DeChambeau fires up late to join lead at Shriners Hospitals for Children Open

LAS VEGAS — Notes and observations from the third round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin where Bryson DeChambeau and Peter Uihlein head to Sunday tied for the lead. LEADING LIGHTS Bryson DeChambeau knew he needed to make something happen late Saturday if he was serious about winning in Las Vegas. While playing steady to be sitting two under on his round through 12 holes the four-time PGA TOUR winner was frustrated. He walked off the 12th hole having missed a five-foot birdie try and a glance at the leaderboard saw him now three shots off the lead, shots in his head he had left out there over his opening 48 holes. He figured he better shake it off and deliver. “I’ve had three three-putts and missed a numerous amounts of putts inside 10 feet (nine of them) this week,â€� he explained. “It is what it is and that’s golf. You’re not going to have everything every week. I’m always a guy trying to strive for the best, and, yeah, I’m going to get frustrated. That’s just who I am. That’s my nature. Got a little fire in me.â€� The fire worked. DeChambeau birdied four of his closing six holes to grab a share of the 54-hole lead with Peter Uihlein. Come Sunday the two former U.S. Amateur winners will play with a former U.S. Open champion in Lucas Glover in the final group. Uihlein is chasing his first PGA TOUR win. “Tomorrow will be exciting. Depending on the weather, if it’s windy could be tricky again. If not I think you can get after it. It will be a bit of a shootout,â€� Uihlein said “Definitely looking forward if. I’m excited.â€� OBSERVATIONS GLOVER GOES LOW: Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover had a chance to win the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open two years ago when he held the 54-hole lead only to fade to third. He’s hoping he can exact some revenge Sunday after producing a blistering 10-under 61 in the third round, punctuated by an eagle putt from 41 feet, six inches from the fringe on his final hole. Having started on the 10th hole with a bogey it was an incredible effort of two eagles and seven birdies that left him at 15 under, just one shot behind the leaders. He needed just 26 putts, making 155 feet, 11 inches of them – a mark that doesn’t include his above eagle try as it is classed as a chip in statistically. “Just one of those days. Holed it like a bucket. But I made it look like a bucket, which feels good, too,â€� Glover said. “I just need to do what I’ve been doing… be smart where I need to be smart and be aggressive where I can and make some putts. That’s always the key for me… putt well and confidently.â€� CANTLAY BACK NINE BLITZES: Defending champion Patrick Cantlay is not prepared to give up his title without a solid fight and if he sits close to the lead at the turn Sunday he might just have an edge. Cantlay’s 8-under 63 on Saturday rocketed him back into contention at 14 under, just two shots from the lead and tied fourth. The key to his week has been the final nine holes of TPC Summerlin where he is bogey free and 12 under compared to just two under on the front side. “There’s a couple of par-5s and the drivable 4 so it’s gettable,â€� Cantlay said of the home stretch. “I kind of botched the front side the first two days. Played much better on the front side today. Still haven’t got at 9 (par-5) any day, which is obviously not good. “Patience is always good but you still need to be aggressive. I’m going to continue that mindset tomorrow and try and get hot early and keep it going.â€� VARNER III TAKES PENALTY ON THE CHIN: Harold Varner III thought he’d be chasing his first PGA TOUR title from three shots back but a moving ball penalty pushed him four off the pace. Varner was settling in to his approach from the fairway on the 11th hole when his ball moved during his waggle process. He was looking at the target when it moved but called in an official after noticing the ball had shifted. Initially Varner believed he hadn’t grounded his club and was cleared of any wrongdoing but video replay of the incident confirmed he had and a penalty was assessed post-round leaving him with a 2-under 69 to be 12 under and four back. Varner accepted the decision after seeing the footage. “I didn’t think I grounded my club but the video showed I did,â€� Varner explained. “It is what it is. We got tomorrow and I am super excited about another opportunity.â€� SI WOO KIM ADVENTURES: Former PLAYERS Champion Si Woo Kim had quite the adventurous third round. The Korean opened with five straight birdies before a wild drive on the par-4 6th hole went out of bounds and he muffed two chips to post a quintuple bogey nine. A hole later his driver was broken yet he managed to play the final 11 holes without it in two under. “Seven birdies, no bogeys… two under… that’s golf,â€� he shrugged as he came off the 18th hole. QUOTABLES Probably would’ve gone in a thimble.Have a fun night and play a little bit better tomorrow, that’s for sure. See if we can at least post something low and see what happens.If I can just stay in it and keep executing great shots every single time… I’m going to be tough to beat. That’s just the way it is. SUPERLATIVES Low round: 10-under 61 by Lucas Glover. Two eagles, seven birdies and one bogey. Longest drive: 373 yards – Peter Malnati and Seth Reeves both on the par-5 13th. Longest putt: 45 feet, 9 inches – Lucas Glover. Toughest hole: Par-4 12th. Played to 4.189 with just four birdies, 10 bogeys and four doubles. Easiest hole: Par-5 13th. Was taken apart by the field at 4.297 with five eagles and 42 birdies. SHOT OF THE DAY CALL OF THE DAY For play-by-play coverage of the final round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, listen at PGATOUR.COM.

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