Bryson DeChambeau’s mini-slump appears to be over.
The 25-year-old DeChambeau, who hasn’t had his best game since winning the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November, carded a bogey-free, 9-under-par 62 to take a two-stroke lead over Adam Hadwin of Canada midway through the inaugural 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities https://tpc.com/twincities in Blaine, Minn.
“I certainly wasn’t expecting 9- (under-par),” said eighth-ranked DeChambeau, from Clovis in Central California, who made a slight putting adjustment recently. “It’s obviously nice when you can make some putts you weren’t thinking you were going to make and (it) gets you to a place you haven’t been before. I made a couple more putts outside 20 feet, definitely converted on the par-5s, certainly wedging was a lot better. It has been through a lot of practice, trial and error and struggle.
“ … My main focus is driving it as well as I have. I mean, if I can keep doing that, the putts are going to drop. Some are going to miss. … You’re not going to be perfect, but if I can keep driving it well just like I have been, and become more and more confident, that’s the Bryson we saw last year.”
DeChambeau who claimed three of his five PGA Tour victories last season, made three birdies on the front nine before collecting six more while shooting 29 on the back to finish 36 holes at 14-under 128. He showed signs his game was coming back when he tied for eighth in his last start two weeks ago at the Travelers Championship.
Hadwin birdied two of the last three holes to take second with a 66, while Scott Piercy, the first-round leader at 62, was a bit under the weather but managed a 70 and is four shots back in a tie for third with Sam Burns, who shot 66, and Sam Saunders and Brian Harman, who both had 67s.
Kevin Streelman, Curtis Luck of Australia and Scott Brown all totaled 65 and are five down in a tie for ninth with Arjun Atwal of India, who came in at 68.
Top-ranked Brooks Koepka made the cut on the number in a tie for 70th with a 72, while Jason Day of Australia birdied the last three holes to card a 70 and also tie for 70th, while Phil Mickelson totaled 73 and missed the weekend by eight strokes.
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