Writing from Chicago
    Thursday, July 31, 2014

    Sixty-three one day, 73 the next. Such was the fate of Doug Ghim on Thursday morning at Beverly Country Club. Ghim, the 18-year-old who fired a course record 63 in the second round of the 112th Western Amateur, scored 73 in the third round to fall out of the lead and into a tie for third.
    The leader after 54 holes, with the fourth round just underway, is Bryson DeChambeau, whose 4-under-par 67 moved him to 11-under 202 and a stroke ahead of Joshua Munn, who also scored 67. Ghim, Taylor Macdonald and Zecheng Dou were at 8-under 205 going into the afternoon round.
    The fight for the medal is one thing, but the biggest battle is for the final places in the Sweet Sixteen. Entering the final round, there was an eight-way tie for 11th, which included defending champion Jordan Niebrugge. Michael McCoy of West Des Moines, Iowa, the lone senior in the field – he’s 51 – was tied for 27th, as was Brian Bullington of Frankfort. Tianlang  Guan of China, the 15-year-old sensation, scored 2-over 73 in the morning and was at 214, six strokes out of a Sweet Sixteen spot.
    – Tim Cronin