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The fine people of Baltimore were out in full force on Saturday for the third round of the BMW Championship. Crowding the final group of Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay, and Jon Rahm, heckles, cheers, and groans were present throughout the overcast day that eventually turned into sunshine in the Charm City.
Trailing by a stroke, it was Cantlay who struck the first blow, making eagle on the par-5 2nd before throwing a dart on the par-3 3rd. While all players made birdies on the 3rd, it appeared early on that Cantlay was the most dialed in. Plotting his way through the first three-holes in 3-under, his counterpart, DeChambeau was already fighting mental demons.
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Missing a short birdie attempt on the 1st and drawing a poor break on his approach into the par-5 2nd, I felt as if his tee-shot on the 3rd would tell the tale of his day. While outside of Cantlay, DeChambeau finally connected for a birdie-two before heading to the par-5 4th.
Making eagle on this hole yesterday, DeChambeau was at it again as he saw both of his playing competitors make par. Leapfrogging Cantlay, the fireworks wouldn’t stop there as a heavily contemplated club-selection the par-4 5th followed.
Having never hit driver in any of the practice rounds, rather sticking to three-wood, his caddie, Brian Zeigler, convinced his co-worker to club up. Uneasy, DeChambeau went back-and-forth before finally putting his full trust in Zeigler. Proving to be correct, the future long-drive champion hit the front of the green, giving himself an unlikely eagle chance that he would later convert.
5-under through his first five holes seemed like a dream a mere 45 minutes ago, but to be surprised by DeChambeau at this point is to be naïve. While DeChambeau skyrocketed, extending his lead to three, Cantlay and Rahm sputtered.
With the world No. 1’s short-game failing him, Rahm was unable to get up-and-down on three consecutive holes, playing this relatively easy stretch of golf in 1-over. Seeing the deficit grow to five-strokes it felt as if the Spaniard would become an afterthought.
Yet after a cart ride up-the-hill to the 7th tee box and a perfect tee-shot, he gained a stroke on DeChambeau. With the leader in the crowd being serenaded to unoriginal shouts of “Brooksy,” 11 holes of chaos ensued.
A pull-hook on the 8th tee put DeChambeau in his personal jail, amongst the gallery. Seemingly with no shot and needing some variation of a baseball swing, the former mad scientist hit a high hook to 30-feet. With the onlookers in awe, DeChambeau once again converted a lengthy birdie attempt, extending his lead to four.
It was at this point where I thought while looking at Cantlay, “How does he do it?” Hitting seemingly every fairway and every green and playing some exquisite golf, the former UCLA Bruin had lost three-strokes on the day to the overnight leader who was covering every inch of the 900-acre property.
To make matters worse, he was clearly the forgotten man of the trio. Despite the mixed reaction, there is clear positive reinforcement that is directed towards DeChambeau in the Baltimore crowd. Then there is Rahm, the world No. 1, the recent U.S. Open champion, the best player in the world, growing more popular by the day through not only his play, but more importantly through his character.
Possessing a quiet confidence about himself, it didn’t matter, as Cantlay shrugged off another birdie from DeChambeau. With all making par on the 9th, we weaved through Caves Valley to the back-nine. Each starting with pars, the 11th hole loomed large. Drivable the first two days, the wind switched and intensified on Saturday, forcing players to hit irons, much to the dismay of many.
Despite being unable to use one of his greatest weapons, the driver, DeChambeau made birdie the old-fashioned way. Tapping in, the overnight lead of one-stroke had grown to five in a matter of hours. It was only for a brief moment as Cantlay connected from just inside of 15-feet, in what I believe was the moment where this tournament could have been called if it had not dropped.
In the rowdiest part of the golf course, all three players found the fairway on 12th. With Rahm and Cantlay both hitting their second shots onto, or nearly onto the green, DeChambeau stepped up to the plate looking to once again take advantage of a par-5.
Chatting with members of the crowd, one man asked me, “Who is that? It’s DeChambeau, Rahm, and who is the fella in the black?” “Cantlay” I responded as DeChambeau flared his iron-shot so far into the right pond that I lost sight of the ball.
My definition of chaos from just four-holes earlier garnered a completely new meaning as Cantlay and Rahm each made birdie while DeChambeau took his medicine and settled for a bogey. Heading to the long par-3 13th I received a text from a friend of a friend of Cantlay to pass along a message to the Memorial winner.
Hitting his tee-shot long and left, Cantlay received a fantastic break, bouncing off the hill and back onto the green, settling a mere 35-feet away from the pin. With Rahm left, DeChambeau settled in, selecting 8-iron, the same club he used on the par-3 6th earlier in the day.
Looking fantastic in the air, it fell short, woefully short, finding the water. In disbelief, he uttered to Zeigler, “What is happening? I hit that so perfect.” Chaos once again received a new definition. Contemplating the wind and talking to not only his caddie but also to himself, DeChambeau spent some time on the tee box before begrudgingly heading to the drop zone.
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A forgettable third shot by his counterpart gave Cantlay the opening he needed. From 35-feet, the man who some didn’t even know the hole earlier, walked in for birdie. Just like that, the five-stroke lead from two holes ago had vanished as Cantlay stood at 21-under alone.
Walking to the 14th before his competitors even finished, I hovered closely, receiving a follow-up text on the way, “I wouldn’t blame you if you held off on that one.” In his own zone, in his own element, in his own head in a way that DeChambeau could only hope for one day, Cantlay looked unphased.
I thought to myself once again, “How does he do it?” as he chatted with the officer at hand while enjoying his PB&J. Polishing off his sandwich of choice, Cantlay split the fairway. With Rahm finding trouble, DeChambeau battled back.
Looking visibly ejected on the 14th tee from his last two iron swings, he hit his best drive of the day, center cut. With wedge in hand and Cantlay on the surface with an unlikely birdie look, DeChambeau gave himself an opportunity to regain a share of the lead. That he did as the duo walked to the 15th tee tied at 21-under with Rahm taking on water four-strokes behind.
It was short-lived as DeChambeau would play army golf on the difficult par-4, making bogey and surrendering the lead to Cantlay. With the wind playing tricks on Cantlay and Rahm, DeChambeau possibly overcompensated, missing left on the par-5 16th. Yet fantastic recovery shots by the two of them set up birdie opportunities that both would convert.
With a one-stroke lead, Cantlay was first to hit on the downhill par-3, applying the pressure with his tee-ball settling just outside of 15-feet. In what may have been a missed opportunity, the world No. 10 was unable to connect on his birdie look and settled for par.
Missing left on the closing hole, Cantlay drew one of the worst lies of the week. Getting the most out of his approach, the Ryder Cup hopeful failed to get up-and-down from just in front of the green. Falling back to 21-under, Cantlay heads into the final round of the BMW Championship co-leading with DeChambeau.
Three-clear of the field, the former Presidents Cup teammates may very well be on their own at Caves Valley tomorrow. Walking up the hill amongst the gallery to the press area, a man was on his phone raving about his viewing experience today, saying to his buddy, “We followed Bryson and Rahm because we had some money on them, and the third guy in the group, yeah, that’s him, the South African.”
While chaos surrounded Cantlay, he hardly caused any outside of one moment. At +185 on PointsBet Sportsbook, Cantlay is my selection to win the second postseason event of the year. With pre-tournament wagers placed on DeChambeau and Rory McIlroy I’ll try to play it smart as it seems inevitable that Cantlay will be victorious to which I’ll say, “How does he do it?”
Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
+135: Bryson DeChambeau
+185: Patrick Cantlay
+1400: Sungjae Im
+1600: Rory McIlroy
+2000: Jon Rahm
+2800: Abraham Ancer, Sam Burns
+3300: Sergio Garcia
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