand shot six feet past the hole, then absolutely rattles the par saver into the cup. He remains at -4. Two putts for Ludvig Åberg and he’s making his par too, albeit in far less stressful circumstances.
Tom Kim – nicknamed after the famous Tank Engine – is beginning to pick up steam. A third birdie in a row, the latest at 9, a 15-foot putt curling right to left and steered in perfectly. The ever-entertaining 21-year-old South Korean turns in 34. He’s -2 overall.
Ludvig Åberg has to settle for par on 5. An overly aggressive chip from the fringe cost him. He nearly salvages the situation but his putt dies to the right on its final turn, a dimple away from dropping. He’s still smiling, despite effectively handing half a stroke back to the field. But it’s a bounce-back birdie for Bryson DeChambeau, who whips out of the sand at the front of the green to pick-up distance. This final pair are -5 and -4 respectively.
While McIlroy was carelessly three-putting on 6, Tony Finau was failing to get up and down from a bunker. Then back on 5, Bryson DeChambeau finds himself knee-deep in gorse but powers out of it anyway, landing his ball on the front of the green. It topples back off into a bunker, but he’ll take that from where he was. Elsewhere, it’s back-to-back birdies for Corey Conners, the latest at the par-five 10th.
-6: Pavon (7)
-5: Åberg (4)
-4: Finau (6), Cantlay (5)
-3: Conners (10), Hatton (8), McIlroy (6), DeChambeau (4)
-2: Bhatia (9), Detry (5)
-1: T Kim (8)
A careless three-putt bogey for Rory McIlroy on 6. Having hit his tee shot at the 237-yard par-three to 30 feet, that’s really quite poor. He’s -3. On the opposite end of the scale, here’s Matthieu Pavon, raking in a 20-footer across 7 for his third birdie of the day. Pavon, who is enjoying his break-out season at the age of 31, holds a celebratory fist in the air, and well he might: he leads the US Open!
-6: Pavon (7)
-5: Åberg (4)