PINEHURST, N.C. — Bryson DeChambeau ducked outside the ropes to a private area in the woods, flat on his back as trainers worked on hips that felt too tight. Moments later, he unleashed a swing that sent his drive 347 yards, leaving a wedge shot to set up a birdie and another fist pump
DeChambeau delivered power, birdies and endless entertainment Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open. He turned Pinehurst Resort's No. 2 course into a one-man show with a 3-under-par 67 and built a three-shot lead as he moved closer to another national championship at the United States Golf Association extravaganza.
Never mind the fireworks, though.
"Just going to say it. Tomorrow it's the same quote I've said all week: Trying to have boring golf," DeChambeau said. "Middle of the greens never moves."
There was little boring about his performance before a sunbaked and delirious gallery that ended a sweltering day by chanting his name. He has always loved the attention from fans, even more when they love him back.
"Yeah, it was amazing. I can't thank them enough. It was a blessing," he said. "Man, they riled me up."
The feeling was clearly mutual.
At stake is a chance to capture a second U.S. Open title with a reimagined game — still powerful as ever — and a physique that isn't quite the "Incredible Bulk" he was during his 2020 victory at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York.
Still ahead is a final round with Patrick Cantlay (70), Rory McIlroy (69) and Matthieu Pavon (69) three shots behind and all looking capable of giving him a run for the silver trophy.
"I love the test that Pinehurst is presenting, and you've got to focus and concentrate on every single shot out there," McIlroy said. "It's what a U.S. Open should be like. It's obviously great to be in the mix."
DeChambeau, a runner-up by one shot last month in the PGA Championship after another top-10 result in a major championship tournament at the Masters in April, was at 7-under 203 through 54 holes at Pinehurst. He is the only player to post three straight rounds of 60s in a U.S. Open on this course, which is hosting the event for a fourth time.
Ludvig Aberg, the 24-year-old 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 in fifth place, along with Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (70), the 2021 Masters champion.
AP photo by Mike Stewart / Bryson DeChambeau gets treatment after playing the 10th hole at Pinehurst No. 2 during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday.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 woods after the 10th hole.
He went to the 11th, belted a 347-yard drive, hit a wedge shot safely to the center of the green, then made a putt from just outside 12 feet to become the first player to reach 7 under all week.
With the tee slightly forward on the 13th, he wished aloud to have a go at the green, figured it wasn't practical and said to the gallery, "Don't boo me," as he reached for an iron. He missed the fairway into a bunker and sent his approach dancing by the cup.
He missed that six-footer for birdie, but he picked up a birdie on the 14th and led by as many as four shots. Still, he wasn't immune from a big number, just like so many others.
DeChambeau's 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 a double bogey. But he answered with a pitching wedge that narrowly cleared the fearsome bunker right of the par-3 17th, then holed a 12-foot putt.
Pavon, a PGA Tour rookie from France who won the Farmers Insurance Open in January at San Diego's Torrey Pines, joined DeChambeau of the LIV Golf League as the only players to avoid a round over par this week. Pavon saved one par from in front of a wiregrass brush and attacked pins when he could to get into the final group.
"I'm not scared about taking the shots. I've never been scared about taking the shots," he said.
Cantlay and Northern Ireland's McIlroy, adversaries in the Ryder Cup and in the PGA Tour board room, will be in the penultimate group. They stayed in contention in different ways.
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 six feet on the 13th, a wedge to tap-in range on the 14th, and another huge par save on the 16th.
But the four-time major winner dropped two shots on the par 3s and was further back than he would have wanted. Still, it's a chance. He famously said last year when he was runner-up at the U.S. Open, "I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship."
He's right there with another opportunity to end a decade without that kind of celebration.
And so is Cantlay, who delivered a strong putting performance of his own seeking a first major title to go with his eight PGA Tour victories. Cantlay missed some good birdie chances, but he stayed in the game with five par-saving putts of seven feet or longer. He also poured in a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th that kept him in range.
"I feel like I'm in a good spot," Cantlay said.
AP photo by George Walker IV / Baylor School graduate Harris English hits from the native area on the second hole at Pinehurst No. 2 during the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday.Pinehurst was sweltering for the second straight day, with a heat index near 100 degrees Fahrenheit and brown splotches of grass making the course look fast and terrifying. The third round began with 15 players under par from the 74 who made the 5-over cut, and it was reduced to eight players under par going into the final, demanding round 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 No. 1 player in the world who had to settle for a 71. It was his fourth straight round over par dating to last Sunday's win at the Memorial Tournament, the first time he has had a stretch like that in his career.
Chattanooga resident Stephan Jaeger (73) was tied for 20th at 3 over, and fellow Baylor School graduate Harris English (74) was tied for 47th at 7 over.
Jaeger is in the U.S. Open for the third time and has been better each time so far, missing the cut in 2015, tying for 60th in 2017 and sharing 34th in 2020. After equal amounts of bogeys and birdies in each of the first two rounds, he started Saturday by dropping a shot on each of the first two holes. A birdie on the fourth was negated with another bogey on the eighth, but he settled down for a string of pars until his final bogey on No. 15.
English is playing the event for the ninth time overall and sixth year in a row. He has finished in the top 10 three times in the past four U.S. Opens but struggled on the back nine Saturday, making back-to-back bogeys on 10 and 11 and again dropping shots on 14 and 16.