There we go then: the end of a dramatic Saturday that started with plenty of birdies but ended in classic US Open style. Thanks for reading the blog – we’ll be back tomorrow at 6.30 BST.
A little thought ahead of the final round: every winner of the US Open in the 21st century was within four shots of the lead after 54 holes.
Rory McIlroy on his third round: “Felt like I played really smart, solid golf. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Felt somewhat stress free out there, if you can ever call a US Open stress free.
“I’m in a good spot heading into tomorrow. I haven’t been playing out of the rough that often this week. I’ve played smart off the tee and I’ve done what I needed to to get the ball in play. I just need to do that for one more day.”
What a back nine that was. The leaders had to dig in, Scheffler emerged from (almost) nowhere and English struggled but has done enough to give himself a shot in the final round.
54-hole leaderboard
Here is the top 10 heading into Sunday’s final round:
-10: W Clark, R Fowler
-9: R McIlroy
-7: S Scheffler
-6: H English
-5: D Johnson, X Schauffele
-4: R Nagano
-3: T Kim, B DeChambeau, C Smith
A wonderful curling birdie try from Fowler which misses by millimetres. Then Clark attempts to atone for the error at 17 and he nails it. A very courageous birdie.
Oh Rickie! He misses the par putt from 5-feet! Bogey and it’s a two-shot swing on the 54th hole.
Just two men left out on the course. Fowler’s approach finds the 18th green but he’s not close to the hole, around 42-feet. Clark’s effort dances around the hole and he has 6-feet for birdie (and with it nicking a spot in tomorrow’s last group).
A brave putt from Clark and he gets away with a bogey, dropping to -9 for the week.
McIlroy has safely two-putted for par at 18. He’s recorded scores of 65-67-69 for a 54-hole total of nine-under 201.
Drama at 17 for Clark. His approach shot has veered off into the barranca to the right of the green and the referee is involved with what happens next after his ball was declared unplayable. He’s outside the barranca on the fairway now, having taken a penalty and will be hitting his fourth shot on to the green. It’s not a bad shot but not good either.
Up ahead McIlroy hits a seven-iron into the heart of the final green.
Updated
A brutal back nine for Harris English. He drains a 7-foot bogey putt at 18 but, remember, he was bang in the hunt after 10 holes – just one shot back of the lead in fact. Four bogeys followed and, currently, he is alone in fifth and five shots off the lead.
After a hectic period, a slight lull. Pars for Fowler and Clark at the 16th. English has found the rough short of the 18th green. Schauffele will have 17-feet for par at the 17th but first: McIlroy takes aim from 30-feet and comes up an inch or two short of pace.
Oh yikes. English has just played an air shot in that rough on 18. And his next attempt scared the hole but, McIlroy style in round one, he’ll have a nasty bogey saver to come.
Schauffele cannot save par and drops to -5.
McIlroy hitting into the 17th green: he has 170-yards and finds the putting surface but not a great deal more. Schauffele has missed the green. Update state of play:
-11: R Fowler (15)
-10: W Clark (15)
-9: R McIlroy (16)
-7: S Scheffler (F), H English (17)
-6: X Schauffele (16)
-5: D Johnson (17)
Updated
English has overcome more difficulties at the 17th. He zigzagged down the hole but hung tough to complete his par and stay on -7 for the week. McIlroy has made par at the 16th to remain two back of the leader Fowler on -9.
Down to earth Scottie Scheffler on his round: “Very satisfied. I didn’t play so well on the front nine. But then I got myself back into the tournament. I was between clubs on the eagle and I got a break. I’m excited for tomorrow. Hopefully I’ll get off to a hot start but I’ve got myself in a good position.”
Scheffler’s third round full stop:
Eagle on 17. Birdie on 18.
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 18, 2023
Scottie Scheffler finishes #USOpen moving day in style! 💪 pic.twitter.com/VAVQ85F9UA
BOOM! Scottie Scheffler has 22-feet for birdie at the 18th and makes it! He’s right back in this championship. Rounds of 67-68-68 and he’s set a clubhouse target of seven-under 203.
Forgive me, Wyndham Clark. But I can’t help thinking that a Rickie/Rory final pairing tomorrow is the golden ticket …
Ouch. Fowler played a superb approach to the par-five 14th, setting up a 6-foot birdie try but it lips out. Update state of play as we hit the closing stretch:
-11: R Fowler (14)
-10: W Clark (14)
-9: R McIlroy (15)
-7: H English (15)
-6: S Scheffler (17), X Schauffele (15)
McIlroy hits the diddy 81-yard par-three 15th - and he has 20-feet for birdie. But first Schauffele tries from 60-feet – and it comes up millimetres short. Great effort.
All quiet for McIlroy’s effort but it never looks like dropping, hung out too far to the right. He’ll tap in for par.
McIlroy got lucky with his second shot at the par-five 14th but took advantage. That second blow skipped out of thick rough and then he got up-and-down for birdie. He’s now -1 for the day and -9 for the week.
Playing partner Schauffele dropped a shot and is suddenly tied with Scheffler in a share of fifth on -6.
Here’s that sensational blow from the World No .1.
🗣️ "I suppose that's why you're the World number 1!"
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) June 18, 2023
Scottie Scheffler 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/FyYr7T69YJ
HERE COMES SCOTTIE! Scheffler has solved his putting problems – by holing out from 196 yards at the 17th for an eagle-2! Immediately he leaps into contention. He’s -1 for the day, -6 for the week and he’s only got one more hole of this fiendish back nine to play!
Bad news for Harris English. He’s scratched a third bogey in four holes on his card at the 14th and has frittered away all the gains he made in the first 10 holes. He’s evens for the round, -7 for the week and tied 4th with Schauffele.
Wow! Rickie Fowler had 70-feet from short of the 13th green and he’s knocked it in for birdie. He’s -1 for the round, -11 for the week.
Clark has 13-feet to match his playing partner’s par breaker and he does it. He’s also -1 for the day, -10 for the week and two clear of third placed McIlroy.
A cry of frustration from McIlroy. His 80-foot first putt at the 13th has pulled up 10-feet short of the pin. Schauffele’s approach didn’t even reach the green and he has 18-feet for par.
It’s a swinging line and the American under-reads it. McIlroy stalks his par-saver from all angles, walking through many shadows, the light filtering through the trees … but he stands up before it even reaches the hole and taps it in for bogey. Schauffele matches him.
Up ahead English has played three shots at the par-five 14th and he’s not reached the putting surface yet – a nasty bunker shot to come.
This is the most US Open this week has been!
Leaderboard update
Fowler’s birdie attempt at 12 is tentative but secures par he’s the solo leader again.
-10: R Fowler (12)
-9: R McIlroy (12), W Clark (12)
-8: H English (13), X Schauffele (10)
-5: S Scheffler (15)
The 12th hole has a blind tee shot. Fowler took the conservative route and his approach has left him a makeable birdie putt. But Clark took aim over trees and was lucky not to stay in them. From the rough his approach cannot hold the green and he’ll have a scruffy little scramble to come.
Oh crikey! He tried to be very delicate, went right under the ball and moved it no more than a few inches. The second effort nudges the ball close to the hole. Bogey coming up.
Clark cannot save his par at the 11th from the sand so falls into a share of the lead with Fowler.
And what did I say about Cam Smith? He’s just found a terrible lie at the back of a bunker and only just escaped it. He will almost certainly be under-par for the back nine for just a few more minutes more.
Only one man in the current top 12 on the leaderboard is under-par for holes played today on the back nine. The next two hours should be classic US Open golf. (Cam Smith is that man at -1.)
Updated
A testing period for English. After his bogey at the 11th, his tee shot at the par-four 12th finds rough and he can only hack it down the fairway. The third shot skips through the green so he needs to get up and down for bogey. He bunts the ball past the hole and has 4’9” for bogey … he makes it. He isn’t chewing as he walks away – does he need more gum or is it a sign of pressure? He’s now -1 for the day, -8 for the week and three back of Clark.
Fowler saved par at 10 and Clark matched it. The 11th is a par-three measuring 273-yards, but downhill. Fowler lands his ball short and it runs down into the centre of the green. Clark takes dead aim at the pin and the ball clatters into a bunker short of the putting surface.
Matt Fitzpatrick talked about the course earlier and LA CC members won’t be rushing to TripAdvisor to read his review.
“I just think the golf course is interesting, to be polite,” he said. “There’s just too many holes for me where you’ve got blind tee shots and then you’ve got fairways that don’t hold the ball. There’s too much slope.
“You hit a good tee shot and end up in the rough by a foot and then you’re hacking it out. Meanwhile, someone has hit it miles offline the other way and they’ve got a shot. Yeah, not my cup of tea.”
Yikes! English has a short putt catch the hole but not enough of it to drop at the 11th to make bogey and Fowler’s approach to the 10th has landed in, well, it looks like cabbage.
How have the leaders played the back nine so far this week? It’s been the tougher nine, remember. Here are their numbers (the par is 36):
Clark 33-32 = -7
English 34-36 = -2
Fowler 32-36 = -4
McIlroy 35-37 = E
Schauffele 32-36 = -4
Par-threes for Clark and Fowler at the 9th. The field is through the turn and the top of the scoring looks like this:
-11: W Clark (9)
-10: H English (10), R Fowler (9)
-9: R McIlroy (10)
-8: X Schauffele (10)
Trouble for McIlroy straight after the turn. His drive hoops to the left and from the clinging rough he can only hack the ball into the bunker in front of the green.
Forward at the 14th, a birdie for Ryutaro Nagano, the Japanese qualifier. He’s -4 for the three par-fives today, -5 for the tournament and tied 6th.
McIlroy plays a fine sand shot and should save par at 10.
Richard Hirst emails about Dave’s music references this week: “Will Rory be Mr Mojo risin’?” he asks and then adds: “By the way, spare a thought for those of us in France, where it is even later!”
The putts are dropping again! First Schauffele nails a 19-foot birdie putt at the 9th to turn in level-par. He’s fought hard but he’s done so on the easier nine. Then English drops a chance from 12-feet at the 10th. He’s -3 for the round, -10 for the week and tied second.
Cam Smith joins in with a beautifully curving effort from 18-feet. It’s for birdie but only gets him back to level-par for the day.
Updated
There was talk earlier today that the pin position at the par-five 8th was opening up all sorts of opportunities for eagles. But the leaders aren’t taking the chance.
Dustin Johnson and Harris English made fives. McIlroy did so, too. Schauffele did tick a birdie, but Clark is another to only write “5” on his card after needing four shots to reach the green. And Fowler? Yep, another five.
Schauffele fails to take advantage of his sensational 266-yard approach to the par-five 8th and misses from 6-feet. But the birdie continues his fight back. He’s -7 for the week now.
McIlroy can only make par from the barranca and, behind them, Clark’s drive hangs in the rough at the top of the sloping fairway. It’s set up an awkward second, almost certainly taking eagle out of the equation.
And now Fowler makes a move! To the delight of the galleries he drains a 36-foot birdie putt at the 7th. He’s level-par for the day again and -10 overall, one behind Clark.
The leader secures his par-three with a superb up-and-down at the same hole.
Harris English avoids a mistake from the barranca short of the par-five 8th. He can only hack out but he two putts safely. Chewing his gum and pulling at his shirt I can half imagine him in a pair of dungarees, sat in a rocking chair, looking out across a prairie.
In the group behind him, Schauffele hits a wonderful approach to just 6-feet but McIlroy is in the same spot English was in.
Thanks Dave. A touch of magic from Rory McIlroy at the par-three 7th after his wide tee shot took a kiss off a tree. The pitch was potentially fast, with little control from the Bermuda rough, but he’s knocked it close and should save his par.
Back on the short par-three 6th Rickie Fowler’s birdie attempt comes up short. Clark has a shorter par breaking opportunity, from 12 feet, and he misses on the high side.
Schauffele makes his first birdie of the day after rolling in a nine-footer at 6 to get to -6. That was much needed after the early madness. Time now to hand over to Matt to guide you home.
Leaderboard update
With Fowler dropping a shot at 5 after finding trouble off the tee, Wyndham Clark now leads the US Open by two shots. It’s a further four back to a trio at -5. That includes Scheffler although only just as his par putt does a dance around the 8th hole before dropping.
-11: W Clark (5)
-9: H English (7), R McIlroy (5), R Fowler (5)
-5: R Nagano (11), S Scheffler (8), X Schauffele (5)
Updated
English jumps to -9 with birdie at 6 so more daylight opens up between the top four and the chasing pack. It’s worth noting that the leading quartet are all ranking highly in the Strokes Gained: Putting stats. Clark is 3rd, Fowler 4th, McIlroy 8th and English 2nd. That isn’t always the case in majors (Jon Rahm only ranked 22nd for Putting when winning the US Masters) but it does seem to be a big factor this week.
Clark and Fowler both make par at 4 to remain -11 and -10 respectively. Then Clark smashes a bounding drive down 5, Fowler following it with a less convincing effort that tumbles into rough on the right.
Dustin Johnson is making a mess of things since his opening birdie. He’s bogeyed 2 and 5 while there’s talk of a shank at the short par-4 6th. He’ll have seven feet to save par.
With Schauffele swallowing a third bogey of the day at 5, we have some separation at the top with four players starting to pull clear.
-11: W Clark (4)
-10 R Fowler (4)
-9 R McIlroy (5)
-8: H English (5)
-5: R Nagano (10), S Scheffler (7), M W Lee (6), D Johnson (5), X Schauffele (5)
Keith Mitchell’s approach at 14 clatters into Bryson DeChambeau and Si Woo Kim on the 16th tee! DeChambeau looks somewhat aggrieved but Kim plays it for laughs, rolling onto the floor feigning injury. Mitchell gives him a little hug as they converge.
Four US Open champions now reside in the top 10. Rory is the best of them at -9 while we also have Dustin Johnson (-6), Bryson DeChambeau (-4) and Gary Woodland (-4).
Another major winner, Scottie Scheffler, can’t get a head of steam up and remains at -5 after mixing birdies at 1 and 6 with bogeys at 2 and 5. He shares sixth spot with the surprise figure of Ryutaro Nagano. The 35-year-old from Japan is making his US debut after coming through qualifying at Ibaraki Golf Club in his homeland.
The lead switches hands again as Clark takes over at the top on 11 under by rolling in a seven-foot birdie putt at 3. Fowler can’t match him from similar distance so stays one back. Rory will have to hole from 10 feet at 4 to also remain a single shot off the pace but he catches the lip so that’s a bogey and after a brief dalliance with the lead McIlroy is now two behind. Schauffele’s psychedelic start finally finds some normality with a par at the same hole although he has to sink a six footer after racing his first putt past.
While Schauffele is all over the place, McIlroy is starting to have a ball on this front nine for the third day running. He curls in a 12-footer at 3 and that second birdie in three holes puts him into a share of the lead for the first time this week. A reminder that he’s shot 5-under 30 on this easier nine on both days. Some anxiety on 4 though. “Oh no,” shouts McIlroy as his tee shot heads towards some barranca-based disaster but it finds the shorter grass just off the green.
-10: R McIlroy (3), W Clark (2), R Fowler (10)
-8: H English (8)
-6: M W Lee (4), D Johnson (4), X Schauffele (3)
Updated
Scheffler’s ‘tell’ when under pressure is pulling tee shots left – he did the same in the final round at Quail Hollow – and at the 3rd hole he tugs another one that way and into some thick stuff. The lie is okay but he can’t control the approach and it bounds away into more trouble. His chip onto the green runs away from him and he’ll need more smoke and mirrors to save par. Not this time though and it’s a bogey. An ugly 6-4-5 start drops him to 6-under although Fowler bogeys 2 so it’s only four back. He desperately needs to stop those pull-hooks though.
Koepka shuffles off the 15th green and signs for a 5. Hard to show much alpha-male swagger when you’ve just made double bogey on a hole measuring 81 yards. It takes him back to -1 overall and in a tie for 22nd. More importantly, that’s a massive, nay irretrievable, 10 shots behind the leader.
Tom Kim finishes his day with a par at 18. It threatend to be an astonishing one after he negotiated the first 10 holes in 7-under but three bogeys over the final holes limited him to a 66. A great effort and the low round of the day so far but there will be some disappointment. The leaderboard shows him at -3 for the tournament, eight back.
Incredible resilience from Schauffele. His chip from left of the green at 2 ends 35 feet away from the hole but he pours in the par putt! He could easily be 3 or 4 over for these first two holes but he’s somehow played them in just a single shot over par. Safe par for Rory at 2.
Leaderboard update
Fowler and Clark both set up eagle putts at the 1st. Fowler is putting from just off the green but shows great touch to leave his big arcing putt only five feet away. He knocks that in for his 19th birdie in 37 holes. Clark two putts and advances to -10, one behind Fowler.
At 2, English and Johnson both drop the shots they picked up at the opener. Schauffele’s early madness continues as his drive wonks way left and ends up on the 17th fairway! His recovery finds spectators to the left of the 2nd green. Yikes, this is an unsettling start.
-11: R Fowler (1)
-10: W Clark (1)
-9: R McIlroy (1)
-7: H English (2), X Schauffele (1)
At last, the final group – Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark – is welcomed on the first tee. Fowler finds the left of the fairway with his drive. We don’t see Clark’s shot but he’s crushed one 375 yards down the right the official website tells me.
Up at the green, Rory cosies his eagle try to tap-in range and the birdie moves him one off the lead. Schauffele shakes off bunker-gate with an excellent up and down from 130 yards to limit the damage to a bogey. Still a serious misstep at such a straightforward hole but instead of a four-shot swing between Schauffele and McIlroy, it’s half that.
-10: R Fowler (-)
-9: R McIlroy (1), W Clark (-)
-8: H English (1)
-7: D Johnson (1), X Schauffele (1)
-5: S Scheffler (3), M W Lee (2)
My goodness. Absolute meltdown for Schauffele at the 1st. After his drive finds sand, he thins his second from the bunker into the lip and the ball rebounds behind him. Then, in escalating scenes of utter shock and disbelief, he does the same thing again with his third. Finally, he gets out but that’s four shots already. He’s staring at a double bogey on a hole where a birdie is basically par. Hard to believe. McIlroy ignores the chaos and hits a beaut to 16 feet. Eagle putt coming up. Blimey.
Updated
Time for the penultimate group – Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy. The American pulls the trigger first, launching his drive straight into sand down the left. Rory smashes one onto the fairway and does a little soft shoe shuffle as he reaches for the tee. That’s perfect. Rory has played this front nine in a combined 10-under so far so let’s hope for some fireworks over the next couple of hours.
Up at the green, Harris English calmly rolls in a 10 footer for birdie and he’s up to -8. DJ birdies and goes to -7. We have an active leaderboard, folks.
-10: R Fowler (-)
-9: W Clark (-)
-8: H English (1), R McIlroy (-), X Schauffele (-)
-7: D Johnson (1)
-6: M W Lee (1)
Contrasting fortunes for Tom Kim and defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick at the 81 (eighty one) yard par 15th. Fitzpatrick comes within a medium size cat’s whisker of making hole in one there for the second time this week. But Kim needs four swings so after playing the first 10 holes in a remarkable 7-under he’s given two shots back in the last three holes. All that leaves Kim at -4 (10th) and Fitzpatrick, thanks top his birdie, at -2 (21st).
Also no birdie for Min Woo Lee at 1; that’s an opportunity missed and he’ll be kicking himself. He remains at 6-under.
Scottie Scheffler has opened with a two-putt birdie at 1 as you’d probably expect at that easy starter. Up to -6 and four back.
Back to walk on music and Matt Round writes: “If he wants to keep the LA theme then Padraig could come on to Old Man by Love, whose lead singer Arthur was the dad of Min Woo. Possibly.”
Boom! Brooks Koepka, standing out from the crowd in his schoolbus yellow shirt, holes from a bunker for birdie at 12. That’s his fourth of the round against one bogey. At -3 (tied 16th) is he in this? I’m still saying no.
If you’re just joining us, haven’t paid much attention to tee times and wonder how Rory, Rickie and the leaders are getting on, some news: they haven’t teed off yet. Nearly there though.
23:18 Harris English (US), Dustin Johnson (US)
23:29 Rory McIlroy (NI), Xander Schauffele (US)
23:40 Wyndham Clark (US), Rickie Fowler (US)
It’s probably fair to give Bryson DeChambeau ‘charging’ status. The 2020 US Open winner traded two birdies with two bogeys over his first five holes to move precisely nowhere. But ‘The Scientist’ (do we still call him that?) has just gone 2-4-2 which equates to birdie-birdie-birdie at 7, 8 and 9 to turn in 32. The flurry of red circles on his card has taken DeChambeau to tied 11th, six back.
Harrington matches Cantlay’s low round of the day after tapping in for a 3-under 67. Great work from last year’s Seniors US Open winner, who is currently tied 25th.
Meanwhile, Kim misses the green with his approach at 13 and can’t get up and down so the forward momentum halts and thoughts of another 62 are now probably fanciful. Back to -6 for the day and -5 overall.
Sam Burns had a hole in one on Thursday and adds another eagle here at 6 after holing out from the fairway. It elevates him to tied 12th. By the way, when did he grow that strange clump of hair that 80s/90s/00s/10s/20s American golfers have sticking out of the back of their caps?
Kim isn’t a big hitter – he ranks 107th out of 198 in Driving Distance on the PGA Tour – but the Korean has pumped one 307 yards down the 13th fairway. It’s a beast of a par 4 so still another 212 yards to go with his approach.
Hideki Matsuyama has just bogeyed that very same hole and it follows another dropped shot at 11 so the 2021 Masters winner has dropped eight off the pace having briefly poked his nose inside the top 10. Elsewhere, a two-putt birdie at 8, his first swish from just off thre green, takes Viktor Hovland to -2 for the day. The Norwegian is 12th and seven back so still needs to step on the gas.
Tom Kim has another birdie look at 12 but he blasts his 27-foot right-to-lefter through the break and has some cleaning up work to do for par. It’s not a problem and he remains 7-under for the day, -6 overall and tied for sixth alongside Dustin Johnson (11.18pm) and Min Woo Lee (11.07pm), who tee off in the next hour thank god.
Let’s look at the best Saturday rounds so far and what impact they’ve made. The best to this point is Cantlay’s 67 although it wasn’t quite enough to take him inside the top 20.
67 Patrick Cantlay -1 (23rd)
68 Shane Lowry Evs (31st)
68 Russell Henley Evs (31st)
69 Ryan Fox +1 (43rd)
70 Jon Rahm +2 (51st)
70 Tommy Fleetwood +2 (51st)
Updated
Still over an hour to go before the last two-ball and during Matt’s stint I’ve been thinking about possible walk-on music. Look, it’s been a long day. So, as we’re in LA and two of the main protagonists are Californians without a major win, how about The Doors’ ‘Break On Through (To The Other Side)‘? That reminds of the stat that 73% of teenagers who visit Jim Morrison’s grave in Paris can’t name more than four Doors songs. I’ve made that up but it seems about right.
Rory McIlroy says his go-to music is hip-hop, dance, house and 60s pysch. One of those isn’t true. Given that he said it was time to think about himself rather than fighting futile wars for the PGA Tour, let’s go with ‘Me Myself and I’ by De La Soul.
Wyndham Clark? As he’s in the final group and has the chance to pull clear of the pack…
Updated
The teeny weeny 15th hole is playing just 81 yards making it the shortest hole in US Open history. But it’s no doddle and plenty have been flummoxed and failed to find the green. Not Padraig Harrington though. He spins his wedge back to just inside six feet and knocks that one in. This is some round by the three-time major winner. He eagled 8 and birdies at 12 and 15 put him 4-under for the day and -2 overall. The 51-year-old gives one back at 16 though, his first blemish of the day, and drops from 14th to 23rd.
After going out in just 29 blows, Tom Kim birdies 10 to go 7-under for the day. Amazing. Are Thursday’s record-breaking 62s under threat? Kim is now tied sixth on 6-under although he has some tough holes to come between now and the scorer’s hut.
Cheers Matt. To that, I’ll add one that will definitely flummox Kevin and that train enthusiast know-it-all fella from Eggheads. Who co-led after 54 holes of the 2006 US Open?
Answer: Phil Mickelson and… Kennie Ferrie!
Updated
A little pub quiz question: What do Joel Dahmen, Russell Henley and Richard Bland have in common?
Answer: They’ve been 36-hole co-leaders in the US Open in the last two years. The fact we don’t immediately remember them is a reminder of just how much Rickie Fowler still has to do. With that, I’ll hand you back to Dave.
Updated
A reminder that these early starters have quite a task on their hands if they want to win this week – they’re fighting history.
25 of the last 27 U.S. Open champions have been within three shots of the lead after 36 holes.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) June 16, 2023
15 of the last 17 were in the top-five after two rounds.
Hideki Matsuyama makes the turn in -4. He’s -3 for the week and in a share of 12th.
He’s not the top man out there on the course, however. That’s Tom Kim who is now -5 through the 8th and has broken the top 10. He’s -4 for the tournament and tied 10th. After an elaborate natter with his caddie (which includes Kim saying without any apparent side “you always over-exaggerate”) his tee shot at the par-three 9th has set up a 5-foot putt to play the front nine in 29 shots.
It fascinates me how quickly a golfer can get gobbled up at a major. Remember Jacob Solomon? He was the championship leader early in the first round, only getting caught by Rickie Fowler deep into his back nine. He’s now +5 through seven holes of his third round, tied 60th and his cameo forgotten.
TV is really enjoying showing us footage of the golfers arriving at the course. There’s something a little bit comical about it all. I can sort of hear Larry David frowning and asking Jeff: “What’s with all these casual looks?!?! Oooohhh look at me not looking like a golfer.” And Jeff doing a big shrug.
Rory McIlroy has arrived for Round 3 😎@McIlroyRory #USOpen pic.twitter.com/8a9gpPn5n9
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 17, 2023
Ryan Fox flew around the course as the first man out - and he’s just been asked how it is playing: “Similar to yesterday,” he said. “Soft enough but the breeze is getting up.”
And what about the very short 15th? “Very happy not to be playing it at six o’clock this afternoon,” he chuckled. “Some guys might lay up. There could be a little bit of carnage.”
A birdie at the 1st for Billy Horschel. He’s now tied 21st on the leaderboard which is not how it will end but he has double motivation to play well this weekend.
In the first instance, the West Ham United fan was distraught about his poor form at the recent Memorial Tournament (he opened with an 84) and very open about how difficult he was finding it.
In the second, he hasn’t had a major championship top 20 result since 2016 and only two of them in 38 starts which is an extraordinary record for such a fine golfer – a one-time world top 20 player and winner of the World Golf Championship Match Play no less.
A fast start from Korea’s Tom Kim. He was something of a superstar last year, winning twice on the PGA Tour and thrilling the galleries at the Presidents Cup. He hasn’t managed a top 10 in his last 11 starts and is unlikely to improve on that this week but three birdies in his first four holes today is a good sign.
He’s known as Tom because he is a big Thomas the Tank Engine fan. Fun fact: I once found myself chatting about Sodor Island with Charley Hull. She’s more a fan of James.
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Harris English ambles towards the clubhouse in his civvies. He looks a lot younger than he does in golf gear which reminds me of the scenes behind the 18th green last weekend when Nick Taylor and Tommy Fleetwood were fighting out the Canadian Open in extra holes.
Taylor’s fellow Canadians Corey Conners, Mike Weir and Adam Hadwin, plus Fleetwood’s friends Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton, were all wearing hoodies. Quite an intriguing social dynamic with a style split, too: the Canadians went for modern versions in t-shirt fabric, the Europeans favouring traditional designs.
But again, they all looked younger than on the course. Not so much because they were dressing down, I suppose. More that, when they play golf, etiquette asks them to dress middle-aged.
Joe Pearson emails: “Hi Matt – I live in Indiana, and the concept of primetime golf is also weird for me. Usually, golf is over right around dinner time. This one goes all the way to bedtime. Hard to align with.” The good news, Joe, is that Cantlay is out early.
He was notably slow during the Masters and, had he been in contention again, British viewers might have gone straight from the end of the golf to the breakfast table!
(Cantlay completes a dogged par an the 10th to maintain momentum.)
It’s a touch over three hours since Ryan Fox started his third round – and he’s putting the finishing touches to his score on the 18th green. He’ll sign for a one-under 69 (he’s +1 for the week) and has a Saturday afternoon in LA to himself.
Patrick Cantlay is ticking along very nicely. The Californian native will be very disappointed with his flat opening rounds but he is -4 through the 8th and he’s got a 5-foot birdie putt coming up at the 9th.
In it pops. He’s completed the front nine in just 30 shots: -5 for the round, -3 for the week and tied for 11th on the leaderboard.
I had a little smile when reading the words of Harris English after his second round 66. “I like how they’re not setting it up to force us to a score,” he said. “It’s just kind of setting it up as it is, and whatever you shoot, you shoot. I think the players are really liking the setup.” The reason this tickled my fancy? Only a few weeks ago English said at a tough Colonial set-up: “I like courses where par is a good score.” As Dave pointed out to me when we chatted ahead of this week’s first round, golfers do tend to find a reason to say they like whatever test they’re thriving on.
It occurred to me waking up this morning (if you live blog till 3.30 a.m., you wake thinking of golf), that this week – which has had, for obvious reasons, many Hollywood vibes – feels a little like a movie franchise in which the latest addition has had a surprise change in artistic direction.
Another golf writer, Ron Green, had a similar thought and I liked his less wordy way of putting it: “The USGA has gone more Frank Capra than Quentin Tarantino.”
Hello everyone. And what did the Flying Fox do with his little flick at the 15th green? Missed it in the left bunker. He did, of course, find the middle of the green at the longest par-three on the course, the 277-yard 7th. If I was confident that our audience is sufficiently old enough I would adopt a Jimmy Greaves accent and mutter, “It’s a funny old game, Saint.”
Not long now before the flying Fox plays the 81-yard par-3 15th. Yes, you did read that correctly. Not surprisingly it’s the shortest hole in US Open history, shaving 11 yards off the previous best: the 7th at Pebble Beach in 2010. To take you through the next couple of hours, I’ll hand over to Matt.
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How about this for a charge from Shane Lowry! He puts his approach at 9 to four feet and holes that for a fourth birdie of the day (no bogeys) and an outward nine of just 31 swishes. Suddenly he’s in a tie for 12th although that’s still eight behind Fowler. It gets forgotten a little that he had a four-shot lead after 54 holes of the 2016 US Open at Oakmont before falling away with a 76 and finishing tied second behind Dustin Johnson. Lowry shot a third-round 65 that week. He’s on track to match that here.
Patrick Cantlay is also skipping along nicely, moving up to 20th with red circles at 1, 3 and 6.
Fox is in the fairway at 14. It’s taken him just two hours and 15 minutes to get that far. That’s speedy but nothing compared to this!
.@wesleybryangolf's final round at @BMWchamps
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 17, 2017
• 1 hour, 29 minutes
• 14 pars
• 3 birdies
• 1 bogey
• 69 pic.twitter.com/pKyl16Ayes
Shane Lowry birdied 2 and 3 to get back to level par and, after a brilliant chip from a tough lie off the green, he’s added another red number at that “giveaway” 8th to go -3 for the day and -1 overall. He’s currently in a tie for 19th, nine behind Fowler.
Ryan Fox, playing alone, is sprinting around LA CC. He’s now at the 13th just as the second group out walk off 9. Fox is -2 for the day after trading four birdies with two bogeys so getting on with it is certainly working well for him.
Tommy Fleetwood hasn’t had the week he wanted but how about this for an approach to the par-5 8th. Playing for some bounce, his ball lands 40 feet short of the putting surface, rolls up and onto the green and finishes around seven feet away. He has that shortish eagle putt to return to evens for the tournament.
In the Sky commentary box, Paul McGinley expects to see some 65s today, describing the par 5s at 1 and 8 as “giveaways”.
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Rahm’s eagle try from just off the 8th green shaves the hole on its way past. That’s a birdie though and the Spaniard is -2 for the day and even par for the tournament.
Six players are -2 on their rounds so far: Ryan Fox (after 10), Rahm (8), Shane Lowry (7), Patrick Cantlay (4), Cameron Young (3), Abraham Ancer (2). All have moved into a tie for 30th. Scoring is surprisingly good but this is the easier nine and, to be fair, I’ve just mentioned a lot of exceptional golfers. Two lesser lights, Spain’s David Puig and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa (once tipped for greatness, admittedly) are both +3 after 5.
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Adam Hadwin has provided some hot social media content this week. As well as being rugby-tackled to the ground by a security guard for spraying champagne at Nick Taylor to celebrate the first home win at the Canadian Open since 1954, he also helicoptered a club into a bush yesterday. Despite that act of frustration, he scraped through to the weekend on +2 and is still there after 7 holes today.
I didn’t have to, but being the good Canadian kid I am, I didn’t think it was fair to send my caddy. 🤷🏻♂️ https://t.co/BRus5iJIvX
— adam hadwin (@ahadwingolf) June 17, 2023
His wife, Jessica Hadwin, is also a very good follow on Twitter.
We really need to do something about the endemic of these LA men talking loudly on their phones making sure everyone hears their very important, very high dollar phone call. pic.twitter.com/Dwe8JPVoAj
— Jessica Hadwin (@jessicahadwin) June 16, 2023
Also, bro next to me telling his bruh “that’s hadwin, he got the absolute sh*t kicked out of him last week” seems a tad dramatic, but I might just start joining in, telling people I heard he lost a finger and still can’t remember his date of birth lol
— Jessica Hadwin (@jessicahadwin) June 16, 2023
And the first thing those scorers do is log an Ancer eagle after a brilliant approach to three feet at 1 from the Mexican, who now plays on the LIV Tour. It vaults him to even par.
Abraham Ancer in sync today with his walking scorers. pic.twitter.com/voI8u06qyJ
— Dave Shedloski (@DaveShedloski) June 17, 2023
In contrast to Cantlay, Rickie Fowler has carved out a strong majors career without quite getting over the line and winning one. He’s a three-time runner-up, has eight top fives and in 2014 the Californian posted tied fifth at the US Masters, tied second at both Opens and tied third in the US PGA. Some going. Coach Butch Harmon has told Fowler to keep an aggressive mindset this week and it’s shown with a hard-to-fathom 18 birdies over his first 36 holes. Here’s a reminder of the leaderboard and a clip of Fowler looking ahead to day three.
-10: R Fowler
-9: W Clark
-8: R McIlroy, X Schauffele
-7: H English
-6: D Johnson, M W Lee
-5: S Bennett, S Scheffler
-4: C Smith
Heading into the weekend as the #USOpen leader is a new experience for Rickie, but he's definitely looking forward to the challenge. pic.twitter.com/l0kYrjFtqR
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 17, 2023
The mysterious case of Patrick Cantlay in the majors has continued this week. This was supposed to be a big chance for the man who was born and bred in California and has past knowledge of the course but he’s fluffed his lines yet again. Cantlay is the world No. 4 and yet has just one top seven in the majors in 25 attempts since he showed early promise by finishing as Low Amateur when 21st in the 2011 US Open at Congressional (the one Rory won by eight). He’s started with a birdie and a par today but he’s dawdling down in tied 41st – 11 back – and yet another good opportunity has slipped through his fingers. As I write this, Sky Sports show Cantlay’s 20 footer for birdie at 2 hanging on the lip and refusing to drop. It rather sums things up.
A pair of birdies for Shane Lowry at 2 and 3 and he’ll have a 40-footer at 4 for a hat-trick of red numbers. That good start has taken him up to even par alongside Fox, who has collected a couple of pars at 5 and 6. Rahm has followed his opening birdie with three pars so is still over par for the tournament at +1.
Sky Sports’ coverage has started and Nick Dougherty and Rich Beem are bathed in sunshine as they set the scene. Flags are fluttering in the background. Beem looks through the pin placements and describes 5 as “brutal” and 7 as “diabolical” but also says 9 and 14 are “pretty straightforward” while 13 is “something of a gift”. The early scoring is certainly good though but there’s some moisture in the greens and they’ll dry out as the day progresses.
Let’s get to the course and check in on some of the big names who have already started. Jon Rahm cut a hugely frustrated figure yesterday as he basically shot himself out of the tournament after a 73 which left him 2 over and 12 off the lead. He’s started birdie-par today to nudge back to tied 40th but the Masters champion is way too far back to challenge. Ditto Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry: also one birdie and one par to start which returns them to +1. Kiwi Ryan Fox is going solo today after an uneven number of players (65) made the cut which fell at +2. I’m not sure if LA CC has their own version of Masters marker Jeff Knox but Fox is enjoying himself so far with two birdies and three pars in his opening four holes to lift himself from joint last to tied 30th.
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Pin placements for round three. File them under ‘tough’, ‘wicked’, ‘brutal’ etc etc.
Hole locations for Round 3 of the 123rd #USOpen at LACC. pic.twitter.com/IWNb9s8Sfp
— U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 17, 2023
Unlike Thursday and Friday when the sun came out around 1:00, it's been bright and sunny since 7:00 AM this morning
— Andy Lack (@adplacksports) June 17, 2023
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Erm, time zones eh. Okay, let’s break the news to those on UK time as there is no way of getting around it. The last two-ball today – Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark – heads out at, erm, 11.40pm. That’s pretty pretty late. Still, no pain, no gain. It’s Sunday tomorrow and those who stick it out until maybe 4am will get rewarded by a 7am wake-up call and a lovely Father’s Day card from the kids. Smashing. Here are those tee-times.
Starting at hole one (all times BST)
17:33 Ryan Fox (NZ)
17:44 Adam Hadwin (Can), Jon Rahm (Spa)
17:55 Tommy Fleetwood (Eng), Shane Lowry (Ire)
18:06 Ryo Ishikawa (Jpn), David Puig (Spa)
18:17 Ben Carr (US), Sebastian Munoz (Col)
18:28 Patrick Cantlay (US), Russell Henley (US)
18:39 Padraig Harrington (Ire), Cameron Young (US)
18:50 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Aldrich Potgieter (SA)
19:01 Samuel Stevens (US), Maxwell Moldovan (US)
19:17 Sergio Garcia (Spa), Patrick Reed (US)
19:28 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Kevin Streelman (US)
19:39 Jordan Smith (Eng), Adam Svensson (Can)
19:50 Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn), Jacob Solomon (US)
20:01 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor)
20:12 Collin Morikawa (US), Gordon Sargent (US)
20:23 Yuto Katsuragawa (Jpn), Patrick Rodgers (US)
20:34 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Brooks Koepka (US)
20:45 Billy Horschel (US), Sahith Theegala (US)
21:01 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
21:12 Bryson DeChambeau (US), Si-Woo Kim (Kor)
21:23 Ryan Gerard (US), Keith Mitchell (US)
21:34 Sam Burns (US), Austin Eckroat (US)
21:45 Andrew Putnam (US), Eric Cole (US)
21:56 Nick Hardy (US), Romain Langasque (Fra)
22:07 Denny McCarthy (US), Gary Woodland (US)
22:18 Ryutaro Nagano (Jpn), Dylan Wu (US)
22:29 Brian Harman (US), Justin Suh (US)
22:45 Tony Finau (US), Charley Hoffman (US)
22:56 Scottie Scheffler (US), Cameron Smith (Aus)
23:07 Sam Bennett (US), Min-Woo Lee (Aus)
23:18 Harris English (US), Dustin Johnson (US)
23:29 Rory McIlroy (NI), Xander Schauffele (US)
23:40 Wyndham Clark (US), Rickie Fowler (US)
Preamble
The USGA was always going to fight back after Los Angeles Country Club yielded the two lowest scores in US Open history in round one: a pair of eyepopping 62s from Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele. And while Fowler kept the birdies coming in round two, he was the only player to reach the halfway point of this 123rd US Open in double digits under par.
Expect scoring conditions to be even tougher in round three as mother nature arrives to give the USGA further help beyond tucking pins and pushing tee boxes back. The storylines are plentiful although history says the top five on the leaderboard now have a huge advantage. How will this thing play out? Stay tuned and we’ll guide you through to the very, very early hours. Let’s play!
