Abbi Pulling swept the weekend the last time the F1 Academy was in action, capturing both races at the Miami Grand Prix.
And the Alpine driver is picking up right where she left off.
Pulling is well on her way to another sweep after capturing the first of two races for F1 Academy at this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix. Pulling began the race in pole position, and fended off a tremendous start from Nerea Martí to secure the lead over the first lap. Martí took advantage of a stall off the line from Doriane Pin and jumped to the inside, getting a slipstream from Pulling into Turn 1.
Martí then jumped to the outside and looked to have the edge on Pulling around the outer racing line, but the Alpine driver soon slammed the door shut, leading the opening lap.
However, the safety car came out at the end of the first lap due to an incident involving Maya Weug, Amna Al Qubaisi, and Lola Lovinfosse. Weug and Al Qubaisi ended up in the gravel following contact between the three cars.
That meant Pulling needed to survive a restart but the British driver built a lead over Marti of nearly a second off the rolling restart, and began to pull away from the field. By the time the checkered flag flew, the Alpine driver was nearly five seconds clear of Martí, who held on for P2.
Haas driver Chloe Chambers, who secured the first-ever podium finish for the team with a P3 in the first race in Miami, notched her second podium with another P3. McLaren’s Bianca Bustamante came across the line fourth, and Hamda Al Qubaisi finished in fifth.
Pin managed to recover from her slow start which shuffled her back in the field, salvaging a seventh-place finish.
But Pulling was the story, as she now has four-straight victories and remains atop the F1 Academy Drivers’ Championship standings. Pulling even captured the fastest lap over the session, picking up a bonus point for her incredible effort. She will look for another weekend sweep tomorrow, when she starts up front for F1 Academy’s second race at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Pinehurst No. 2 has once again proven itself worthy of a terrific U.S. Open venue. It has tested the best players in the world, punishing poor shots while rewarding good ones.
Hence, only eight players sit in red figures after 54 holes, with Bryson DeChambeau leading the pace at 7-under. He holds a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy, Matthieu Pavon, and Patrick Cantlay as he eyes his second major. DeChambeau won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in September 2020 during the pandemic.
So after another fun day at Pinehurst, here are the winners and losers from North Carolina:
Winners:
Bryson DeChambeau’s Game
Bryson DeChambeau entertained the golf world all day on Saturday. His clutch putts, his 350-yard drives, his spectacular shot from the sand on the 13th hole, and his tremendous approach on the 14th hole all added up to a 3-under 67.
Diabolical approach.
Brandel made a great point about the angles here too. Bryson had nothing, and yet went right at it. A confident, aggressive mindset is a dangerous one and it’s paying off!
He looks like one of the best golfers in the world, relying on his power and short-game finesse to take a commanding lead going into Sunday. He did stumble on the 16th hole, where he made a double bogey, but that did not phase DeChambeau at all. He bounced back with a birdie on the 17th hole, thanks to an ultra-aggressive line he took off the tee.
But every hole DeChambeau plays is must-watch television, whether he birdies or bogies. He is the most entertaining golfer on the planet, which explains why his popularity has skyrocketed.
Ultimately, if he shoots another round in the 60s on Sunday, the U.S. Open is his.
DeChambeau’s Balls
Bryson DeChambeau apparently puts his golf balls in Epsom salt before every round. A reporter asked him about it after his round, and DeChambeau’s response about his balls is priceless:
“Thanks for the salty balls question. I appreciate that. Yeah, I put my golf balls in Epsom salt. I’m lucky enough that Connor, my manager, does that now. I don’t have to do it. But essentially, we float golf balls in a solution to make sure that the golf ball is not out of balance,” DeChambeau explained.
“There was a big thing back in the day where golf balls are out of balance, and it’s just because of the manufacturing process. There’s always going to be an error, especially when it’s a sphere, and there are dimples on the edges. You can’t perfectly get it in the center. So what I’m doing is finding pretty much the out-of-balanceness of it, how much out of balance it is. Heavy slide floats to the bottom, and then we mark the top with a dot to make sure it’s always rolling over itself.”
To quote CBS Sports reporter Kyle Porter’s mantra, “Normal Sport.”
Can Rory McIlroy do it?
Rory McIlroy’s 10-year major drought has been well documented. But what amazes me about McIlroy, at least this time, is that he is back in the mix for a sixth straight U.S. Open. Despite the outside fray with LIV Golf, his dreams of a world tour, and most importantly, the uneasiness of his family life surrounding a potential divorce, McIlroy still has a chance to win a second U.S. Open title.
Rory McIlroy shakes hands with Tony Finau after their third round at the 2024 U.S. Open.Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
He shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday despite making two late bogies that stalled his momentum. And yet, anything can happen on this golf course, and McIlroy knows that. He also has plenty of confidence going into round four. Plus, he is hitting his driver better than anyone, so if he can clean up his irons a tad, he should have a shot at the end.
All of this gives McIlroy—and golf fans everywhere—hope, and hope is an amazing drug.
Losers:
Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg
The 13th hole all but ended their chances, as Tony Finau and Ludvig Åberg made triple bogies on this short par-4.
Each golfer played a game of ‘ping-pong,’ chipping back and forth across the green, which took them out of contention. Even if each player walked away with a bogey, they would still have an outside shot at winning their first major title on Sunday. But a triple bogey is too damaging of a score to overcome. Finau now sits six shots back of Dechambeau while Åberg, the 36-hole leader, is now five.
Because of this, Johnson Wagner of the Golf Channel analyzed this hole on ‘Live From the U.S. Open’ after the round:
Scottie Scheffler
Scottie Scheffler played much better on Saturday.
But his third round was a day filled with ‘What-ifs?’ Those question marks mainly stemmed from his putter, as Scheffler could not get a putt to drop all day. He gave himself plenty of chances to climb the leaderboard, but his flat stick kept him at bay. As such, the World No. 1 settled for a 1-over 71, but he could have easily shot a score in the mid-60s.
Scottie Scheffler during the third round.Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images
Pace of Play
My god. The final two groups played at a snail’s pace, with Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau as the main culprits. Cantlay is notoriously slow and has been for quite some time. Just ask Brooks Koepka.
Similarly, DeChambeau, who needed to get stretched out on the 11th hole, loves to take his time. Given his scientific and mathematical approach to the game, DeChambeau has to dissect every single shot he plays, even putts from inside of 18 inches.
As such, the United States Golf Association (USGA) should have levied a penalty. They supposedly provided a warning to DeChambeau and Åberg, who, for what it’s worth, flies around a golf course, but a steeper penalty should have been assessed. Pace of play is a problem, especially considering that DeChambeau’s group—the final pairing—finished nearly 45 minutes after McIlroy’s, who played in the third to last group.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThroughfor more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
Bryson DeChambeau stayed patient during the U.S. Open on Saturday, which eventually paid off for him down the stretch. He wound up firing his third straight round in the 60s, carding a third round 3-under 67. That score gives him a three-shot lead at 7-under for the championship.
He picked up an impressive 3.13 strokes with his putter, which ranks fourth during the third round. DeChambeau needed only 25 putts during round three, as he leads the field with 1.46 putts per green.
“Made a lot of great putts today. I’ll tell you that,” DeChambeau said.
“Pleased with how I struck it for the most part. Tomorrow it’s the same quote I’ve said all week—trying to have boring golf. Middle of the greens never moves, so I am going to try and hit a lot of the greens, give myself some good looks on some holes and two-putt a lot.”
He made three crucial par saves to open his round and keep pace with his fellow contenders. A bogey on the 4th dropped a shot, but it did not last, as he got it back on the par-5 5th. Another birdie followed at the 7th.
Then, during a stretch in which he made back-to-back birdies on the 10th and 11th holes, DeChambeau began to battle hip tightness. That did not stop him. His lead extended to four at the par-4 14th when he sank his fifth birdie of the day.
Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images
However, a double bogey on the par-4 16th diminished the lead to two. That hiccup did not phase him as he made his sixth birdie on the day at the par-3 17 to head into Sunday with a three-shot advantage.
The crowds showed up all day for the Grapevine, Texas, resident. Like the PGA Championship, the fans could not get enough of him.
Fans chanted USA-USA-USA from DeChambeau’s opening tee shot until he walked off the course. Not to mention his hilarious “Don’t boo me, I’m sorry” comment to the crowd on 13 when he did not choose to hit driver.
Throughout the day, he spoke to fans, signed autographs and enjoyed the crowds.
“It gives me a spike in my adrenaline and allows me to focus more on delivering for the fans, myself and my family. It inspires me,” DeChambeau said.
It is massive for the fans to get behind him as a LIV Golf player. He was not a fan favorite when he played on the PGA Tour. Some liked him, and many did not.
However, things changed when he began showing off his personality through his social media and YouTube Channels. More people saw who he truly was, and for the past two major championships, the fans have gravitated toward him.
“It’s meant a lot to me. Just thinking back three years ago, the landscape was a lot different,” DeChambeau said. “I tried to show everybody who I was. I didn’t do it the right way and could have done a lot of things better.”
“I’m lucky enough to have a great team around me to help me move in the right direction with the content we’re producing, social media, and a great perspective on life. That combination of things has allowed me to not only have a new perspective but an opportunity to show myself in a different light and entertain the fans out there.”
DeChambeau has a new outlook on life, where he chooses to focus on the positive things. So far, this has grown his brand massively, especially in the majors.
He is 18 holes away from winning his second U.S. Open in four years.
DeChambeau will play alongside Frenchman Matthieu Pavon in the final group of the day. They tee off at 2:21 p.m. ET.
Savannah Leigh Richardson is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. For more golf coverage, be sure to follow us @_PlayingThrough on all major social platforms. You can also follow her on Twitter @SportsGirlSL and Instagram @savannah_leigh_sports.
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