DeChambeau takes lead, Woods makes charge in moving day at Memorial

Bryson DeChambeau overcomes a Tiger Woods charge and a hole-in-one to take a one-shot lead after round three at the Memorial Tournament.

Bryson DeChambeau is known for being one of the most eccentric players on the PGA Tour. He is now one round away from also being called the Memorial champion.

The 24-year-old Clovis, California, native shot a bogey-free round of six-under 66 to take a one shot lead over three players after three rounds at Muirfield Village.

DeChambeau was two-under on the front-nine, but it was on the 13th hole that he started his charge. He finished with four birdies on his last six holes, including on the last when he hit his approach to within five feet. His round could have been even better if not for missed short birdie putts at nine and 15.

DeChambeau proved he could scramble as well, getting up-and-down for par after hitting it over the green on 17. He has not made a bogey in his last 22 holes.

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings,” he said after the round. “Hit it pretty well for having my, what I’d would call B to B-plus game. And putting it beautifully this week.”

DeChambeau attracts just as much attention for his unorthodox methods as he does his play. All his clubs are the same length, and he takes a scientific approach to the game after majoring in physics at SMU.

Despite his critics, he has proved it works. He had a stellar amateur career, winning both the NCAA Individual title and U.S. Amateur in 2015. Only Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Ryan Moore have done that. Last July he won his first PGA title at the John Deere Classic. He admits that being in contention justifies what he is doing.

“It’s just nice to have some validity to it. Everybody’s got their own way and I’m certainly a little unique in the way I play the game,” he said.

Patrick Cantlay, Joaquin Niemann and Kyle Stanley are at 13-under, a stroke behind. Cantlay made a hole-in-one on the eighth and followed with an eagle at the 15th to match DeChambeau’s score of 66. Stanley, tied with Niemann for the overnight lead, struggled at the start with three bogeys on his first six holes. He rebounded to play the next nine in five-under and held the lead again before a bogey at the 18th.

Then there is the 19-year-old Chilean Niemann. In just his fifth professional start, Niemann took a two-shot lead after holing a 48-foot putt for eagle at the par-five fifth. A costly bogey at the 15th, however, saw him fall from the top of the leaderboard. Still, Niemann has a chance to become the youngest winner on the PGA since Ralph Guldahl in 1931, and the first teenager to win since Jordan Spieth in 2013.

“Feel really nice, there in the last group. It’s still just Saturday, but, yeah, I feel really nice since the first tee,” he said following his round. “Didn’t play well enough, I think, but still really nice for what is coming tomorrow.”

All the attention early in the round was on Tiger Woods, who made a quick charge up the leaderboard. After beginning his round with four straight pars, Woods made eagle on the fifth and followed with three more birdies on the front-nine. He missed an opportunity at 14 when a three-foot birdie putt slid past the hole, but a birdie on the 15th saw him tied for the lead. Two three-putt bogeys on 16 and 18, however, saw him drop to five shots behind.

Woods lamented the missed shots after the round. “This is probably the highest score I could have shot. Could have easily shot 62 or 63 yesterday, and could have easily shot 63 or 64 without doing much today. I hit the ball enough to … shooting in the low 60s could have been pretty easy if I had just putted normal,” he said.

Rory McIlroy also made a rapid dash up the standings. After making the cut on the number, McIlroy shot a bogey-free eight-under 64 to move all the way up to a tie for 11th. The highlight of his round came on the fifth, when he holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle.

With rain in the forecast tomorrow afternoon, tee times have been moved up to the morning. Players will now go off in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees. The final group of DeChambeau, Cantlay and Stanley will begin their round at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Woods says the inclement weather may give him a chance tomorrow. “We’ll see. Weather is supposed to come in tomorrow, and it’s supposed to be iffy. If there is wind associated with it, then I don’t think the guys will shoot as low … We’ll see what happens.” He will need all the help he can get if he is to win the Memorial for the sixth time.