BMW Championship 2021: Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Cantlay Tied for Lead After Round 3
August 28, 2021
Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau appear headed for a Sunday showdown to determine the BMW Championship winner, but a horde of golfers is within reach.
Cantlay and DeChambeau finished the third round at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland as the co-leaders at 21-under Saturday. Sungjae Im is solo third at 18-under, and four others are tied for fourth at 17-under.
Cantlay drilled a 15'11" eagle putt on the par-five No. 2 hole before birdieing the third following a fantastic drive that left him just 3'3" away from the pin.
A string of seven straight pars then led to three consecutive birdies to move to 21-under:
PGA TOUR @PGATOURHe can't help but smile. 🙂<br><br>Three straight birdies (!) from <a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_cantlay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Patrick_Cantlay</a> to take the outright lead <a href="https://twitter.com/BMWchamps?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BMWChamps</a>. <a href="https://t.co/5jPNhQeB1u">pic.twitter.com/5jPNhQeB1u</a>
Cantlay set a record with his putting efforts through two rounds:
PGA TOUR @PGATOURCan't-miss <a href="https://twitter.com/patrick_cantlay?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Patrick_Cantlay</a>. 🕳<br><br>He sets the record for lowest SG: Putting (+11.174) through the first two rounds of a TOUR event in the ShotLink era. <a href="https://t.co/9u54bZTPEl">pic.twitter.com/9u54bZTPEl</a>
The flat stick let him down a bit Saturday, however. Most notably, he missed an 8'11" par putt on No. 18 to fall into a tie with DeChambeau.
Speaking of which, DeChambeau's round was rather eventful.
He birdied No. 3 before earning eagles on the fourth and fifth holes.
His prodigious power helped him on the eagle holes before the putter took over. DeChambeau ended up making a 25-footer on No. 4 and a 53-footer on No. 5.
Those efforts helped him go 18-under through a 24-hole stretch.
He added birdies at No. 8 and No. 11 to move to 23-under, but a bogey on the 12th and a double bogey on the 13th dropped him three strokes.
DeChambeau finished one-under on the final five holes to earn the co-lead.
Im is three shots back after he finished his round with a pair of birdies to move to solo third at 18-under.
Four others are tied at 17-under: Rory McIlroy, Sam Burns, Abraham Ancer and Sergio Garcia.
McIlroy and Burns each finished their days at seven-under to move to 17-under for the tournament.
McIlroy didn't finish with a bogey on his card, and nailing this 43'10" birdie from the fringe at No. 1 certainly helped:
Burns finished strong with birdies on three of his last four holes.
Ancer and Garcia each posted their third straight round of 67 or better on the week. Garcia notably had four birdies during a seven-hole stretch:
PGA TOUR @PGATOURFour birdies in the last seven holes for <a href="https://twitter.com/TheSergioGarcia?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheSergioGarcia</a>. 📈<br><br>He entered the week No. 44 in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FedExCup?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FedExCup</a> and is now projected No. 27. <a href="https://t.co/NJwz78IpdI">pic.twitter.com/NJwz78IpdI</a>
Jon Rahm, who is second in the FedEx Cup standings, was 19-under through 12 holes but shot three-over from Nos. 13-18 to end his round solo eighth at 16-under.
Television coverage for Round 4 starts on Sunday at noon ET on the Golf Channel. The coverage will move to NBC at 2 p.m.