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DeChambeau has no plans to abandon aggressive style headed into U.S. Open finale

PGA: U.S. Open - Third Round

By Amy Tennery

MAMARONECK, N.Y. (Reuters) - Hard-hitting Bryson DeChambeau said he has no intention of letting up his aggressive style as he heads into the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday, just two strokes back from leader Matthew Wolff.

Gunning for his maiden major title, the 27-year-old American finished the day at an even par after a missed putt for a bogey on the 18th hole, the infamous Winged Foot finale where five-time major winner Phil Mickelson saw his own U.S. Open dreams crumble 14 years ago.

"I'm going to be aggressive no matter what," DeChambeau (70) told reporters on Saturday, reflecting on that final stretch in Mamaroneck. "If it's the right play. If it's the right wind, the right situation."

DeChambeau, who finished tied for fourth at the PGA Championship and won the Rocket Mortgage Classic in July, famously bulked up during the coronavirus-mandated hiatus earlier this year to add power to his drive.

"If the situation is right and driver makes sense, blast it up there, hit it in the rough and then hit a wedge on the green where it feeds off the back part of the slope, it makes sense," he said.

He admittedly struggled to get on the fairway, hitting back-to-back bogeys on the first two holes, an early performance that prompted a withering self-assessment - "pathetic," he called it - before finding his footing.

DeChambeau, who lingered on the driving range long after the sun had set on Mamaroneck, New York, refining his form, nonetheless found validation in his three-day performance in which he did not once shoot over par.

"The past two majors I've played in I've been right in contention," he said. "I've got to figure out a lot more. I am excited to be in this position for sure. There's no better place to be."

(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Chris Reese)