PINEHURST, N.C. — Sometime around the time that the leaders made the turn on Saturday evening at Pinehurst No. 2, the temperature started to drop. Oh, it was still warm enough to smoke brisket, but it was a pleasant change from the iron-melting temperatures earlier in the day.
There’s not a whole lot of geography in Matthieu Pavon’s native France that resembles the tall pines and sand-and-wiregrass rough of Pinehurst, but that didn’t seem to matter, as Pavon found a new gear on the front nine.
Pavon came from two strokes back to catch overnight leader Ludvig Åberg, part of a chaotic wrestling match that saw five players — including Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau and Rory McIlroy — spending most of the round within a stroke or two of the lead.
DeChambeau was the indisputable fan favorite, urging the North Carolina gallery onward with every swing. Finau appeared comfortable in the big moment, stacking birdies and, even more impressively, salvaging pars when the slick greens of Pinehurst wreaked havoc on his game. McIlroy remained steady — an uncharacteristic trait for him in majors — and kept within striking distance of the lead.
Most players earlier in the day sweated their way through miserable rounds. Scottie Scheffler, for instance,after his +1 round left him at +6 for the tournament. The one survivor: Collin Morikawa, who started the day at +4 and ended it at even par, good enough to keep him on the fringes of the top 10.
That’s how much of a test Pinehurst presented on Saturday. Playing once again at an average of three strokes above par, No. 2 gave the USGA exactly what it’s always looking for — a fair, but unforgiving challenge. Just eight players are under par after 54 holes … and leading the way is DeChambeau by three.
The Mad Scientist turned Most Popular Player on the Course was pure entertainment. In one 60-minute stretch he …
… hit a six-iron second shot from 257 yards out into a 610-yard par 5. (He would birdie.)
… called for his “physio” guy because of apparent tightness in his hips. Here’s what that looked like:
… birdied the 11th with an emphatic fist pump to take a two-shot lead.
… and apologized to fans urging him to try to drive the green at 13. “Don’t hate me,” he said as he grabbed and iron. “I’m sorry.” (He’d birdie that hole, too.)
While pretty much every LIV player has turned into persona non grata since moving to the rival tour — — DeChambeau has managed to up his Q score. He’s signing autographs in the middle of his round, is racking up millions of views on YouTube and is still hitting bombs.
He finished sixth at the Masters, runner-up at the PGA and will be in the final group Sunday.
Åberg, playing in his first U.S. Open, held steady until a triple at 13. He’s at -2, tied with the steady Hideki Matsuyama. Finau carded a double there. He’s at -1. And after taking the lead with three birdies and no bogeys on his front nine, Pavon posted a pair of bogeys against zero birdies on the back. He’s at -4, same as McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay, who salvaged an even-par round on a day that probably should have been much worse.
None could match DeChambeau’s charge, even with his double bogey at 16. He’d follow that up with a birdie 2 at 17.
A par at 18 gave DeChambeau a 3-under 67, a 54-hole lead, and maybe the best shot he’s had at a major since he won this tournament back in 2020.
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