Alex Noren takes 1-shot lead at Torrey Pines

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SAN DIEGO — Mackenzie Hughes and Louis Oosthuizen brought the memories of Tiger Woods roaring back to life Saturday in the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. Just like in 2008, when Woods made eagle putts across the green on Nos. 13 and 18, it left this U.S. Open up for grabs. RELATED: Leaderboard | Inside the Field: Travelers Championship First it was Hughes, rolling in a 60-foot eagle putt from the back of the green to the front pin at No. 13 that got him into the mix. Next came Oosthuizen with an eagle putt from 50 feet to a front pin on the 18th. That led to them being tied for the lead with Russell Henley, who was hanging on for dear life at the end of a third round that set the stage for a Sunday filled with possibilities. Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau were two shots behind. McIlroy has gone seven years without a major, while DeChambeau can get the last laugh by joining Brooks Koepka with back-to-back U.S. Open titles. A U.S. Open that for two days lacked excitement came to life in a big way. Hughes, coming off four consecutive missed cuts, birdied the 18th for a 3-under 68. He was the first player to reach 5-under 208. Oosthuizen made next to nothing until he holed 80 feet worth of putts over the final three holes, a 30-foot birdie on the 16th and his big eagle at the last. “The only thing you see is … you can actually putt this in the water,” Oosthuizen said. Woods is recovering from his February car crash that badly injured his legs and is not back at Torrey Pines. In his absence were replays of the eagles he made on the 13th and 18th hole in the third round in 2008 that gave him the 54-hole lead. It took two players to do that this time, but it was equally spectacular. “I know Tiger’s was further right, but halfway there, I loved it,” Hughes said. “The charge that goes through your body when the ball goes in the hole and the crowd erupts is why we play. It gives me goosebumps now thinking about it.” And he’ll have plenty of nerves Sunday playing in the final group with Oosthuizen, who has had five runner-up finishes in the majors — two in playoffs — since winning the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews. Henley holed a bunker shot on the par-3 11th for birdie for a two-shot lead and made a great par save from the cabbage behind he 12th green. But he showed signs of cracking over the last hour, dropping shots on the 15th and having to escape with par on No. 18. Thirteen players remained under par going into the final round. Eight players were separated by three shots on a tough course that might not be as accessible as it was Saturday, when all three par 5s were set up to be reachable in two. McIlroy started the day six shots behind and did his best work to save bogey. He ran off three birdies in four holes to start the back nine, only to pull his tee shot into a ravine. He took a penalty drop instead of going into the ravine — a smart decision considering television showed a large rattlesnake in the area — and limited the damage to a bogey. A birdie on the 18th for a 67, matching the low score of the week, gave him a chance to win a major for the first time since the 2014 PGA Championship. McIlroy hasn’t had many of those opportunities lately. “This is the only tournament in the world where you fist-pump a bogey,” McIlroy said. “Only losing one there was a big deal, and getting it up-and-down out of the bunker on 16 and making that birdie on 18 just to get that shot back that I lost, really big.” DeChambeau played it big, too, going with driver just about everywhere and missing some fairways by such a wide margin that he had good lies in fan-trampled grass. It led to his first time in 67 rounds at the majors without a bogey on his card, and his 68 gave him a chance to join Koepka and Curtis Strange as the only back-to-back Open winners in the last 50 years. Koepka, meanwhile, was among those who lost a good opportunity. He shot 71 and was only five shots behind, but with 13 players ahead of him. Jon Rahm, slowed by a double bogey on No. 14 and not nearly enough birdies, had a 72 and was in the group at 2-under 211 along with Scottie Scheffler (70) and Matthew Wolff (73). Dustin Johnson shot a 68 and was among those at 1-under 212, four behind and very much in the game in this major and on this golf course. “It’s a golf course where anything can happen,” Oosthuizen said.

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Webb Simpson spent two days at Harbour Town watching bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau swing out of his shoes and realized his own brand of golf works just fine. They traded birdies Friday morning in the RBC Heritage until Simpson got the last word with a 6-footer on his final hole for a 6-under 65 and a one-shot lead over DeChambeau and Corey Conners among early starters. RELATED: Leaderboard | DeChambeau trying to buck Harbour Town trend DeChambeau made six birdies on his final nine holes, missing a 5-footer on No. 9 for a 64. Conners had a bogey-free 63. “It’s very satisfying knowing I’m not near as long as some of these guys and I’m able to kind of use my skills of distance control and shot shape to pick me back up when I’m 40 yards or 30 yards behind these guys,” Simpson said. “I would like to hit it further,” he said. “I set out on a journey three years ago to get stronger, hit it further, but do it a lot slower than Bryson. But he’s made it look easy and seamless.” Simpson was at 12-under 130 and waited to see if anyone could catch him on a Harbour Town course that is yielding low scores with relatively soft conditions and moderate wind. DeChambeau stands out like the lighthouse behind the 18th green. He decided at the end of last season to get stronger and bigger so he could swing faster and hit it longer, and the transformation has everyone’s attention. Even while adding 40 pounds of mass, he hasn’t lost his love for science. That was evident on his final hole. DeChambeau had the honors and let Simpson go first so he could figure out what to do. Simpson poked his hybrid 221 yards down the fairway on the 334-yard ninth hole. DeChambeau opted for a 3-wood, mainly because he feared his driver would go well over the green. He took two violent practice swings, and huffed out breath like an Olympic weightlifter preparing for the clean and jerk. He sent it soaring only to say, “Ah! Too much spin, dang it.” It found a bunker in front of the green, 309 yards away, and he was far more bothered missing the short birdie putt, even though his 64 left him right in the mix again. He hasn’t finished worse than a tie for fifth since February — only four tournaments because the pandemic shut down golf for three months. Rory McIlroy played with him on Sunday at Colonial and was stunned how far — and straight — DeChambeau was smashing driver on a course renowned for placement. “He’s been able to take this body that he’s never played with before and still play just as good, if not better,” Simpson said. “So that’s really impressive.” The time off didn’t appear to hurt, and DeChambeau said time in the gym — and in the buffet line — allowed him to go from a ball speed of about 188 mph to the lower 190s. That doesn’t always work at Harbour Town, a tight course that winds through the oaks, and DeChambeau laments that he hasn’t been able to “launch the Kraken.” At least he’s not holding back at dinner. DeChambeau says his fitness plan is a 2-to-1 ration of carbs and protein and “I literally just have it. I eat whatever, whenever.” The majority of bulk is muscle, all for more speed. He believes he can get it up to 197 mph on a course that allows for more drivers. The biggest benefit is where it leaves him. “The distance gain has helped me hit 9-irons and pitching wedges into holes compared to hitting 7-irons and 6-iron,” he said. “That’s a huge change for me that’s allowed me to go and attack flags a lot more, be more aggressive, not really have to try and fit it into this little spot down on the fairway out here and really attack those flags.” Conners was poised to at least join Simpson in the lead except for missing a pair of birdie putts from the 10-foot range on his last two holes. Ryan Palmer had a 67 and was two behind Simpson. Dustin Johnson, coming off a missed cut at Colonial, had a 66 and was in the group four shots behind. Hilton Head typically follows the Masters in April, and it was returned to the schedule in June with a series of cancellations and postponements that created room. It’s a different look with Bermuda grass and minimal rough, and scoring has been lower than usual. That didn’t help the top three players in the world, none of whom broke par in the opening round. Justin Thomas (66) and Jon Rahm (67) did enough to likely make the cut. Rory McIlroy, who opened with a 73, played in the afternoon.

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