Golf villain's hilarious exchange on way to US Open history

Bryson DeChambeau turned Pinehurst No.2 into a one-man show in the third round of the US Open.

When he wasn’t smashing eight drives of 310 metres or more, he was getting his right hip worked on between holes. He pumped fists and entertained thousands of sunbaked fans on his way to a 3-under 67 and a three-shot lead going into the final round.

At stake is a chance to capture a second US Open title with a reimagined game — still powerful as ever — and a physique that isn’t quite the “Incredible Bulk” he was at Winged Foot in 2020.

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But still ahead is a final round with Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay and Matthieu Pavon three shots behind. All look capable of giving him a run for the silver trophy.

DeChambeau finished second by one shot last month in the PGA Championship, and picked up another top 10 at the Masters in April. He is the only player to post three straight rounds of 60s in a US Open at Pinehurst No.2, and sits at 7-under 203.

Ludvig Aberg, the super Swede who started the third round with a one-shot lead, fell victim to the slick, domed greens to make a triple bogey on the 13th hole that sent him to a 73 and left him five shots back along with Hideki Matsuyama (70).

DeChambeau said it was “two hips that are not fantastic” from his speed training that led him to ask for a trainer and get worked on in the bush after the 10th hole. He went to the 11th, belted a 347-yard drive, hit wedge safely to the center of the green and made a putt from just outside 12 feet to become the first player to reach 7-under all week.

On the 13th tee, he wished aloud to have a go at the green. But with the tees further forward than in the opening two rounds, he figured it wasn’t practical.

“Don’t boo me, I’m sorry,” he quipped to the gallery as he reached for an iron. He dumped is shot into a bunker, but played a stunning wedge shot to leave himself a six-footer for birdie.

He missed that one, but made another on the 14th and at that point led by four shots.

But like so many others in the third round, DeChambeau wasn’t immune from a big number. His shot to the 16th rolled off the front of the green. His chip was too weak and returned toward his previous shot. His next pitch was only slightly better and he missed the putt to make double bogey.

But he answered with a pitching wedge that narrowly cleared the fearsome bunker right of the par-3 17th and holed a 12-foot putt for birdie.

DeChambeau became the only player to break 70 in the first three rounds of a US Open at Pinehurst.

“Just knowing that I accomplished something under the gun, under a pressure situation — that’s my favorite thing about tournament golf,” he said after the round.

“When that pressure is on and I execute like I know how I can, there’s no better feeling in the world.”

Players from eight countries — France, Northern Ireland, Japan, Sweden, England, South Korea, Canada and the US — are among the top 10 and ties entering the final round. That set a US Open record.

Pavon, a winner at Torrey Pines in his first year playing the PGA Tour, joined DeChambeau as the only players to avoid a round over par this week. He saved one par from in front of a wiregrass brush and attacked pins when he could in his round of 69.

McIlroy (69) and Cantlay (70), adversaries in the Ryder Cup and in the PGA Tour board room, will be in the penultimate group.

McIlroy began to soar early on the back nine by riding some good putting — a 10-foot birdie on the 12th, a key par save from 6 feet on the 13th, a wedge to tap-in range on the 14th and another huge par save on the 16th.

But he dropped two shots on the par 3s and was farther back than he would have wanted. Still, it’s a chance. He famously said last year when he was runner-up at the US Open, “I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship”.

He’s right there with another chance. And so is Cantlay, who delivered a strong putting performance of his own. Cantlay missed plenty of good birdie chances, but he stayed in the game with five par-saving putts of 7-feet or longer.

He also poured in a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th that kept him in range.

Pinehurst was sweltering for the second straight day, with a heat index near 38C. Brown splotches of grass made the No.2 course look even faster and more terrifying.

The third round began with 15 players under par, and it was reduced to eight players going into the final, demanding test of the major that rewards only the cleanest golf.

Collin Morikawa remarkably had a bogey-free round with a 66 that took him from a tie to 51st to just inside the top 10.

No one who played early managed to make a move. The course is so demanding that it exposes anyone not on the top of his game. That includes Scottie Scheffler, the world No.1 player who had to settle for a 71. It was his fourth straight round over par dating to the final round at the Memorial, the first time he has had a stretch like that in his career.

Min Woo Lee is the best of the Aussies at 4-over, 11 shots off the lead. Cameron Smith is a shot further back at 5-over, and Adam Scott is 8-over.

The first group will tee off their final round at 9.30pm AEST Sunday night, before the leaders tee off at 4.21am Monday.