Bryson DeChambeau didn't let a couple of water balls ruin his day at the World Junior Golf Championships on Thursday in San Diego.
The 14-year-old from Clovis finished third in the 13-14 boys division, closing with a 3-under 69 at Riverwalk Golf Club. DeChambeau's 4-under 68-75-69--212 was five shots behind winner Grayson Murray of Raleigh, N.C., and three behind runner-up Poosit Supupramai of Thailand.DeChambeau, who will be a freshman at Clovis East High in the fall, saved par after finding water at the par-4 No. 3, then bogeyed No. 9 after again hitting into the water. Otherwise, he was nearly perfect, recording five birdies and one other bogey in the tournament that draws players from around the world."[Third place] is quite an accomplishment for me," he said. "I'm really happy with how I finished. The 75 on the second day killed me."The kids who won are really, really good. Grayson has won three years in a row. There are a lot of good players out there."DeChambeau said he had a good mind-set Thursday."Usually I focus on the other players," he said. "Today, I focused on my game and didn't worry about what others were doing."He also made an adjustment to the face of his putter and stroked just 26 putts after taking 34 Wednesday.By finishing in the top six, DeChambeau qualified for next year's Junior Worlds. That will be in the 15-17 boys division at Torrey Pines, site of last month's U.S. Open.