CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Standing on the 16th teebox at the Cool Hollow Club on Saturday, LIV Golf League captain Bryson Decanbaugh took the full lead in the PGA Championship.
DeChambeau just made his birdie for the fifth round on the 15th of the PAR-5, and it went 8 under. He was one stroke before unlikely leaders in each of the first two rounds, Davis Riley and Venezuela’s Jonattan Vegas.
“I was pumped up,” Deccanbeau said. “I said, ‘It’s okay, take a lead. Let’s go. Let’s keep pushing.”
Unfortunately for Deccanbeau, he still had to play “Green Mile,” which is “Green Mile.”
He had not had a lead for a long time.
On the par 4 on the 16th, Deccanbo hit a 375-yard drive into a rough, rough one on the right. His second shot from 142 yards stopped at a green fringe. He chipped at about 6 feet and then slammed his par putt too hard. The ball went outside and left him with a bogey and dropped him to 7 under.
Then on the 17th of the par 3, a tee shot of Deccanbo from 187 yards was not sufficient and entered the lake in front of the greenery. After the drop he hit the third shot 23 feet. He putts twice for a double bogey five.
“I hit a great nine iron the way I wanted,” Deccanbeau said. “The wind pumped it up. There’s nothing I can do. It turned over from being neutral from the right side like a 4. I believe it.
On the 18th, Dedanbo posted a 2-under 69. He was tied to 8th place with 5 after 54 holes.
“What I can do is control what I have control, and if I went outside and filmed under a 6, 7, that’s what I focused on what I was doing,” Deccanbeau said. “That’s not what I’m trying to do, but you never know, but I’m going to shoot as low as possible.
“I’m behind eight balls now. I have to burn my gun tomorrow.”
Odds are piled up against the far-reaching Dedanbo from that to win on Sunday. One of the last 35 winners of the PGA Championship was one of the top five after 54 holes (Justin Thomas came in 7th place before winning in 2022).
Dechambeau’s length from Tee becomes an advantage again – he leads the field with an average driving distance of 331 yards – but he has to play near perfect golf. He attacked five of the 14 fairways in the third round and 12 of the 18 greens.
And of course, a stable Schaeffler has to make some mistakes.
DeChambeau is Nos. Without the gaffe of 16 and 17, I would have been much closer to Scheffler.
“That’s why golf is the worst four-letter word in the world,” Deccanbeau said.