Bryson DeChambeau leads the 2018 Memorial Tournament after three rounds following his 6-under 66 on Saturday which took him to 14 under overall and gave him a one-stroke lead on Patrick Cantlay, Joaquin Niemann and Kyle Stanley. He's also up two on Ben An and four on Justin Rose.
DeChambeau, who is looking for his second career PGA Tour win, birdied four of his last six holes and led the field in driving on Saturday. He didn't putt very well in Round 3, but he's been awesome on the greens this week which is normally a harbinger of great things to come for him (as it is with most of the elite ball-strikers).
Amazingly, the 24-year-old DeChambeau is not the story so far this week, though. A kid born five years before him, 19-year-old Joaquin Niemann, is. Niemann shot a 2-under 70 on Saturday to back up his 65-68 start and is one back, looking for his first win in just his fifth start since turning pro.
Seen two drivers from Joaquin Neimann. Immmediate battlefield promotion to First Team All-Traj. Need an apex reading on these stealth missiles asap. — No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) June 2, 2018
Even crazier, he's trying to become the third-youngest PGA Tour winner ever and the youngest since Ralph Guldahl won the 1931 Santa Monica Open at 19 years, 2 months, 3 days. Niemann is 19 years, 6 months, 26 days.
The Chilean youngster had an up-and-down Saturday that ended with a bang. He made a spectacular eagle to go with three birdies but also had a trio of bogeys, including a bad one at the easy par-5 15th.
This 19-year-old is nails! 🦅
Joaquín Niemann with an EAGLE.
He's again the solo leader.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/t73iL1yHbU — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2018
He closed with a birdie on the hardest hole on the course (No. 18) and will play in the second to last group on Sunday. He's in the middle of contention after a fabulous first three days at Muirfield Village, which is just remarkable given his age and lack of experience. Niemann has a lot on the line on Sunday, too. Not only is he playing for his PGA Tour card (if he wins), but he's also playing to earn enough FedEx Cup points to qualify for the 2018-19 season that way.
As such he has earned 180 non-member FedExCup points, which would rank him 144th in this season's FedExCup standings. He can earn his card for the 2018-19 season if he finishes in the top 125. Niemann already has clinched a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals, and he needs just 89 points to earn special temporary membership, which would allow him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions this season in his chase for a card.
Even if he doesn't win on Sunday, there's a lot at stake.
Joaquin Niemann is seeking his 1st professional win in his 5th start as a pro.
One of the players chasing him won in his 5th start as a pro: Tiger Woods. — Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) June 2, 2018
And if he does somehow pull off the impossible in one of the strongest fields in golf, I hope it doesn't go overlooked. I know Tiger Woods at five back is the main event, and he has a host of big-name stars surrounding him (we'll discuss them below), but I fear we get numb to age. Teenagers aren't supposed to win on the PGA Tour. Not in their fifth start. Not ever.
Now Niemann is 18 holes from doing just that.
Here are a few other takeaways from Round 3 at Memorial.
1. Bryson comin': Sine, sine, cosine, sine! Don't look now, it's Bryson time! Bryson DeChambeau shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to grab that lead and is quietly making a bid for the Ryder Cup squad so far this season. Well, as quietly as DeChambeau does anything. He's 13th in the standings, has five top 10s on the year and would almost certainly vault into the top eight with a victory on Sunday. DeChambeau is living up to the expectations so far, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the heat on Sunday.
If Dechambeau wins this week, they should start calling the entirety of the B1G footprint “Bryson’s alley" — Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) June 2, 2018
2. Big boy board: When a tournament gives you a Saturday leaderboard that, at times, includes Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas, that tournament is a very good tournament. I've been talking about this all week, but Muirfield Village almost always delivers a board rife with ball-striking savants, and this year is no different. You can throw Cantlay, An, DeChambeau, Niemann, Stanley and Adam Scott in there as well.
3. Rory soars: I dove deeper on his round here, but Rory McIlroy's 8-under 64 stood up for most of the day and was the low round of the day by two strokes and low round of the tournament by one. McIlroy's ball-striking was borderline not safe for cable television. He had eight looks at birdie from eight feet and in (and only converted five of them). If we get a repeat performance on Sunday, the U.S. Open odds are going to be righteous.
I should note: The largest comeback after 36 holes at the Memorial Tournament is nine shots by Ray Floyd in 1982. McIlroy was down 10 going into Saturday's round.
"I really just treated it like practice," McIlroy told reporters about his 64. "Just threw the tournament out the window, go and try and work on what you've been working on on the range, and go from there."
4. The Niemann-Tiger storyline: I know this event is about far more than Tiger Woods and Joaquin Niemann, but I'm hoping for some sort of duel at the end between those two. I mean, how good is the narrative of Niemann trying to become the youngest winner in almost nine decades and Tiger, at age 42, trying to recapture something he once had and might have again? Golf is the best!
Joaquin Niemann is seeking his 1st professional win in his 5th start as a pro.
One of the players chasing him won in his 5th start as a pro: Tiger Woods. — Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) June 2, 2018
CBS Sports was with you the entire way updating this story with highlights, scores and analysis from the Memorial on Saturday. Hope you enjoy. If you are unable to view the live updates below, please click here.
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In one sense, it was a familiar sight: Tiger Woods's name near the top of the leaderboard at the Memorial, a tournament he's won a record five times. But when you consider what he's been through in the last year—and how he started this golf tournament—it was a sight we never expected to see.
Despite playing the last three holes in two-over par, Woods shot a four-under 68 to get to nine-under for the tournament, and he was four behind the leaders when he finished his third round. In doing so, he sent a buzz throughout the grounds at Muirfield Village and injected life into one of the PGA Tour's signature events.
Because of his good play of late, it's sometimes hard to remember that this is just Woods is making just his 10th start since a yearlong absence to have spinal fusion surgery. He is now in position to pick up his third top-5 since the return, a proposition that looked most unlikely after his first nine holes on Thursday. Woods was four-over through his first seven holes in his opening round and turned in three-over 39, but he battled back to shoot an even-par 72.
He would follow that up with a 67 on Friday, a round that could have been much better had he putted better—he missed five putts inside five feet. That means he hit the ball beautifully, and that ball striking carried over to moving day.
Tiger parred his first four holes—including missing two makeable birdie efforts—before making an eagle 3 at the par-5 5th, a putt that truly jumpstarted the round.
So, uh, Tiger's tied for the leadpic.twitter.com/75Rf4rr8H9 — SI Golf (@SI_Golf) June 2, 2018
He would also birdie 6 and 7 to play that three hole stretch in four-under, and at that point he trailed the leaders, who hadn't teed off, by just two.
Woods added another textbook birdie at 9, highlighted by a vintage stinger off the tee, to make the turn in five-under 31. He was 10-under for the tournament at that point.
The momentum hatled a bit on the back nine, which he started with five straight pars before an eventful par-5 15th hole. Woods opted for driver and hit a smother hook that looked to have found the water or trees, but he got a bit of a fortunate break and ended up only in thick rough. He managed to advance his second way down the fairway but hit an indifferent wedge to about 20 feet, but he curled in a left-to-right birdie putt to tie the lead. He punctuated with an emphatic fist pump.
But a troubly recent pattern reared its head again—multiple times this year, including in the third and fourth round of the Players, he has struggled to get low rounds into the clubhouse. That happened again on Saturday, as he three putted both 16 and 18 to limp into the clubhouse at nine-under.
After the round, Woods was visibly frustrated and said that the 68 was about the highest score he could have shot. It sounds odd to say after shooting 67-68 over the last two days, but Woods really could—and should—be a few shots closer to the lead than he is right now. He'll be pleased with his ball striking, which is good enough to win any tournament anywhere at the moment, but frustrated by the putting. At this point in his comeback, Woods is no longer content with simply seeing signs of progress. He feels ready to win, so he'll be frustrated that he's not closer to accomplishing that goal heading into Sunday.
DUBLIN, Ohio — Just after high noon on Saturday, Tiger Woods strode from the 5th green to the 6th tee at Muirfield Village Country Club, wielding driver, face inscrutable.
One fan had been posted up at the tee box for a while. "Hey Tiger!" he called out. "We're all curious — did you make that eagle putt?"
Woods turned his head ever so slightly, glancing at the man out of the corner of his eyes. He cracked a mischievous grin. "Maybe," he said.
He had made it, of course. And he made a series more birdie putts not long after. But two late three-putts soured another brilliant ballstriking round from Woods, who couldn't help but be disappointed afterwards.
"I know I shot 68 today but, again, that's probably the highest score I could have possibly shot," he said. "I played really, really well. I played beautifully, actually. Had total control of what I was doing out there and just didn't finish it off."
After missing a series of short putts late in Friday's round of 67, Woods's flatstick was cold to begin Saturday, too. Short birdie looks at holes 2 and 3 lacked the pace to get to the hole, and a misread at 4 let another look slide by. But then came a tight 3-wood off the 5th tee, and a towering long iron, and a downhill putt that Woods gave plenty of pace that found the bottom of the cup for an eagle 3 that ushered in a Moving Day charge from the five-time Memorial champion.
Woods followed the eagle at 5 with birdies at 6 and 7, adding another at 9 that yielded a roar from a swelling crowd. The hot stretch added up to a first-nine 31 that featured no missed fairways and just a single missed green. It was also six shots better than playing partner Patrick Reed, the other half of a much-hyped pairing.
Playing with Woods presents challenges, particularly with crowds constantly on the move, jockeying for best viewing position and ignoring the pleas of marshals and even Reed's caddie that they hold still. "I feel bad for that other guy, that's with Tiger," one spectator said as he hustled to chase down a next viewing spot. The Tiger Train was full steam ahead.
But as Woods made the turn, his momentum seemed to slow. His ballstriking, impossibly good on the front, began to show some cracks. He barely missed the fairway at 10, then barely missed the green, but scrambled for a par. He seemed perplexed by the wind at No. 12, the par 3, finding the front bunker before another scrambling par. A middling wedge shot at 13 left him distant and displeased, and a better wedge shot at the next hole, to inside four feet, went unrewarded when Woods blew the putt past the right edge.
Woods squeezed one more moment of magic out of his round at the short par-5 15th. After blowing his tee shot O.B. right on Thursday and trees right on Friday, Woods hit a snap-hook that tumbled out of the air and barely stayed in play in the left rough. But he punched up the fairway and hit his approach left of the hole, leaving a slippery, curling 14-footer that fell in with an emphatic fist pump, and with good reason: Tiger Woods was tied for the lead.
A three-putt at 16 sent Woods back to 10-under, and after a two-putt par at 17 and an iron to the middle of the 18th green, it appeared certain that for the second consecutive day, Woods would be posting a round of five under that was both exhilarating and disappointing. But then Woods jammed his three-footer for par through any break, catching the edge of the hole and spinning out for a closing bogey that left him at nine under.
Woods had a technical explanation for the short misses. "I was releasing the putter beautifully early. Just getting the putts to turn over. My toe was moving nicely, and just didn't do that at the end."
The back-nine stallout called to mind Friday's round at the Memorial as well as Woods's weekend performance in his previous start at the Players, where he was eight-under through 12 on Saturday and six-under through 12 on Sunday before playing the final six holes a combined four-over.
He finished the day hitting 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens, but required 31 putts to get around. With the leaders just making the turn, it's likely that Woods will be at the edge of contention going to the Memorial's final round. He predicted the leader he'll have to chase down will settled at 14- or 15- under. "The weather's supposed to come in tomorrow and it's supposed to be iffy, and if there's wind associated with it, then I don't think the guys will shoot as low," Woods said. "They gave us some new pins on Sunday, which are a little bit surprising, so we'll see what happens."
DUBLIN, Ohio — As he flashes glimpses of his former brilliance, Tiger Woods is finding the road quite a bit rougher than it was when he was cruising to his 79 career wins and 14 major championships.
As much of an adjustment to the latest of four back surgeries is for him physically, so too is the new reality that so many young players around him have gotten better while he was away, tending to his injuries and off-the-course personal problems.
Woods, who’s won the Memorial five times in his career, tied for the tournament lead in the third round on Saturday when he got to 11-under par with a birdie on the 15th hole. That elicited memories of years gone by, when the competitors around him would wilt at his mere presence on the leaderboard.
But what happened after Woods tied for the lead at 11-under with a birdie on the 15th hole Saturday was anything but reminiscent of years gone by. Woods proceeded to go backward while those around him got better.
For the second consecutive day, Woods spoiled a potential spectacular round with horrid short putting. He three-putted two of his last three holes — missing a four-footer for par on 16 and another four-footer for par on 18 to fall to 9-under par and four shots out of the lead at the time.
“I know I shot 68 today, but that’s probably the highest score I could have possibly shot,’’ Woods said. “I played beautifully, had total control of what I was doing out there and just didn’t finish it off.’’
Symbolic of the new-age deeper pool of competition Woods must now deal with are the players above him on the leaderboard entering Sunday’s final round.
While Woods was squandering his round, Joaquin Niemann, a 19-year-old rookie from Chile who’s playing in his fifth professional event, was eagling the seventh hole to take the lead at 13-under par at the time.
Niemann played like he didn’t care that Woods was stalking. Unlike the days when Woods’ competitors were intimidated by him making a charge up a leaderboard, Niemann carried on about his business as if Woods wasn’t even in the field.
This is how deep the game is now compared to when Woods was dominating and breaking the wills of his nearest competitors. And we’re not talking about only the likes of the latest rising stars, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. There are more — perhaps Niemann — beginning to line up behind those talents.
“I think a lot of Tiger’s success was during the years when he didn’t have a lot of guys pushing him,’’ Jack Nicklaus, the founder and host of The Memorial, said earlier this week. “A lot of Tiger’s success with guys pushing him was because he was always there and he pushed them out. Part of winning is winning breeds winning, and if you’re not used to winning or you’re not used to being in a position to win and you don’t ever have the experience of it, you don’t ever learn how to get it done.
“So with Tiger having his problems, all these other young guys had the opportunity to learn how to win,’’ Nicklaus went on. “So when he comes back, all of a sudden he’s got 10 guys that learned how to win while he was gone and have learned how to win repeatedly. All of a sudden that becomes a new competition.’’
The players to which Nicklaus referred include Thomas, Spieth, McIlroy, Johnson, Jason Day — all major championship winners.
All of those players are actually below Woods on the leaderboard right now.
Asked about seeing 19-year-old Niemann at the top of the leaderboard, Woods said, “I’ve seen it before. In ’99, Sergio (Garcia) was at top of most boards when he first came out. It’s nothing new. These guys — especially the non-Americans — they turn pro a little bit earlier than we do here in the States, and to see them up at the top of the board is really not surprising.’’
When a reporter asked Woods if his game is “good enough to win right now,’’ Woods understandably bristled and said, “Well, I was at 11-under par and I had wasted a bunch of shots the last two days and I was 4-over par in the first round (through the first seven holes) … so you do the math.’’
