BRYSON DeChambeau figured there would be more duels with England’s Lee Westwood ahead and just as he predicted, the two will butt heads in the final group Sunday at The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
Westwood carded a bogey-free, 4-under 68 on Saturday to hold onto the lead at 13-under-par 203 on the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course, while DeChambeau moved into second place at 11 under.
Last weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, they were in the same positions heading into Sunday’s final round, with DeChambeau finishing off the victory. It was then that DeChambeau figured he would duel with Westwood again.
Known for his long drives, DeChambeau has backed off his bombastic approach ever so slightly on the tricky Sawgrass track, leaning on his putter to make a difference. He drained a 14-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to move into a temporary tie for the lead with Westwood with a 5-under 67 in the third round.
Still on the course after DeChambeau’s finish, Westwood punctuated his round with four birdies on the back nine including a 25-foot right-breaking birdie putt on the famed island green at the 17th hole. He shot a steady even par on the front nine before making his first birdie at No. 10.
Westwood closed with a par save at 18 after he missed the green with his approach shot. The 47-year-old Westwood, who won most recently in January 2020 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, has not won on the PGA Tour since 2010 at the St. Jude Classic at Memphis.
Justin Thomas had the round of the day Saturday, firing an 8-under 64 to move to 10 under for the tournament and into a tie for third place with Doug Ghim (68). The round came despite posting a bogey at the par-4 fifth hole.
Ghim, who is on the hunt for his first career victory, was 5 under for the day before a bogey at No. 16. — Reuters