BALTIMORE — The back-and-forth affair between Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Cantlay that took center stage during Saturday’s third round of the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship will continue into Sunday’s fourth and final round at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md.
DeChambeau led for much of Saturday until finding the water on back-to-back holes on Nos. 12 and 13. That opened the door for Cantlay to move to the top of the leaderboard until hole No. 18, when his bogey combined with DeChambeau’s birdie knotted the players at a 21-under-par 195 for the tournament.
“It was another day on an easy, soft golf course, so you needed to make a bunch of birdies,” said Cantlay, who shot a 6-under 66 for the round. “I thought I played really well, all in all. I didn’t make too many mistakes. Played solid, didn’t putt as well as I did the first couple days, but probably hit it a little better, and I thought it was a good day and I’m in a good spot for tomorrow.”
DeChambeau, who maintained his policy of refusing to talk to print media for the 11th consecutive competitive round, told the tour’s broadcast partners that his driver “wasn’t really in tune” beginning at the par-4 No. 7.
“Striped one on 18, happy about that, but got to clean up the driver from today,” said DeChambeau, who carded a 5-under 67. “If I can do that tomorrow, I should give myself plenty of chances.”
Cantlay and DeChambeau, whose total of 21-under matched the second-lowest 54-hole score in a FedEx Cup playoff event, are scheduled to tee off at 1:55 p.m. in the last pairing, marking the second time in their careers they will play in the last group of a final round. They played together in the final group of the fourth round of the 2018 Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, that DeChambeau won.
DeChambeau, who nearly registered the PGA Tour’s 12th round of 59 on Friday until his 6-foot birdie putt just missed the left edge of the cup, entered Saturday at 16-under, which was one shot better than Cantlay’s 15-under. But DeChambeau surrendered that lead at the par-5 No. 2 when he finished with a par and Cantlay drained a putt of 15 feet, 11 inches for an eagle. DeChambeau’s score was exacerbated by a fluky second shot to the green that bounced off the head of a sprinkler and bounded over the green into the rough.
The tables were turned two holes later when DeChambeau sank a putt of 25 feet, 1 inch for an eagle and Cantlay settled for par. That turn of events moved DeChambeau to 19-under and Cantlay to 18-under.
An eagle on the par-4 No. 5 and a birdie on the par-4 No. 8 gave DeChambeau a four-shot cushion over Cantlay and Jon Rahm, who completed their playing threesome. But that edge would prove temporary.
On the par-5 No. 12, DeChambeau, who was at 22-under, dunked his second shot into water running along the right side of the hole, ending up with his first bogey of the tournament. Meanwhile, both Cantlay and Rahm birdied, allowing Cantlay to close the gap to two.
On the par-3 No. 13, DeChambeau’s tee shot found water again, this time fronting the green. He finished with a double bogey, while Cantlay knocked in a putt of 35 feet, 8 inches for the birdie and a three-shot swing that moved him to 21-under and DeChambeau down to 20-under.
“I had a little bit of mud on 12 and tried to play out to the left,” DeChambeau said. “The wind caught it, I just missed it a little right. Hit a great shot on 13, flushed it right at the flag and rode a bit of breeze, got up, and made an unfortunate error there.”
Cantlay said he wasn’t pressing even before DeChambeau’s miscues.
“There’s nothing I can do at that point,” he said. “I’m just trying to stick to my game plan. I know there’s birdies out there, and every day you play, you might play with someone that’s on a tear. I started off the golf tournament, I think, even through my first nine holes and then made a bunch of birdies. That’s just how it happens in golf. Sometimes you get on a run and make a bunch of birdies.”
DeChambeau tied Cantlay with a birdie on the par-4 No. 14, but gave it back with a bogey on the par-5 No. 15. Both players birdied the par-5 No. 16.
Leading at 21-under, Cantlay hit a drive on the par-4 No. 18 that nestled into the left rough. His second shot fell short of the green, and he hit his par putt of 8 feet, 11 inches past the hole for a bogey. On the flipside, DeChambeau went from tee to fairway to green for a two-putt par to end the round in a tie with Cantlay.
Sung-jae Im, who entered the round tied for fourth at 12-under with Sergo Garcia, shot a 6-under 66 to gain sole possession of third place. He acknowledged that he might have to shift from his top priority of finishing in the top 30 to qualify for next weekend’s Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
“My first goal was to make the top 30, but today, I’m close to the winners,” said Im, who entered the tournament ranked No. 25 in the FedEx Cup standings and is projected to move to No. 12 after this weekend. “So I try my best for tomorrow.”
Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns — both of whom were tied for eighth at 10-under — carded 7-under 65s to join Abraham Ancer (6-under 66) and Garcia (5-under 67) for fourth.
Rahm slipped from third to eighth after a 2-under 70 put him at 16-under for the tournament, and Hudson Swafford dropped from a tie for sixth to ninth after a 4-under 68 moved him to 15-under.
