Well, after a some very low rounds on Thursday to start the US Open, we have seen the scores stay fairly stagnant since. However, we did see Tom Kim set the US Open record with front nine 29, finished -4 and -3 for tournament.
The stage is set for Father's Day to plant yourself in front of the TV, and enjoy the final round of the US Open. Rickie Fowler is tied for the lead at -10 with Wyndham Clark, but there are a ton of big names still in the mix to make this tournament interesting. Let's breakdown the top players from the leaderboard.
T1. Rickie Fowler, Wyndham Clark (-10): They both hit lulls in their rounds, and they both battled back like champions. Fowler's struggles came early, and unlike the first two days, the five-time winner on the PGA Tour was able to string some pars together to keep his head above water. He entered the final hole with a two-stroke lead and walked off the green all squared when his short par putt power lipped out after Clark stuffed his approach.
3rd. Rory McIlroy (-9): I think every golf fan was salivating at the thought of a Sunday final group pairing of Rickie and Rory, but the penultimate group may serve the four-time major champion well. While he has won each of his four majors from pole position, McIlroy being in lockstep with the best player in the world (Scottie Scheffler) for 18 holes may produce the same type of play his pairing with Brooks Koepka did the first two days. The 34-year-old Irishman touched the lead with two birdies in his first three holes, but he made his first poor swing of the day on the par-3 4th resulting in bogey. McIlroy didn't play the front nine in 30 like the last two days, but perhaps more importantly, he played the back nine in even par to shoot a 69 that could bode well for him Sunday.
4th. Scottie Scheffler (-7): Scheffler's sneak attack on the field turned into an onslaught when he announced his presence on the first page of the leaderboard with an eagle-birdie finish. He got himself inside the coveted four-stroke margin mentioned above and somehow signed for the low round of the afternoon with a 68. The world No. 1's consistency continues to amaze even as equipment changes seep into his bag. Scottie stayed on the range after Friday's round and ended up switching out his driver, in addition, he also switched out his putter, which both seemed to have paid off. If his flat stick can stay hot tomorrow, watch out because he catch Rickie and Clark quickly. Yes, I am reusing the Happy Gilmore gif.
5. Harris English (-6): He was locked in early with three birdies in his first six holes and looked to be the man to threaten the final pair. A birdie on No. 10 got him to 10 under before a short miss on the difficult 11th spent him in downward spiral. English did well to only card bogeys on 11 and 18, but he will be kicking himself for dropping a shot on the lone par 5 on the back nine.
T6. Dustin Johnson, Xander Schauffele (-5): Schauffele's round felt like it could have been an 80 or a 70, but he settled with 73. He got off to a nightmare start leaving two shots in the fairway bunker (one of us!!!) on the accessible opener before dropping two more shots by the time he reached the 6th tee. Four holes later, he had clawed his way back to even par and 8 under for the tournament. Like nearly everyone this week, Schauffele was a victim of the back nine with three late bogeys. "Hit one fairway with my driver, so it was a bit of a grind to say the least," he said. "All things considered, I could have let it get away from me even more, so I guess it could have been worse, looking on the bright side." DJ walking into the club house pre round with "The Great One", Wayne Gretzky is an all time power move.
T9. Tom Kim, Cameron Smith (-3): The 20-year-old employed the same strategy of many before him. Carding six birdies against zero bogeys on the susceptible front side, Kim turned in 29 and became the fifth man to break 30 on a single nine in U.S. Open history. He tacked on another birdie on the 10th to reach 6 under for the championship, but the brutal finishing stretch at LACC had the last word and caused him to drop three shots coming in. "To be honest, that back nine is really hard," Kim said. "You just don't really have any bailouts. Those three bogeys really don't feel like bogeys because I barely missed it by a yard or two. But major championship golf, U.S. Open really brings it out of you. Would have been nice to kind of par in and see that bogey-free or see one or two more birdies, but if you told me at the start of the day, I'd take that score." Cam Smith had quite the colorful scorecard today, especially on the back 9. He's won a major before, knows what it takes, so it wouldn't shock me if he made a surge tomorrow afternoon.
Sunday Predictions:
My heart is saying Rickie finally gets it done. He has been playing too good this year, and although no wins to date on the season, what a storyline it would be for him to secure his first major championship. I would suggest he throw it back and show up in the full orange fit. You're lying if you're not intimidated of a fit like this in the final group of a major championship. No nonsense tomorrow Rick!
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