What a Moving Day that was! It moved, it gambolled, it frolicked. Justin Thomas redefined the concept, I guess, with that outrageous 63. But everyone played their part, not least Patrick Reed with his 65. Then there’s the forensic brilliance of Brian Harman. That Tommy Fleetwood isn’t half bad either, and this is before we get to Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and the 21-year-old sensation Si Woo Kim. A really superb day’s golf. Just superb. Top quality play, on a course that’s proved to possess an awful lot of character. It’s all set up for a memorable denouement tomorrow. Please join us! You wouldn’t be anywhere else, would you?
-12: Harman
-11: Thomas, Koepka, Fleetwood
-10: Fowler
-9: Kim
-8: Reed, Henley, Hoffman
-7: Haas, Steele, Snedeker, Schauffele
-6: Wiesberger, Matsuyama, Holmes
Updated
The tournament leader prowls around his putt awhile. Eventually he dribbles it down the slight slope. It looks like dropping, but skims the left lip and stays out. Never mind, that’s a par and a wonderfully controlled 67. He’ll be in the final group tomorrow, and if he plays like he did today, there’s a great chance he’ll win his first major. Unless Justin Thomas plays like he did today, in which case all bets are off.
Paul Casey splashes out from the sand, then takes two putts for his par. He looks flustered, and no wonder: that’s a 75 which has completely jiggered his chances of winning his first major. Birkdale, maybe. Over to Brian Harman, then.
Brian Harman follows, traversing the hole in smart fashion. He’s not got the length to get on in two, so takes two easy strokes to get into position for a simple wedge. He sends his third into the heart of the green, and he’ll have a look at birdie and a two-shot lead from Koepka Kountry. Meanwhile Paul Casey finds the sand guarding the front of the green with his second. Oh Paul. It’s not been his day.
Fleetwood knocks in his bogey putt. In the circumstances, that’s not a bad result. It cold have been a lot worse. We certainly feared the worst when his putt toppled off down that bank. So that’s some up and down. And perversely, the experience may stand him in good stead tomorrow, should he remain in contention and the nerves kick in again. Koepka meanwhile doesn’t hit his eagle putt, but the birdie’s a gimme and the pair shake hands on 68s. They’re both -11, and that’s a fine day’s work.
Yep, the nerves have kicked in all right. And this is horrible to watch. Fleetwood’s faced with a long, slow, uphill putt ... but he horribly overhits it, and sends the ball skittering past the hole and falling down the left-hand bank of the green. It ends up 30 yards below the flag. So he does rather well to settle himself and flop a chip to four feet. He’ll at least have a chance to salvage a bogey from this mess.
Updated
Tommy Fleetwood’s come all this way today without making a mistake ... and then he sends a weak chip into 18. The ball doesn’t get up the bank, and rolls back towards him, only just staying on the green. This will be a long two putts for his par. Hey, Rickie Fowler scrambled from here. But for the first time, the young man from Southport has betrayed some major-championship nerves.
Brian Harman tidies up for his par. That’s sensational course management after a bad drive. Watch and learn, kids. Take your medicine. Up on 18, Tommy Fleetwood lays up, but Brooks Koepka creams a fairway wood into the heart of the green. It’s not quite in the Justin Thomas league, but it’s pretty sensational anyway. He’ll have a look at eagle from 25 feet.
Now it’s Harman’s turn to take a good hard slug on the medicine bottle. He wedges out of the fescue, then clips a sugar-coated third to ten feet. He’s given himself a chance to scramble a precious par, a lesson for us all. Meanwhile up on 18, Fowler takes his two putts and that’s a par and a 68. He’s -10, on the shoulder of the leaders tomorrow. Jamie Lovemark meanwhile signs for a 74, and he’s -4. But that’s sheer street-fighting brilliance from Rickie Fowler, whose round threatened to unravel midway through the back nine. Fowler wasn’t having that. And here he is!
Tommy Fleetwood is an inch or so away from draining a 35-foot birdie putt across 17. He stays at -12. Brooks Koepka settles for par as well, in less dramatic circumstances. He’s -10. Back on the tee, Fleetwood’s co-leader Brian Harman sends his drive into the fescue down the left. His face falls, a picture of glumness. And no wonder, he’ll do well to save his par from there. Meanwhile up on 18, Fowler takes his medicine and splashes back out onto the fairway, then sends a slightly hysterical long iron sailing this way and that through the air. It eventually reaches the front apron. He’ll have two putts from distance for his par, and a 68.
Rickie Fowler has fought so hard to get back into serious contention, he can’t throw it away down the par-five 18th, can he? Well, he’s just sent a wild hook into the dunes down the left. Let’s see how that pans out in a minute. Meanwhile up on the green, Si Woo Kim makes par and signs for a 69. He’s three off the lead at -9. At the US Open. He’s 21! JB Holmes meanwhile scribbles his name on a 72 after his birdie attempt lips out.
Brian Harman plays it safe with a tee shot at 16 into the heart of the green. Doesn’t toy with the flag, up near the sand. Still, putting like he putts ... he very nearly rolls the 50-footer into the cup for an outrageous birdie. But that’s a par, and he stays in a tie for the lead at -12. Harman won the Wells Fargo in North Carolina recently by rattling in a big putt across the final green. He knows what he’s doing with the flat stick all right.
Marc Leishman’s round went a wee bit pear-shaped on the back nine. A double-bogey at 12, and a bogey at 16, and he ended up with a level-par 72 that doesn’t really do him much good. He’s back at -4, alongside the amateur Cameron Champ, who carded a decent 73 today. Trey Mullinax shot a fine 69 to take him up to -4. And Xander Schauffele ended up with a 70 that has him tied for tenth spot alongside Bill Haas and Brendan Steele, who both signed their names to a 69.
Brooks Koepka finds the heart of 16 in the average style. But he very nearly drains the long birdie putt. It skates past the cup and that’s just a par. It’s just a par for Fleetwood too, who tugs his birdie putt a bit, the ball staying out on the left. Meanwhile Kim misses a short one for birdie on 17. The young man’s let a couple slip by today. And back on 15, Harman rolls in a ten footer for another birdie: he’s five under for his round too, and now in the lead with Fleetwood!
-12: Fleetwood (16), Harman (15)
-11: Thomas (F)
-10: Fowler (17), Koepka (16)
-9: Kim (17)
When things are going your way, they really go your way. Tommy Fleetwood nearly sends his tee shot at the par-three 16th into the sand to the left of the green. But it bounces on the very edge of the bunker, breaks straight, lands at the back of the green, then u-turns towards the hole. It’s not threatening to go in, but sails past the cup and stops eight feet below. Instead of a tricky short-sided sand shot, he’ll have a great look at a birdie that’d extend his lead!
Tommy Fleetwood flays his drive at the short par-four 15th way left. He’s fortunate to find a patch of ground atop a hill where the grass is trodden down by punters. It allows him to flop a chip to within eight feet. And in goes the putt that gives him the lead of the US Open! Koepka can only par the hole. Here, with all the noise surrounding Justin Thomas’s wonderful 63, it’s easy to forget that Fleetwood is now five-under par for his round!
-12: Fleetwood (15)
-11: Thomas (F), Harman (14)
-10: Fowler (16), Koepka (15)
-9: Kim (16)
Fowler continues to astonish and amaze. He sends a gentle draw into the par-three 16th, and he’ll have an eight-footer for a third birdie in a row. In it goes! He’s -10, and this is a stunning turnaround by one of the most popular players on tour! The crowd respond accordingly. The cheer is so loud, you’d be forgiven for thinking Beef was in the middle of the gallery handing out tickets to the Open again.
A slightly sad end to Brandt Snedeker’s fine round. He flies his approach to 18 through the green, then fails to bump his chip back up the bank. He gets the second one up, but that’s a bogey and a 70. He’s -7 and in contention tomorrow. Meanwhile on the par-five 14th, Brian Harman sends a massive left-to-right bump-and-run into the heart of the green, then rolls the 12-footer he leaves himself into the hole for birdie. He joins Thomas and Fleetwood in the lead!
Fowler drives into sand guarding the front left of the short par-four 15th. He’s got an awkward downhill lie, and no stance, but splashes out across a large expanse of green to six feet. And he plops the birdie putt into the cup! That’s a brilliant response from Fowler, whose challenge looked to be heading south when he fluffed that chip at 13. But he regrouped, got up and down to limit the damage to bogey, and now he’s strung a couple of birdies together to re-energise himself! He’s -9, just two off the lead!
Birdie for the Players champion Si Woo Kim at 15. He’s quietly crept up the leader board after a rocky start to this round. He’s -9 now, two off the lead. Meanwhile on 14, Brooks Koepka rattles a monster eagle putt down the hill. It hits the cup flush, but leaps out and rolls six feet past. That’s not a gimme for birdie, and he’ll feel aggrieved if he was so close to eagle but went away with par. Happily, he knocks in the return and moves to -10. His partner Tommy Fleetwood, on the green in two big hits, suffers no such drama en route to his birdie. A birdie that takes him into a share of the lead!
-11: Thomas (F), Fleetwood (14)
-10: Koepka (14), Harman (13)
-9: Kim (15)
-8: Reed (F), Henley (F), Hoffman (F), Snedeker (17), Schauffele (17), Fowler (14)
Rickie Fowler responds to dropping that shot at 13 with birdie on the par-five 14th. He’s back to -8 and not giving up his dream quite yet. Charley Hoffman meanwhile finishes up with birdie on 18, wedging pin high to eight feet and rolling the putt into the cup. That’s a fine round of 68. Out in 31, it could have been a whole lot better, but that’s a positive end to a tricky back nine, and he’ll be feeling happy enough to be in the clubhouse after 54 holes at -8, three off the lead at the US Open!
Brendan Steele had been going so well. But he sends his approach at 17 down the bank to the right of the green, and his attempt to send a Mickelsonesque flop back up the hill goes horribly wrong. His second attempt only just grips onto the fringe, momentarily thinking about rolling back for a second time. He ends up carding a double, and drops back to -7, off our leader board...
-11: Thomas (F)
-10: Fleetwood (13), Harman (11)
-9: Koepka (13)
-8: Reed (F), Henley (F), Snedeker (16), Schauffele (15), Kim (14)
Some more admin. Russell Henley birdies the last, and signs for an excellent, blemish-free 67. He’s -8. Brandt Snedeker birdies 13, 15 and 16 to move to -8. Brooks Koepka birdies 12 in the fuss-free style; he’s -9. Charley Hoffman goes backwards with bogeys at 15 and 17. Bernd Wiesberger signs for a 69; he’s -6 overall.
It’s just not happening for Rickie Fowler. He sends his tee shot into a swale to the side of the par-three 13th, and duffs his chip up. His second effort is much better, to a couple of feet, and he tidies up for bogey. He drops to -7, but isn’t out of this yet by any stretch. He just needs to hang on in there. A strong finish, and he’s right back in the thick of it. Harman meanwhile flashes a glorious iron into 11, straight at the flag. He’s left with a five-footer for his birdie. In it goes, and he’s -10. He’s joined there, one shot off Justin Thomas’s lead, by Tommy Fleetwood, who rolls in a 15-footer for birdie at 12.
Updated
Sergio had a pretty quiet day by his own standards. That was until the last four holes, anyway. Then he finished birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie, chipping to a couple of feet at the last. That ensured his third under-par round this week, a 71. He’s -4. It’s not going to be enough to win, but this is a decent performance in his first outing at a major as a major champion. Another bit of admin: Beef signed for a one-over 73, and he ends the day at -1.
Back-to-back birdies for Brendan Steele! And there’s no excuse to ignore him now. This latest one at 15 moves him into a tie for second with Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman at -9. Meanwhile on 13, Kim rakes a long birdie putt into the cup to move to -8.
A word on Eddie Pepperell. The 26-year-old Englishman shot a fine round of 69 today. He wasn’t far from making birdie on the last, either, which would have made a great round even better. He sits nicely at -4, alongside Paul Casey, who gamely tried to respond to his early-round horrors with birdie at 8, but has just handed the shot back with an addled three-putt at 10.
Again we’ve been forgetting about Brendan Steele. His birdie on 14 brings him up to -8. Russell Henley has been doing rather nicely, very quietly, as well. Birdies at 8, 10, 13 and 15 have taken him to -7. The Players champ Si Woo Kim 7, 8 and 11 to rise to -7. And Xander Schauffele is bobbing this way and that with metronomic precision: bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie since the turn, and he remains at -7.
Justin Thomas has just shot the round of his life. The other players to shoot a 63 in a US Open? The aforementioned Johnny Miller, plus Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf and Vijay Singh. Not bad company to keep, huh. And yet he still has the time to sign a golf ball for the young lad carrying the match scoreboard, and thank him for his hard work. “Thanks, I appreciate it,” Thomas says as he shakes the hand of the lad, who can barely suppress his joy. A lovely moment. And now here the record-breaker is, talking to Sky.
I had no idea in terms of the relation to par. Every golfer knows what 63 means. I wasn’t trying to make three. We were just trying to get in position to make four. It’s obviously a great honour!
Phew. Now, where are we? Charley Hoffman misses a par putt from 12 feet on 15 to drop to -8. Brian Harman clips his tee shot at 9 to six feet and birdies to move up to -9. No, this isn’t getting any less hectic now Justin Thomas has gone. “This US Open is like one of those absurd 5-4 football matches with four lead changes, a sending off, and the winner bounces in off a beachball,” opines Hubert O’Hearn. “Stars? Pffftttt. Who needs stars? The US Open makes stars!”
-11: Thomas (F)
-9: Fleetwood (10), Harman (9)
-8: Reed (F), Hoffman (15), Steele (14), Fowler (11), Koepka (10)
Glass Half Empty dept.: Of course, Thomas could have become the first man to shoot a 62 in a major, given that he missed that tiddler for eagle on 15. But you’d have to be some sort of churl to bring that up. Erm. Yes, scrub that. What an astonishing performance! And what an eagle on the last! This brilliant young man has been tipped for a major breakthrough for some time now, expected to follow in Jordan Spieth’s footsteps. Well, a 63 in a major championship is some statement. Still 18 more holes to go, of course. But this could be his breakthrough moment! Now that’s how to move on Moving Day!
Updated
Justin Thomas is made to wait for an age by his partner Jonathan Randolph, who faffs around on his way to bogey. Thomas sits on his bag, looking as cool as a cucumber. Monsieur Zen. He eventually gets a go to make history. He steps up and gently prods his eight footer into the cup! Never missing! No drama! The crowd erupt! That’s the best round ever to par in a US Open: nine under! And he joins that elite club to shoot 63 in a major championship. It’s the 31st time it’s been done, and he’s the 29th golfer to do it. The first instance? Johnny Miller at Oakmont in 1973, the US Open to-par record that’s just been wiped out!
Updated
While we wait for Thomas to do his thing, some admin. Charley Hoffman joins the current leaders at -9 with a birdie at 14. Rickie Fowler makes an amazing two-putt for par from 100 feet on 10, judging the first one exquisitely as it travels o’er hill and dale. He’s -8. On the par-five 7th, Brian Harman makes a fine par save having hacked his way through fescue and sand all the way up the hole. He stays at -8 too. And birdie for Xander Schauffele on 11; he’s -7.
The lowest score to par in any round of a US Open was Johnny Miller’s eight-under 63 in the final round of the 1973 event. Justin Thomas is seven under for his round today, and he’s just blasted a mammoth drive down the 667-yard par-five 18th. And now he’s just blast-caressed a fairway wood straight at the flag. “Oh gosh, be good!” He’s eight feet from the flag! If he knocks that in, he’ll break Miller’s US Open record to par, and join the elite major-championship 63 club!
Updated
And now Southport’s Tommy Fleetwood rolls in a 22-footer on 8 for a share of the lead! This is a wonderfully topsy-turvy US Open!
-9: Thomas (17), Fleetwood (8)
-8: Reed (F), Hoffman (13), Fowler (9), Koepka (8), Harman (6)
-7: Steele (12), Holmes (9)
Beef is a couple of inches away from draining an 80-footer for birdie on 16. The crowd go ballistic anyway. And there’s a fair bit of noise over on 9, where Rickie Fowler claps a stunning tee shot to six feet, and knocks in for a brilliant bounce-back birdie. He’s back to -8, but he doesn’t get a share of the lead, because Justin Thomas - who missed an eagle putt recently from four or five feet - rakes home a 40-footer on 17 to move to -9! The vagaries of this precision club-and-ball sport, ladies and gentlemen!
Rickie Fowler bogeys 8, the result of missing the fairway with his drive. He could only find an awkward position on the green with his approach. So awkward, in fact, that he was forced to play a Sergio-style wedge off the putting surface, in order to circumvent a ridge jutting into the green. He doesn’t get close, and he’s back to -7. (Sergio, incidentally, just hasn’t got going today. Bogeys at 1 and 12 and a birdie at 2, and he’s back at -2.)
Joyous news of everyone’s favourite sports star: Beef. He started well, with a couple of birdies on the opening holes. But shedding a shot at 3 disrupted his rhythm and it all went a bit south after the turn: bogeys at 11, 13 and 14. Back to level par. Now he’s got a 15-foot birdie putt at 15. He clacks it way too hard, and he’s sure he’s missing it on the right. He strides after it in dejection, only for the hole to somehow snaffle the ball. The crowd erupt in delight. Beef makes no effort whatsoever to pretend he knew it was going in. He stops, raises his eyebrows, shrugs, and cracks the widest smile you’ve seen all week. The gallery are eating out of the palm of his hand! Imagine if this guy was to ever win a major championship. Imagine the celebrations worldwide! They might as well stop all sport, there’d be no more worlds left to conquer.
Charley Hoffman was a dimple or so away from knocking in a straight uphill birdie putt on 11 that would have given him sole ownership of the lead. That was his own fault for not hitting a simple one. But he’s so unlucky not to make birdie on the 12th. He’s got a gentle downhill 15-footer that snakes awkwardly left then a little right. It’s surely dropping, perfectly paced, but somehow turns further right on the very last turn. Par, and he’s within his rights to sport an aggrieved look on his coupon. He stays in the seven-strong gang at -8.
Have I mentioned Brendan Steele yet? Nope? Well, more fool me. The 34-year-old Californian hasn’t done much in the majors at all, but all that may be about to change. He’s out in 33 this morning, with birdies at 2, 5, 6, 7, and 9 more than cancelling out bogeys at 3 and 4. Hence his presence on the leader board. He’s -7 through 10. Fowler meanwhile birdies 7 to join the big group at the top.
Oh for goodness sake. No eagle for Justin Thomas: he yips a simply dreadful putt to the left of the cup. That’s still a birdie, but given the sheer quality of his tee shot, he’ll be feeling like Paul Casey right now. OK, not quite as bad as Paul Casey. But he is livid with himself. Still, when it all comes down, he’s in the leading pack.
-8: Reed (F), Thomas (15), Hoffman (11), Koepka (6), Fleetwood (6), Harman (4)
-7: Leishman (10), Steele (10), Matsuyama (9), Schauffele (8), Fowler (6)
Brian Harman lands his approach to 4 six feet short of the hole. That’s a bounce-back birdie, and he’s -8 again. His partner Paul Casey continues to move backwards, though; a bogey drops him to -4 and he’ll be desperate to snap out of his funk like he did yesterday. Remember he followed triple with bogey then too, only to respond with a run of five birdies. Lightning rarely strikes twice, but he’s got to believe it. As things stand, his US Open bid is unravelling at speed.
Justin Thomas creams his 3-wood at the short 288-yard par-four 15th. “Be as good as you look!” Oh it is! He’s played another beauty. That lands on the fringe of the green, and works its way towards the hole, six feet from the flag. Six feet away for eagle! What reward for being brave enough to take an aggressive line over rough and bunkers. Had he got it wrong: trouble. But as things stand, he could be leapfrogging into the lead here. Tell you what, a Thomas-Reed shoot-out tomorrow would be some final pairing. We’ve been spoilt in the majors recently, with Stenson-Mickelson, Walker-Day and Garcia-Rose. Why not make it four in a row? Let’s get greedy!
Brooks Koepka turned the corner with that battling par on 4 all right. He curls in a 15-footer on 5 for a birdie that brings him into a share of the lead at -8. Tommy Fleetwood nearly follows him in, but his effort dies off to the left. He stays at -8. On the long par-three 6th, Rickie Fowler drives into a swale to the right of the green, then bumps a gorgeous effort from a seemingly impossible position to four feet. What a scramble! He remains at -7.
An errant approach to 10 by Charley Hoffman, lost away to the left, eventually costs the leader a shot. He drops back into the suddenly much smaller pack at -8. Incidentally, Patrick Reed’s 65 means this is the first time in US Open history that four players have shot rounds of seven under in the same tournament. Rickie Fowler on Thursday, Chez Reavie and Hideki Matsuyama yesterday, and the big man today.
-8: Reed (F), Hoffman (10), Fleetwood (4)
-7: Thomas (13), Leishman (9), Steele (9), Matsuyama (8), Schauffele (7), Fowler (5), Koepka (4), Harman (3)
Paul Casey took a triple-bogey eight at 14 yesterday. He could be in a similar bind now. He gets a drop from the fescue because his ball was embedded. But he has to drop back into the long grass, and takes a swipe under his ball once that’s done. It doesn’t move. He punches his second, in great frustration, through the green and off the front. His long rake for bogey goes 12 feet past, and he can’t make the one coming back. That’s another triple, and you can’t keep doing that if you’re to win a US Open. Harman meanwhile chips up from the back, but misses the eight footer for par. He goes back to -7, while Casey tumbles all the way down to -5.
Fleetwood gets up and down from the sand at 4 for his par. As does Koepka! Both have gotten away with daft errors on that hole. Meanwhile up on 18, Patrick Reed watches in horror as a five-foot birdie attempt lips out on the left. He leans back and screams, an ersatz Langer At Kiawah. But that’s par, and it’s still a marvellous 65 that’s hauled him right into this US Open! He ends the day at -8, and won’t be miles away tonight.
Updated
Marc Leishman isn’t going away any time soon. He opened today with birdies at 1 and 2; another birdie now at 8, and he’s hoicked himself up the leader board to -7. Here, that looks fairly manageable right now, so here goes...
-9: Hoffman (9)
-8: Reed (17), Fleetwood (3), Harman (2), Casey (2)
-7: Thomas (13), Leishman (7), Fowler (4), Koepka (3)
The last two groups are putting each other off right now. Dragging each other down. On 3, Harman misses the green long and left. Casey responds by slicing into the fescue on the right. Up on 4, Koepka can only slam-dunk into sand from the thick stuff he drove into. His partner Fleetwood matches him by finding a beachy trap of his own, a daft mistake from the centre of the fairway.
The leader Hoffman clacks his tee shot at 9 pin high, but lets his birdie putt from 12 feet drift off to the right. He’s still turning in 31 strokes; that’s some run at a US Open, whether the course has its defences down or not. Rickie Fowler meantime does very well to get up and down from sand while shortsided at 4.
A simply sensational birdie for Justin Thomas at 12. He’s in deep fescue down the right, but powers out onto the green, his ball scampering round the banking on the right side of the putting surface and ending up six feet from the hole. That’s one of the shots of the week, and he doesn’t mess up the narrative by missing the putt. He’s back up to -7. Brooks Koepka meanwhile bogeys 3, a result of finding sand with his drive, and drops out of the pack at -8. He then wangs his drive at 4 into deep filth. Time to regroup, and quickly.
Charley Hoffman takes sole ownership of the lead by sending his second at 8 dead at the flag. A simple, straight four footer up the green and that’s a birdie that brings him to -9. In the US, host broadcaster Fox flash up a caption detailing the most strokes under par at any point in a US Open. Rory McIlroy leads the way: he reached -17 in 2011. Tiger Woods is next; he made it to -12 in 2000. And then there’s Gil Morgan, who reached -12 as well in 1992. Rory and Tiger won, but much good that did Morgan, who finished 77-81 and didn’t even end up in the top ten.
Updated
A word on Bill Haas, who entertained us from the rough and the sand with that highly erratic start. You’ll have noticed him on the latest leader board: that’s a result of birdies at 5 and 7. Louis Oosthuizen meanwhile has finished with a 68. A fine round, which should see him at least on the fringes of contention tomorrow, although it would have been so much better without the hash he made of 17. That double really cost him. He’s due a second major, long overdue. But on balance, this doesn’t look like being it. Another Open next month at Birkdale?
Oh all right then. Poor, lonely Rickie Fowler.
-8: Reed (16), Hoffman (7), Koepka (2), Fleetwood (2), Harman (1), Casey (1)
-7: Fowler (3)
-6: Thomas (11), Haas (7), Leishman (6), Matsuyama (5), Kim (3), Lovemark (3)
Patrick Reed isn’t to be denied! He hits his tee shot at 16 pin high, and slides in a right-to-left 30-footer for another birdie! His third in a row, and fourth in five holes! He joins the leading group at -8. And not long after, he’s followed to the toppermost of the poppermost by Charley Hoffman, who has started out with birdies at 1, 2, 5 and 7. That isn’t the end of it, either, as Paul Casey bumps up from the bank by the side of 1 to set up a birdie, while his playing partner Brian Harman finds the middle of the green with two uncharacteristically big smashes, then shaves the hole with his eagle attempt. They’re both at -8 too. Six players sharing the lead! I’d post the latest leader board, but the internet isn’t wide enough.
Birdie for Patrick Reed on 15, and he’s grabbed a share of the lead at -7! But for how long? Not long, is the answer to that. On 1, a few microseconds later, Tommy Fleetwood strokes a 12-foot birdie putt into the cup to move to -8, while his playing partner Brooks Koepka hits two big booms and two calm putts to join him. Up on 2, meanwhile, Rickie Fowler misses a simple six-footer to keep up the pace. Par, and he stays at -7. Moving Day is moving all right. And here’s a much more manageable leader board!
-8: Fleetwood (1), Koepka (1)
-7: Reed (15), Hoffman (6), Fowler (2), Casey, Harman
Kim misses a tiddler on 2 for another birdie. The young man seethes, and tidies up for par. No share of the lead for him. Yet. He’s -6. Meanwhile the two hottest players out on the course suddenly go backwards. A three-putt bogey for Justin Thomas at 10, and a double for Louis Oosthuizen at 17, a result of a poor drive into the oomska down the left and a very aggressive long par putt. They’re -6 and -4 respectively, and their travails serve as a timely reminder that this course still has teeth to bare.
An opening birdie for the Players champion Si Woo Kim: he’s -6. Coming in the group behind: the first-round leader Rickie Fowler, who wedges his approach close, to five feet, setting up a fast start for a player who stumbled badly along the closing stretch yesterday. In it pops! A spring in his step already. There wouldn’t be a more popular winner. Not even Beef.
-7: Thomas (9), Hoffman (5), Fowler (1), Casey, Harman, Fleetwood, Koepka
-6: Oosthuizen (16), Reed (14), Leishman (4), Matsuyama (3), Schauffele (2), Kim (1), Lovemark (1)
-5: No, that’s your lot right now, these concertinaed leader boards are killing me
Charley Hoffman joins the leading group as well. He birdies 5 to make it to -7. Patrick Reed meanwhile has made it up to -6 with birdies at 12 and now 14. They’re flying in right now, with the wind down and the greens receptive. There could be an awful lot of shoogling around on the Moving Day leader board.
Jordan Spieth nearly rakes in a 30-footer on the last. Unfortunately, that was for bogey. A sorry end to a round that also included bogeys at 13 and 17. Back in 40, he signs for a 76 and he’s +4. He needed something special today; he didn’t get it. Another big-name casualty of Erin Hills.
Justin Thomas joins the leaders at -7! He sends his tee shot at the par-three 9th over the flag. He’s got a 20-footer coming back for birdie. A gentle left-to-right curl, judged perfectly, and he’s walking that in. He’s out in 31 and yes, he is ready to finally make his mark at the business end of a major championship.
Bill Haas has started out in very strange fashion. He very nearly holed out from the rough down the right of 1 for eagle, tapping in for birdie. Now he’s handed the shot back in equally spectacular fashion, taking ball instead of sand from a greenside bunker at 4. The little dappled orb flew out at high velocity, and was sure to land in a trap on the other side of the green. But it hit a bank and sprang back onto the green, nearly rolling back into the bunker it was initially in. Two putts later, and that’s a bogey. He’s -4, and worth the price of entrance alone.
Updated
Thanks to Rob. It’s a day of moving all right. So with Justin Thomas just having birdied 7 and 8, the latter after a gorgeous approach that used the bank at the back of the green to gather the ball towards the hole; Marc Leishman opening with birds at 1 and 2; Louis Oosthuizen making another birdie at 15; Hideki Matsuyama knocking in a 15-foot par saver at 1 then making birdie at 2; and Xander Schauffele starting out by picking up a stroke; here’s the latest leader board:
-7: Casey, Harman, Fleetwood, Koepka
-6: Oosthuizen (15), Thomas (8), Hoffman (4), Leishman (3), Matsuyama (2), Schauffele (1), Lovemark, Fowler, Holmes
Has there ever been a more wonderfully named pairing than Cameron Champ and Xander Schauffele? They have just teed off at the 1st hole amid the cries of ‘go champ’. It’s still an annoying phrase, even when it is apt. Anyway, that’s enough of my inconsequential opinions. I’ll hand back to Scott to take you forward.
Updated
Patrick Reed has the American Ryder Cup colours on today and they seem to be inspiring him. He chips in from just off the green at 12 and celebrates as if he’s just denied Europe a nailed-on half. That’s -4 for the day for Reed after a disappointing 75 yesterday. He’s -5 and threatening to put himself in the mix for the final day.
Updated
That man Hoffman is not hanging around. He had followed his birdie four at the 1st with a three at the par-four 2nd. Casey, Koepka, Fowler and the other big guns at the top of the leader board are preparing to go out over the next hour and they’ll hope to replicate some of the early low scoring we’ve seen today. Zach Johnson is the leader in the clubhouse on -3 under after a final birdie at the 18th gave him a fine 68 today.
Charley Hoffman is not a man who regularly features at the business end of majors. The Californian finished ninth at the 2015 Masters but has never ended higher than 35th in any of the others. He did, though, sink nine birdies in a seven-under-par 65 to take a remarkable four-shot lead after day one of this year’s Masters before falling away, so he is in some kind of form. A birdie here at Erin Hills on the opening hole of his third round has taken him to -5 alongside Oosthuizen. Two rounds of 70 means he has gone under the radar but this guy can play.
Unperturbed by his narrow failure to sink a 30-footer for birdie on 10, Oosthuizen has birdied the 11th and come mighty close to another at 12. Lodewicus Theodorus Oosthuizen is now the leader on the course at -5. He is -5 for the day and on the charge.
Updated
Thanks Scott, and hello to you all. I arrive bearing good news for Garcia fans as the Masters champion has immediately put his opening bogey behind him to birdie the 2nd. A mid-range putt is rolled straight into the middle of the cup to return the Spaniard to -3. With the major monkey off his back could Garcia mount another charge? Maybe, just maybe.
A miserable start to the round for the Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who can’t get up and down from the bank to the left of the 1st green and bogeys. He drops to -2. Meanwhile the 22-year-old Alabamian Trey Mullinax, making his major debut this week, has birdied 5 and 7 to move the other way to -3.
And with that I’ll be sloping off to grab a quick bite to eat. Rob Bleaney will be your trusty friend and guide, and I’ll see you again soon!
Zach Johnson’s never going to reach the par-five 18th in two; it’s measuring 637 yards today. He lays up, then sends his wedge to three feet. In goes the birdie putt. That negates a bogey at 17, and he’s signing for a four-under 68. He’s -3. Back on the par-three 6th, Jack Maguire makes another birdie with a 35-foot rake across the green; he’s 3. And Kevin Na reaches the turn in 34, with birdies at 2 and 9; he rises up the leader board to -2.
Reed chips in from 40 yards down the fairway at 8! That’s three birdies on the bounce, he’s -4, and he’ll be ruing coming back in 40 last night already. Beef makes it a birdie-birdie start with a big drive and a chip to six feet at 2: he’s -4 as well! And they’re alongside Oosthuizen, who is a dimple away from draining a 30-foot birdie putt on 10. His ball inexplicably slides six or seven feet past, but he makes the return putt in ice-cold fashion.
A brisk start to the day by Justin Thomas, who is just about due to make a serious impression at the business end of a major. With this in mind, he’s birdied 1 and 2 to move to -4. The same could be said for Patrick Reed, who has yet to finish in the top ten of a major despite his absurd talent. After a bogey at 5 that cancelled out his early birdie at 2, he’s just carded back-to-back birdies at 6 and 7 to rise to -3. And alongside him on the leader board: the amateur Scottie Scheffler, who birdies 4 and 5. There’s going to be an awful lot of movement on this leader board when day three really gets going. Bear with us, will you.
Speaking of sizzling, Beef is out and about, having eschewed practice in order to hand out some “magic tickets” to fans for next month’s Open at Royal Birkdale. Flights and accommodation were also included, apparently, a wheeze dreamt up by his sponsors Arby’s, the favourite restaurant of David Puddy. Other fast-food outlets are available, we should stress. I’d pop down to Chick-fil-A myself, you can’t beat those waffle fries with ranch. As for Beef’s golf? The Willy Wonka de nos jours has just birdied the opening hole to move to -3! Beeeeeeeeeeeef! Is there a more likeable star in world sport right now?
Yep, here comes Oosthuizen. He’s just stroked in a 15-foot right-to-left slider on 8 for another birdie, and he’s -4. That’s been followed up with an easy wedge over the flag at the 123-yard par-three 9th. He can’t make the 25-foot putt coming back, but that’s par and he’s out in 32 strokes. When he’s hot, he’s hot.
More Moving Day movement! Zach Johnson, out in 33, momentarily drifted backwards with bogey at 12. But he’s just carded back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16, and is now up to -3. Alongside him on the leader board is Louis Oosthuizen, who indeed appears in the mood for one of his birdie rampages. He’s just made his third of the day, at 7. Oosthuizen’s compatriot Thomas Aiken has started in the sprightly fashion too, with an opening-hole birdie to join those chaps at -3.
The 117th US Open has thrown up some interesting stats. It’s the first time the top three players in the world have all missed the cut in the same major: well done to Dustin, Rory and Jason for making that quirky piece of history. It’s the first time there have been three rounds of seven under par in the first 36 holes of a US Open: congratulations to Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama and Chez Reavie, all of whom have shot 65 this week. (At a guess, that will beat the record set at the 1980 event, when Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf both shot opening-day 63s on a par-70 course. But don’t quote me.) And it’s the first time in 43 years since four players have shared the US Open lead at halfway. That last happened in the 1974 staging at Winged Foot, when Arnold Palmer, Ray Floyd, Gary Player and eventual winner Hale Irwin led after Friday. Some company for Paul Casey, Brian Harman, Tommy Fleetwood and Brooks Koepka to be keeping.
It’s a wee bit overcast at Erin Hills now. Speaking of dark clouds, there will be one following Ernie Els around at the moment, on account of a three-putt bogey on the opening hole. The 1994 and 1997 champion slips back to -1 for the tournament. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth looks extremely unlikely to join Els on the roll of honour as a multiple US Open champion this year: having birdied 8, he’s pretty much immediately handed the shot back to the field with bogey at 10. He’s +1.
Not much moving on Moving Day yet. Ah hold on! What ho! Here’s 22-year-old Jack Maguire from Florida, making his major championship debut as a professional (though he played in the US Open as an amateur at Chambers Bay a couple of years ago). He started the day at -1 after opening rounds of 70 and 73; he’s now catapulted himself up to -3 with an eagle on the 1st! The 2012 champion Webb Simpson is putting something together as well: three birdies in a row at 14, 15 and 16 send him up the leader board to -1.
Stewart Cink pars. And pars again. A four at 5, a three at 6. Ah well. It wasn’t to be. But don’t let anyone knock you for your hopes and dreams, kids.
If You Think Dustin, Rory And Jason Have It Bad dept.
No mention of Zach Johnson in that group at -2, you’ll have noticed. That’s because he’s just bogeyed 12 to drop back to -1. But there’s finally some good news for Jordan Spieth, who screeches another wedge to a halt near the flag, this time at 8. And this time he makes no mistake from close range, stroking in his birdie putt and moving back to level par. He’s not been putting well: that left-to-right slider will have given him a little surge of confidence.
Updated
Another birdie for Louis Oosthuizen, at 4. He likes a birdie blitz, does the 2010 Open winner, and he needs one today if he’s to seriously trouble the leaders. He’s -2 overall. Meanwhile the 25-year-old South Korean major debutant Whee Kim has birdied the opening hole, and Martin Laird picks up a shot at 3; they join Oosthuizen and Patrick Reed (plus several other players yet to tee it up today) at -2.
A second par for Tyler Light! This one’s at 13, and he’s in serious danger of ruining a very interesting, very colourful card with some common-or-garden scoring. Stewart Cink is doing his level best to take up the slack: another bogey for him, at 5, and he’s dropped five shots in the first four holes. The dream of the no-par card stays alive!
A disappointing back nine for Patrick Reed yesterday. Having moved to -5 after very nearly holing his tee shot at 9, he came home in 40 strokes: a double at 12, a bogey at 15, another dropped shot at 17. A miserable 75, undoing most of the good work of his opening-day 68. But he’s started fresh today, with birdie at 2 to move to -2. Meanwhile on the par-five 7th, Jordan Spieth lays up, then spins a wedge to five feet. He really should make birdie this time, but pushes the short putt wide right. Par, and he stays at +1. His flat stick’s cold; 2015 seems a long time ago right now.
Jordan Spieth still can’t get anything going. Pars at 4, 5 and 6. He remains at +1. Elsewhere, Rafa Cabrera Bello birdies 7 and 9 to reach the turn in 34; he’s -1. Kevin Na birdies 2 to rise to -1. Matt Kuchar bogeys 10 to drop back to level par. And Tyler Light makes up for that outrageous par at 10 with bogey at 11 and his first double at 12. He’s propping up the leader board at +7, though he’s being chased down with extreme prejudice by 2009 Open winner Stewart Cink, who has opened his third round with a double bogey followed by two bogeys. He’s +4.
Louis Oosthuizen carded the lowest final three rounds in US Open history at Chambers Bay in 2015: 66, 66, 67. On the way to that final-day 67, he came back in 29 shots, having made six birdies in the last seven holes. Wow. Enough to win the tournament at a canter, yes? Problem was, he’d shot 77 on the opening day, dragged down by his playing partners Tiger Woods (80) and Rickie Fowler (81). What a fiasco that was! And so he came up short, a shot shy of eventual winner Jordan Spieth. So he’ll be hoping he isn’t to be scuppered again this year by another slow start. He shot 70 yesterday, and has opened with a birdie today. All well and good... except for that 74 on Thursday. He’s -1 overall, six off the lead, and long overdue a second major.
Few mentioned Zach Johnson at the start of the week, so much importance having been placed on length off the tee. But that theory’s been utterly debunked thanks to the forensic success of Brian Harman and the travails of Big Dustin, Rory and the rest. That’ll have given the 2007 Masters and 2015 Open champion succour, and he’s in the mood today all right. We already know about those birdies at 1 and 2; well, he’s added another at 9 to reach the turn in 33. He’s -2 overall. His partner Matt Kuchar matches that birdie at 9 to reach the turn in 34 himself; he’s -1. And in the following group, Gary Woodland adds a birdie at 8, then pars 9 to go out in 34 also. Like Kuchar, he reaches the turn at -1 for the tournament.
BREAKING NEWS! PAR FOR TYLER LIGHT! He’s channeled his inner Nick Faldo and made a four at the par-four 10th. I can’t deny feeling a pang of disappointment, a sense of something lost.
A couple more lads under par for their rounds. The local hero Steve Stricker birdies 5 to move into red figures for the day; he’s level par for the tournament. Gary Woodland is alongside him on the leader board, bogeys at 4 and 5 more than cancelled out by birdies at 1, 2 and now 7.
Tyler Light has reached the turn without carding a single par. After another couple of bogeys at 8 and 9, he’s reached the turn in 39 strokes. I wonder if that’s some sort of record? It’s a very entertaining way to go about your business. Meanwhile back on 3, the street-fighting Jordan Spieth screeches a stunning wedge to ten feet, giving himself a great chance of saving an unlikely par. But the putt’s got a huge right-to-left break, and it brushes the right lip before staying up. That’s a bogey that drops him back to +1. The wrong direction. It’s not quite happening for this brilliant young man right now in the majors. It’s not as though he’s doing that much wrong, he’s just not making quite so many putts as he did in 2015. In fairness, that’s a nigh-on impossible ask. He missed nothing that year.
Erstwhile Masters and Open champ Zach Johnson was out of the blocks quickly, though. Birdies at 1 and 2, and he’s -1 overall through 7 now. His playing partner Matt Kuchar was doing even better: birdies at 1, 2 and 5. But back-to-back bogeys at 6 and 7 have dropped the major-championship nearly man back to level par. The only other player out there under par for their round so far: 31-year-old US Open debutant Ryan Brehm, who birdied the opening hole and is level par for the tournament through 5.
The 2015 champion Jordan Spieth is out. He’s started with a couple of steady pars, though he’ll be disappointed to miss a seven-foot birdie putt on 2. In truth, he did well to get his chip so close, the pin teetering on the front edge of the green. Coming through before, Keegan Bradley needed two chips to get his ball to stop on the putting surface, while Daniel Summerhays putted into a bunker. Trouble for Spieth down 3, though, as he lashes his drive into the fescue down the right of the hole. He’s forced to take his medicine and punch the ball back out onto the fairway. He’ll need to get up and down from distance to save par. Not the fast start he wanted.
Tyler Light is making his major championship debut this week. The 26-year-old first alternate will be happy enough to make the cut, and he’s also making quite the impression this morning. He opened his third round with four straight bogeys, a run which could break a man. But he’s responded rather magnificently, with three birdies on the bounce. He’s one over his round through 7, yet to make a par, and +2 overall. He’s partnered today by the 2012 champion Webb Simpson. Light and Flash-in-the-pan.
Here we go, then. And before the news, the weather. It’s expected to be in turns sunny, partly cloudy, cloudy, hot and humid today. A chance of the odd thunderstorm later, too, though some reports have those skirting around the environs of Erin Hills altogether. Glad to have cleared that up.
Preamble
The fairways at Erin Hills are 80 yards wide. But you’ve still got to hit them. Mind that fescue! Here’s a list of big-hitting big names whose radars have been skew-whiff at this week’s US Open, and have thus been packed off home as a result: Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, Charl Schwartzel, Thomas Pieters, Bubba Watson, Jon Rahm, Angel Cabrera, the world number three Jason Day, the world number two Rory McIlroy, and the reigning champion and world number one Dustin Johnson.
Meanwhile the relatively short Brian Harman co-leads the tournament at the halfway stage. It’s all very well being able to boom it on the longest track in US Open history, but get out of position and you’ll soon be jiggered. Turns out hitting the ball as hard as you can isn’t the be-all and end-all of golf after all! Who knew?! It’s been marvellous entertainment, watching the world’s best players cleverly plot their way around this fascinating course, and occasionally hacking through the long grass in the futile, hot-faced, weekend style.
As a result of the halfway cull, the field’s now wide open. You have to go down to the ties for 19th place to find any previous major winners: Sergio Garcia (that still sounds strange) and Martin Kaymer. The veteran two-time US Open champ Ernie Els is in a tie for 24th. Then you’re down to the ties for 43rd: Louis Oosthuizen, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Jordan Spieth.
Then again, there are only seven shots between Spieth and the leaders Harman, Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood. Pretty much anyone who’s survived the cut will retain hope of winning. Especially if they put together something transcendental on Moving Day. The third round therefore promises to be a blast. We’ll be teeing off this report at 4pm BST, rounding up the early action and quickly working ourselves up into a state. Before then, here’s a reminder of how the leader board looks after 36 holes...
-7: Casey, Harman, Fleetwood, Koepka
-6: Lovemark, Fowler, Holmes
-5: Kim, Schauffele, Champ (a), Snedeker, Matsuyama
-4: Steele, Leishman, English, Haas, Hoffman, Reavie
-3: McGirt, Henley, Garcia, Wiesberger, Kaymer
… and today’s tee times (local in Wisconsin, then BST).
8.26 am (2.26pm): Tyler Light, Webb Simpson
8.37 am (2.37pm): Matt Kuchar, Zach Johnson
8.48 am (2.48pm): Jason Kokrak, Gary Woodland
8.59 am (2.59pm): Rafa Cabrera Bello, Talor Gooch
9.10 am (3.10pm): Jordan Niebrugge, Ryan Brehm
9.21 am (3.21pm): Steve Stricker, Shane Lowry
9.32 am (3.32pm): Keegan Bradley, Daniel Summerhays
9.43 am (3.43pm): Stephan Jaeger, Jordan Spieth
9.54 am (3.54pm): Branden Grace, Kevin Kisner
10.05 am (4.05pm): Lee Westwood, Haotong Li
10.16 am (4.16pm): Stewart Cink, Kevin Chappell
10.27 am (4.27pm): Jim Furyk, Louis Oosthuizen
10.38 am (4.38pm): Kevin Na, Brandon Stone
10.49 am (4.49pm): Patrick Reed, Martin Laird
11.00 pm (5pm): Michael Putnam, Kevin Dougherty
11.11 pm (5.11pm): Whee Kim, Trey Mullinax
11.22 pm (5.22pm): Matt Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler (a)
11.33 pm (5.33pm): Eddie Pepperell, Jack Maguire
11.44 pm (5.44pm): Ernie Els, David Lingmerth
11.55 pm (5.55pm): Thomas Aiken, Yusaku Miyazato
12.06 pm (6.06pm): Jonathan Randolph, Justin Thomas
12.17 pm (6.17pm): Adam Hadwin, Andrew Johnston
12.28 pm (6.28pm): Satoshi Kodaira, Martin Kaymer
12.39 pm (6.39pm): Bernd Wiesberger, Sergio Garcia
12.50 pm (6.50pm): Russell Henley, William McGirt
1.01 pm (7.01pm): Chez Reavie, Charley Hoffman
1.12 pm (7.12pm): Bill Haas, Harris English
1.23 pm (7.23pm): Marc Leishman, Brendan Steele
1.34 pm (7.34pm): Hideki Matsuyama, Brandt Snedeker
1.45 pm (7.45pm): Cameron Champ (a), Xander Schauffele
1.56 pm (7.56pm): Si Woo Kim, JB Holmes
2.07 pm (8.07pm): Rickie Fowler, Jamie Lovemark
2.18 pm (8.18pm): Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood
2.29 pm (8.29pm): Brian Harman, Paul Casey
Updated
