The best climb Olympia's leader board

Writing from Olympia Fields, Illinois

Saturday, August 19, 2023

After the second 62 of the week – this one by Sam Burns – after slides down the leader board by Chris Kirk and Rickie Fowler, after a barrage of birdies by the leaders, there’s a conclusion to be drawn after three rounds of the BMW Championship.

Olympia Fields Country Club’s North Course brings out the best from the best.

Here are the leaders going into Sunday’s final round, where the winner will be showered with $3.6 million from the $20 million purse:

Sharing first, at 11-under 199, Matt Fitzpatrick, the Northwestern product who won the U.S. Open at The Country Club last year, and Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters last year and is the top-ranked player in the world at the moment.

Solo third, at 10-under 200, Brian Harman, who won the British Open at Royal Liverpool last month.

Any of that trio will fit in nicely with the list of champions of the first 119 playings of the Western Open, which has been known as the BMW Championship since 2007 and, following a 46-year run of exclusive play in Chicago, has bounced around the country more often than not. You know the usual suspects: Nicklaus, Palmer, Woods, Hogan, Hagen, Snead and Nelson, both Byron and Larry. That crowd.

The 32,000 fans who poured into Olympia on Saturday were treated to fireworks from the  current trio of swells and many others. Burns’ bogey-free 62, constructed of an octet of birdies in a 14-mph south-southwest wind, tied Max Homa’s record of Friday and set the early tone, which later players tried to emulate. The next-best round was Scheffler’s 64, including an inward 4-under 31, which vaulted him into a tie for the lead.

“When you get a wind this heavy and it starts swirling, there’s a lot of holes where it can change your shot, close to 20 yards,” Scheffler said. “No. 6 comes to mind. Rickie (Fowler) and I both hit 8-irons there – I may hit mine a touch further than he hits his – and his ball flew almost to the back of the green and my ball flew pin high. There’s a big difference in the gusts.”

Fitzpatrick might have owned the lead it by himself but for a clueless marshal who nearly stepped on his ball in the five-inch rough on the 18th hole as Fitzpatrick stood there. If looks could kill, Fitzpatrick would be in the Olympia Fields pokey. The grass around the ball was ruffled, as was Fitzpatrick’s demeanor. He ended up with a bogey.

“(He) definitely brushed it because you could see the grass was completely moved,” Fitzpatrick said. “It was definitely further down than when I got there. It just came out heavy. If it sat up a little bit higher, it comes out a little better on the green – a little less stressful bogey than what I had.”

Fitzpatrick’s tremendous pitch back to the third green from near the fourth tee after a flyer out of the rough was the shot of the day, and allowed him to save par. It was a 42-yard pitch to 11 feet.

“I was just trying to get it up by the green, to be honest,” Fitzpatrick said. “It wasn’t a great place to be.”

Only a bogey on the ninth hole prevented Harman, the 2014 John Deere Classic champion, from reaching 11-under as well. He scattered four birdies across his scorecard for a 3-under 67.

“I was fortunate to get out of there with 3-under,” Harman said after hitting five fairways. “I’ve got to drive it a little bit better if I’m going to have a chance tomorrow.”

If the theory than anyone within five strokes of the leader has a chance, a dozen people could lift the J.K. Wadley Trophy come 5 p.m. Sunday. Max Homa, whose day was ruined with a triple-bogey 7 on the seventh hole, struggled to a 71 but is a 9-under 201 and two back. Victor Hovland and fan favorite Rory McIlroy are at 8-under 202. Burns’ 62 set him at 203 with Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele and Denny McCarthy, the latter on the Tour Championship qualifying bubble at nightfall. Corey Conners and Sungjae Im are at 6-under 204.

But more likely, it’ll be one of the top half-dozen players who will triumph. Not since 2000, when Robert Allenby, tied for seventh entering the final round, came through – in a playoff over Nick Price – has someone that far back climbed over the leaders to win.

Around Olympia Fields

Scheffler and Fitzpatrick are in the last pairing at 12:50 p.m., with Harman and Homa starting at 12:39 p.m. The 12:28 p.m. duo of Hovland and McIlroy is another attractive pair. Taylor Moore starts the parade at 8:20 a.m. as a single and may be finished by 11 a.m. … Fitzpatrick’s younger brother Alex is second in the Handa World Invitational on the DP World (European) Tour, but six back of the leader. … The ancillary contest each year at this tournament is who edges into the top 30 in the season standings and thus advances to East Lake for the Tour Championship, where the gross national product of Borneo awaits the winner. Right now, Denny McCarthy is 30th, and tied for seventh in the BMW. If he stays there, he’s in. If not, No. 31 Jordan Spieth or someone farther back can pass him with a good final round. Spieth is tied for 30th in the BMW, seven strokes behind McCarthy. There are more permutations to who occupies the final places than there are stars in the night sky. … Zach Johnson is also watching closely, as this week and next gives him the final evidence for his six Ryder Cup captain’s selections. … The scoring average of 69.714 on Saturday brought the three-round average of 69.587. Four birdies on the 18th holes brought the week’s total there to eight, but it’s still the hardest hole, .306 strokes over par. … Byeong Hun An’s 377-yard drive on the 17th Saturday is the longest of the week. … A well-placed source said Friday’s gallery was about 26,000 and Thursday’s a few thousand below that. Call it 22,000. Adding in Saturday’s 32,000, the three-day total is 80,000, with a day to go. Good crowds were also on hand Tuesday and Wednesday for the practice and pro-am day.

– Tim Cronin