Bryson DeChambeau finished with two birdies, making an 18-foot putt on the last hole to cap off his 8-under 63 that gave him a four-shot lead over Keegan Bradley at the Northern Trust on Saturday.
DeChambeau kept pouring in birdies as everyone around him went the other direction. Along with seizing control of the opening FedExCup Playoffs event, DeChambeau might make it tough for Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk to ignore him.
He narrowly missed earning one of the eight automatics spots on the US team. Furyk makes three of his picks a week from Tuesday.
DeChambeau made nine birdies, four in a five-hole stretch to start pulling away.
What made him stand out, even more than his cap and single-length shafts, was all the stars around him were in reverse. Of the final 10 players to tee off, DeChambeau and Adam Scott were the only ones to break par. Scott had to birdie three of his last four holes for a 70.
Brooks Koepka, who shared the 36-hole lead with Jamie Lovemark, had a 13-hole stretch in the middle of his round with three bogeys and 10 pars. He shot 72 and fell seven shots behind.
Dustin Johnson, who started the day tied with DeChambeau, added a double bogey to a week that already included two triple bogeys and a birdie on the last to leave him nine back.
The lone Saffa this weekend – Louis Oosthuizen – continued to climb the board.
Oosthuizen hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation during his third round 68 on the back of a putting performance to remember; with no misses on putts within 10 feet.
Projected inside the top 60 of the FedExCup, the one-time Major champion finished his day tied for 14th at 8 under.
