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Mark Schlabach
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Standing on the sixteenth tee field at Quail Hole Membership on Saturday, LIV Golf League captain Bryson DeChambeau had the outright lead within the PGA Championship.
DeChambeau had simply made a birdie on the par-5 fifteenth, his fifth of the spherical, to get to eight below. He was one stroke forward of Davis Riley and Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas, the unlikely chief in every of the primary two rounds.
“I used to be pumped,” DeChambeau mentioned. “I used to be like, ‘All proper, within the lead. Let’s go. Let’s preserve urgent.'”
Sadly for DeChambeau, he nonetheless needed to play the “Inexperienced Mile,” Quail Hole’s well-known three-hole closing stretch.
He did not have the lead for lengthy.
On the par-4 sixteenth, DeChambeau hit his 375-yard drive into the proper tough. His second shot from 142 yards stopped on the perimeter of the inexperienced. He chipped to about 6 ft, then hit his par putt too laborious. The ball lipped out, leaving him with a bogey that dropped him to 7 below.
Then, on the par-3 seventeenth, DeChambeau’s tee shot from 187 yards wasn’t lengthy sufficient and went into the lake in entrance of the inexperienced. After a drop, he hit his third shot to 23 ft. He two-putted for a double-bogey 5.
“Hit an ideal 9-iron precisely the best way I needed to,” DeChambeau mentioned. “The wind simply pumped it. Nothing I can do. Wind flipped from being impartial off the proper prefer it was on 4, I imagine, and it simply was virtually straight in and we misjudged that.”
With a par on the 18th, DeChambeau posted a 2-under 69. He was tied for eighth at 5 below after 54 holes, six strokes behind world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, who appeared to take management of the event with a 6-under 65 on Saturday.
“All I can do is management what I can management, and if I’m going out and shoot 6, 7 below, that is what I am targeted on doing,” DeChambeau mentioned. “Not that that is what I’ll do, however you by no means know. However I’ll shoot as little as I presumably can.
“I am behind the 8-ball now. I’ve bought to get my weapons a-blazing tomorrow.”
The percentages are stacked towards DeChambeau coming from that far again to win on Sunday. All however one of many previous 35 winners of the PGA Championship have been among the many high 5 after 54 holes (Justin Thomas was tied for seventh earlier than successful in 2022), and all however one of many previous 14 winners have been both main or inside two strokes going into the ultimate 18 holes (Thomas was seven strokes behind).
DeChambeau’s size off the tee will as soon as once more be a bonus — he leads the sector with a driving distance common of 331 yards — however he’ll must play almost flawless golf. He hit solely 5 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens within the third spherical.
And, after all, the regular Scheffler must make quite a lot of errors.
DeChambeau would have been lots nearer to Scheffler if not for the gaffes on Nos. 16 and 17.
“That is why golf is the worst four-letter phrase on the planet,” DeChambeau mentioned.