Moving Day took a while to get going, but once it did, it produced some exciting golf. Plenty of players are still in with a shout, so hopefully you’ll join us for the final round tomorrow. Thanks for reading this report!
-4: Sam Burns
-3: Adam Scott, JJ Spaun
-1: Viktor Hovland
E: Carlos Ortiz
+1: Tyrrell Hatton, Thriston Lawrence
+2: Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
+3: Robert MacIntyre, Cameron Young
The final stroke of the day is made by Sam Burns. He makes his par putt, he remains one of just two players yet to three-putt this week – Ryan Fox is the other – and he’s got sole ownership of the lead going into the final round. A 69 for Burns, which is exactly what his playing partner JJ Spaun shot as well.
Burns – who has yet to make a three-putt this week, trumpets a timely NBC graphic – tickles his 60-foot downhill right-to-left swinger to four feet. Back over to Spaun, who faces a 21-foot right-to-left slider. It’s never getting there, but it’s good enough for bogey.
Spaun whips out of the high-faced bunker. He can’t see the flag. He misjudges the distance, leaving the ball halfway. That’ll be a long putt for his par.
Spaun to go first. He takes a hard swipe at his ball and sends it into the bunker guarding the front right of the green. He’ll have a long shot to the flag out of that. Over to Burns, who has to hammer hard as well. He finds the green, but he’ll have a tricky downhill putt from 40 feet to negotiate. Pars far from certain.
JJ Spaun and Sam Burns both send their tee shots at 18 wide right. Spaun’s is wilder, but that’s to his benefit, as it hits a punter – no damage done, thankfully, and the young woman is delighted with the signed glove she receives – and lands on some trodden-down grass. Burns is most certainly in the thicker stuff, though his ball hasn’t disappeared altogether.
Adam Scott shoots 67
Viktor Hovland’s putt is always missing to the left. The tee shot at fault. A bogey to finish. But that’s a fine 70, and he’ll be in the penultimate group tomorrow, unless JJ Spaun and Sam Burns have some sort of collective breakdown. Adam Scott then tidies up for his par, and that’s a wonderful round of 67. Back in 32. A fair chance they’ll both go round together again tomorrow.
-4: Burns (17), Spaun (17)
-3: Scott (F)
-1: Hovland (F)
Viktor Hovland takes his medicine out of the fairway bunker at 18, then screws a chip from 120 yards to 15 feet. A fine effort that had just a little too much backspin. Meanwhile Adam Scott finds the centre of the green, albeit nowhere near the flag. He’s not far from draining the 53-foot putt that he’s left with, but it doesn’t drop. He’s got a three-footer coming back for his par. Back over to Viktor.
It’s a miserable end to Ben Griffin’s miserable back nine. A double-bogey six on 18. That’s three bogeys and a double in the last five holes. He signs for a 74 that promised so much more. He’s +4.
Yes he can! JJ Spaun rattles in a 25-footer to match Sam Burns’s birdie. Both players move one clear of Adam Scott again.
-4: Burns (17), Spaun (17)
-3: Scott (17)
-2: Hovland (17)
E: Ortiz (F)
Sam Burns fires a low wedge into 17. It whistles nine-tenths of the way along its route, before gripping and rolling out serenely to tap-in distance. That’s a stunner. He’ll be moving back to -4 in the bounce-back style. JJ Spaun meanwhile splashes out from the bunker in the underwhelming manner Adam Scott displayed moments earlier. Can Spaun make a big putt like Scott did?
Adam Scott splits the 18th fairway. Viktor Hovland however slices into sand down the right. Meanwhile back on 17, JJ Spaun finds the bunker front right of the green, while Sam Burns lays up.
Adam Scott meanwhile has found a bunker to the right of 17. His splash out is uncharacteristically clumpish, landing like a wet flannel 15 feet short of the flag. No matter! He strokes in the birdie putt and joins the leaders at -3! Viktor Hovland then tidies up, and he’s hot on their tail at -2.
Viktor Hovland carves his tee shot at 17 miles wide right of the green. He suggests it might be the worst shot he’s ever hit. His ball disappears into the thick stuff … but not totally, and he’s confident of getting it close. He whips his lob wedge miles into the air, and lands his ball softly, three feet away from the hole. Seve would be proud of that! The crowd go wild. That’s outrageously good, from the preposterous to the sublime.
Sam Burns and JJ Spaun both leave their long first putts on 16 six feet short. Spaun makes the one he leaves himself; Burns misreads his, though, missing it to the left. All tied again! Meanwhile Thriston Lawrence nearly drains his long par putt, but settles for a tap-in for bogey and a round of 70. He’s +1.
-3: Spaun (16), Burns (16)
-2: Scott (16)
-1: Hovland (16)
E: Ortiz (F)
+1: Hatton (F), Lawrence (F)
Ben Griffin puts an end to his bogey run with birdie at 17. He’s +2 again and suddenly in better shape ahead of tomorrow. Up on 18, trouble for Thriston Lawrence, who lashes out of the thick rough with his 9-wood and is very fortunate to get his ball over the big bunker 60 yards in front of the green. His ball ends 40 feet away, and in attempting to bump up onto the green, he chunks his wedge. He’s left with a 35-footer for his par.
Sam Burns splashes out from the sand on 15 to kick-in distance. That’s a fine save. JJ Spaun’s birdie putt never looks like dropping. He’s made next to nothing with the flat stick today. A shame, because much of his approach play has deserved more. Both men then get themselves onto the 16th green, but like Scott and Hovland before them, neither are close.
Adam Scott and Viktor Hovland find the dancefloor of the par-three 16th, but neither are particularly close. Par apiece it is, then. Meanwhile up on 18, Brooks Koepka finishes with bogey for a round of 73 that never, ever threatened to get going. Still a bit of work to do to get back to his pomp. He’s +5.
Thriston Lawrence doesn’t connect with his tee shot at 17 properly at all. He screams for it to slow down, because he thinks it’s heading for thick rough. In fact it stops in front of the green on the short stuff. He wedges from 44 yards to three feet and tidies up for a birdie that brings him back to level par. But he’s just dumped his drive at 18 into the cabbage down the right, from where he’ll have to lay up.
Sam Burns goes for a high fade into the 15th green. He doesn’t get the shape he wants, and the ball settles in a bunker to the left. JJ Spaun however lasers one straight at the flag. He’ll have a 25-foot uphill look for birdie. Meanwhile up on 16, Ben Griffin, running hot, his cheeks flush, opens the face of his putter and sends a six-footer wide left. That’s a third bogey in a row, and he’s unravelling in the wrong direction at speed. He’s +3.
Adam Scott slashes sensationally out of the deep bunker to the right of 15. He’s got no green to play with, so opens the club wide and swings hard. The ball loops high into the air and lands a couple of feet from the cup. What a par save that is. And that’s a sentence that also applies to Viktor Hovland, because, dear reader, I failed to tell you the entire story of his getting the ball to the fringe. He’d found sand off the tee, you see, and had to chip out, so he’s there in three. No matter! He bumps his putt through the fringe and holes the right-to-left drifter for an outrageous save! The sort of moment that makes you believe it could be your year.
-4: Burns (14)
-3: Spaun (14)
-2: Scott (15)
-1: Hovland (15)
Adam Scott compounds his error from the tee on 15 by carving his second shot into the big bunker to the right of the green. With the pin tucked over on that side, he’s got work to do from there. His playing partner Viktor Hovland sends his approach onto the fringe. Back down the hole, the leading pair both find the fairway with their drives.
JJ Spaun can’t make his birdie putt on 14. Sam Burns makes his par effort, though. Meanwhile Ben Griffin follows up his three-putt error on 14 by failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker on 15. Back-to-back bogeys at just the wrong time. He’s +2.
Adam Scott’s smile crumples into a grimace as he pushes his tee shot at 15 into rough down the right. Meanwhile back on 14, Sam Burns finds a fairway bunker and is forced to chip out, but gives himself a great chance of escaping with par by wedging his third pin high to ten feet. JJ Spaun will be putting from a similar distance, but he’s there in two.
It’s back-to-back birdies for Adam Scott! The 2013 Masters champ sends his approach from 94 yards bounding past the flag, the ball gripping and spinning back, nearly into the cup, 14 inches away. He taps in and walks off smiling widely. The 44-year-old Aussie is seriously in the hunt for his second major.
-4: Burns (13)
-3: Spuan (13)
-2: Scott (14)
-1: Hovland (14)
E: Ortiz (F)
+1: Hatton (F), Lawrence (15), Griffin (14)
Tyrrell Hatton shoots 68
Tyrrell Hatton finds a bunker down the right of 18. He’s forced to lay up, but isn’t of a mind to give anything away on the final hole. He sends his second over the flag and screws it back to three feet, and tidies up for the par. He’ll be happy with his response to that double on 15, and with his round of 68. He’s in the mix tomorrow all right!
JJ Spaun gives his 25-foot birdie effort a good look at the hole. But it stops just short. Par. And that opens the door for Sam Burns, who doesn’t faff about before walking in his seven-footer. For the first time since the 4th, there’s some separation at the top!
-4: Burns (13)
-3: Spaun (13)
Sam Burns plops his tee shot at the par-three 13th seven feet away. JJ Spaun finds the dancefloor as well, but he’s nowhere near as close. Slight advantage to Burns there. Meanwhile over on 14, Ben Griffin races an excitable long birdie effort eight feet past the flag, and it costs him. He misses the one coming back, and he slips to +1.
Viktor Hovland sends his tee shot at 13 over the flag to 15 feet. His birdie putt coming back is always staying high on the left. It rolls three feet past but that’s good enough for par. His playing partner Adam Scott’s tee shot is even better, though. It lands ten feet to the right of the flag and works its way back to four feet. He tickles in the downhill birdie putt, and he moves into red figures alongside Hovland. Meanwhile the leaders keep parring on.
-3: Spaun (12), Burns (12)
-1: Hovland (13), Scott (13)
E: Ortiz (F), Lawrence (14), Griffin (13)
+1: Hatton (17)
One of the shots of the day at 17 by Tyrrell Hatton, who sends his tee shot at the drivable par-four pin high to 30 feet. He can’t rake home the eagle putt – it lips out agonisingly - but birdie will do, and some of the damage of 15 has been repaired. He’s back to +1. Meanwhile on 13, Ben Griffin walks in a 20-footer for his second birdie in three holes.
-3: Spaun (11), Burns (11)
-1: Hovland (12)
E: Ortiz (F), Lawrence (14), Griffin (13), Scott (12)
+1: Hatton (17)
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Carlos Ortiz’s playing partner Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen had a good day as well. A 69 that ensures the young Dane will be part of the story tomorrow on his US Open debut. Meanwhile the leading pair of JJ Spaun and Sam Burns both par 11 without too much fuss. They’re not exactly ripping up the course … but then they don’t have to. If they hold their position, there won’t be too many players able to come at them.
-3: Spaun (11), Burns (11)
-1: Hovland (11)
E: Ortiz (F), Lawrence (13), Scott (11)
+1: B Griffin (12)
+2: Neergaard-Petersen (F), Hatton (16), Henley (13)
Carlos Ortiz shoots 67
Carlos Ortiz sends his tee shot at 18 into the thick stuff down the right. He gets a decent enough lie, but doesn’t take advantage, sending his second into a greenside bunker to the left. He swishes out to six feet, but misses the par putt on the high side. That’s his first and only blemish of the day, but it’s still a fine, fine 67 that puts the 34-year-old Mexican right in the mix! He’s level par, the new clubhouse leader.
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Tyrrell Hatton is a dimple away from bounce-back birdie on the par-three 16th. He lasers his tee shot to 15 feet, but the birdie putt dies to the right on its very last turn. He squats in frustration, and remains at +2.
Ben Griffin walks in a 20-footer on 11 and moves back to +1. Birdie for Thriston Lawrence on the par-five 12th. Up on the short par-four 17th, Carlos Ortiz whistles his tee shot into the fringe, then chips to six feet, but races his birdie putt through the break. That’s careless. And there are no-nonsense pars for the leaders JJ Spaun and Sam Burns on 10, and Viktor Hovland and Adam Scott on 11.
-3: Spaun (10), Burns (10)
-1: Ortiz (17), Hovland (11)
E: Lawrence (12), Scott (11)
+1: B Griffin (11)
Tyrell Hatton comes a cropper on 15. From the centre of the fairway, he carves his approach towards a greenside bunker on the right. In fact it sticks on the bank, and he’s forced to grip halfway down the shaft, feet in the bunker, ball way above them, and whip onto the green. Having been short-sided, he can’t stop the ball, and it rolls 40 feet by. Three putts later, that’s a double, and he’s livid. Fuming with someone in the gallery? Or suggesting he had the misfortune of a mud-ball on the fairway, the root of all the bother? Either way, he’s tumbled down the standings to +2.
Viktor Hovland has rediscovered his mojo. He sends a forensic approach straight at the flag on 10. It should bound close, but stubbornly digs its heels in, stopping 18 feet short. No matter! He pours in the birdie putt, and suddenly all the damage of the first three holes is repaired in short order. This is a seriously impressive response to those early travails.
-3: Spaun (9), Burns (9)
-1: Ortiz (16), Hovland (10)
E: Hatton (14), Scott (10)
+1: Lawrence (11)
A terrible break for JJ Spaun on 9. He splits the fairway with his tee shot … only for his ball to nestle gently in a huge divot. But he’s so unshakable. He calmly whips his second into the heart of the green, and though he’s left with a monster putt across a ridged green, he lags up to kick-in distance. A potential disaster averted. In the end, a fuss-free par. A display of the sort of moxie that wins majors.
Cameron Young, who has had five top-ten finishes in the majors, but somehow is yet to win any event on the PGA Tour, would break his duck spectacularly were he to win here. He’s given himself a chance, carding 69 today and joining Bob MacIntyre in the clubhouse lead at +3.
Viktor Hovland makes his birdie putt on 9. The least his approach deserved. He’s responded so well to that shaky bush-bothering start.
-3: Spaun (8), Burns (8)
-1: Ortiz (15)
E: Hatton (14), Scott (9), Hovland (9)
Par for Scottie Scheffler at the last. The world number one signs for a 70, and he finishes the day at +4 overall. He’s currently seven strokes behind the leaders. Hey, anything Arnold Palmer can do …
“You’re dead,” scoffed golf writer Bob Drum. He’d just been asked by Arnold Palmer, two times a Master but yet to land his national title, if a final-round 65 could win the US Open. “Nah, you’re too far back, Arnie. That would do nothing.” Palmer threw his half-eaten cheeseburger down – it was lunch between the third and fourth rounds of the 1960 tournament at Cherry Hills near Denver, the final 36 holes in those days all played on the Saturday – and left the locker room in the lofty state of high dudgeon.
In fairness to Drum, his was a reasonable, if slightly tactless, response. Palmer came into the Open as the favourite, fresh from winning at Augusta, but he pushed his opening tee shot into a ditch, double bogeyed the first hole, and never quite got going. He’d putted poorly, and after three rounds was seven shots behind the leader Mike Souchak. There were 13 other players in between the two, including four-time winner Ben Hogan, Gary Player, former champ Julius Boros, the pop singer Don Cherry (!) and a promising young amateur called Jack Nicklaus. Yep, Arnie was dead.
Except, of course, Arnie wasn’t dead. Steam trailing from his lugs – “I was a little angry at Drum and his attitude,” recalled Palmer – he took to the first tee and attempted to drive the green at the short par four. His ball rolled to 20 feet. He didn’t make the eagle putt, but birdie was a good enough start. Come the 4th, he’d made four of them in a row. By the 7th, he’d made another two, by which point he was jigging across the turf in a syncopated manner, repeatedly tossing his visor into the air in celebration. A shot was dropped at 8, but he still reached the turn in 30 strokes, a new tournament record.
That pique-fuelled charge – followed by one last birdie at 11 – was enough to land Palmer the title. Souchak, unnerved by the ear-splitting noise generated by Palmer’s gallery – which now included Drum, the player greeting the hapless scribe on his arrival with a raised eyebrow and a wry “fancy seeing you here!” – fell apart. Young Nicklaus briefly held the lead but, callow and nervous, naively elected to putt over a ball mark and three putted, all momentum lost. Finally Hogan, who had hit 34 out of 34 greens in regulation on the final day going up 17, dumped his approach in water while striving too hard to nudge ahead of Palmer, then got wet again from the tee at the last. Palmer’s seven-shot comeback was the greatest in US Open history, the visor he launched on the final green still, it’s said, in orbit. Nice that Arnie celebrated so well while the going was good, because a mere six years later, he would, unlike his cap, come crashing back down to earth.
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A careless short putt missed on 9 by Ben Griffin. He turns in 37 and stomps off the green looking a bit flushed. Some red-cheeked fury. He’s +2 for both his round and the championship. Once he clears off, Viktor Hovland arrows his approach from 171 yards straight at the flag … and twangs the stick, the ball springing back and stopping seven-and-a-half feet below the hole. He’ll have a good look at birdie. Nothing’s gone right for him today as of yet; this has the potential to be a momentum-shifter.
Tyrrell Hatton is in the zone. An 8-iron at the 177-yard par-three 13th. He lands it six feet past the flag and screws it back, pin high, to two-and-a-half feet. In goes the birdie putt, and Hatton’s bid to become only the third English winner since Tony Jacklin in 1970 (following Justin Rose in 2013 and Matt Fitzpatrick three years ago) is on!
-3: Spaun (7), Burns (7)
-1: Ortiz (14)
E: Hatton (13), Scott (8)
A second birdie in three holes for Tyrrell Hatton! Having birdied 10, he pours in a right-to-left slider from 20 feet on 12 to move to +1. Meanwhile let’s not give up on Scottie Scheffler quite yet: he doesn’t take a shy at the drivable par-four 17th, instead laying up and then chipping from 60 yards to four feet. In goes the birdie putt, and he’s +4. Not out of this by any stretch!
Carlos Ortiz manages what Adam Scott couldn’t. He wedges from 100 yards to five feet, pin high, and rolls in the straight putt for birdie. Into the red he goes!
-3: Spaun (6), Burns (6)
-1: Ortiz (14)
E: Scott (7)
+1: Neergaard-Petersen (14), Lawrence (8), B Griffin (8), Hovland (7)
+2: Hatton (11), Henley (8)
+3: MacIntyre (F)
Adam Scott’s approach at 7 is top class, from 179 yards to four-and-a-half feet. His putt is sadly not. An uncertain prod that’s always missing on the low side. A huge chance to become only the third player currently under par goes by. He remains at level par.
Trevor Cone couldn’t keep it going. The 32-year-old US Open debutant started strongly this morning with those birdies at 2, 4 and 5, but since then it all went south for the North Carolinian. Bogeys at 8, 10, 15, 16 and 18, and he signs for an ultimately disappointing 72. He’s +6.
Some rain coming down again. Still no threat of thunder and lightning, though, and that’s all that matters. There’s a black cloud above Thriston Lawrence’s head, mind, as he pulls a two-footer for par on 8. The putt horseshoes out and that’s all of his fine early work undone in two holes. He’s back where he started the day at +1.
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Sam Burns plays 5 to perfection. A drive down the middle, then a wedge from 141 yards to a couple of feet. He taps in for his birdie, and he’s back to where he started the day.
-3: Spaun (5), Burns (5)
E: Ortiz (12), Lawrence (7), Scott (5)
Thriston Lawrence sends his second shot at 7 into the thick grass surrounding the green. He chips up to eight feet, but can’t make the par saver, and once again there are just two players under par for the championship. Birdie though for Carlos Ortiz, at 12, and the 34-year-old Mexican journeyman is right in this. He’s got absolutely no record to speak of in the majors – nine appearances, seven missed cuts, his best finishes ties for 52nd and 55th – but now look!
-3: Spaun (4)
-2: Burns (4)
E: Ortiz (12), Lawrence (7), Scott (5)
69 for Bob MacIntyre
A disappointing end to Robert MacIntyre’s round. He finds the rough down the right of 18 and can’t reach the green in two. He wedges to 11 feet, but what he thinks is a left-to-right slider stays out on the high side. He looks astonished, but that’s a closing bogey. Still, it’s an impressive round of 69, albeit one that promised more. He’s the new clubhouse leader at +3.
Jordan Spieth is back in the hutch with a 71. He’s +6 overall, that four-putt abomination on 15 proving so costly. Meanwhile back on 4, JJ Spaun tidies up for his birdie, and reclaims sole ownership of the lead.
-3: Spaun (4)
-2: Burns (4)
-1: Lawrence (6)
E: Scott (4)
JJ Spaun’s spoken of how he finally feels worthy of competing for the top prizes, after his near miss at the Players. That confidence boost is evident this week all right. Coming off the back of that bogey on 3, he finds a fairway bunker to the right of 4. He calmly takes his medicine, before sending a properly world-class wedge from 128 yards to four-and-a-half feet. Pin high. Great birdie chance here.
Thriston Lawrence certainly isn’t going away. You could forgive him for slipping into a funk after reaching -6 yesterday then carding a series of bogeys en route to a 74, but this is an excellent response: he follows birdie at 4 with another at 6, after knocking his tee shot to ten feet. Meanwhile Adam Scott reaches the par-five 4th in two, and two careful putts later returns him to level par for the tournament. And Bob MacIntyre finds the drivable 17th green from the tee, and two putts are good enough for birdie. He’s +2. Par up the last, and Oban’s finest will be certain of a late tee time tomorrow.
-2: Spaun (3), Burns (3)
-1: Lawrence (6)
E: B Griffin (4), Scott (4)
+1: Ortiz (10), Hovland (4)
+2: MacIntyre (17), Neergaard-Petersen (11), Henley (6)
Nothing’s quite going right for Brooks Koepka today. Bogeys at 1 and 3; now he powers through the line of an eight-foot birdie opportunity at 7. He remains at +4.
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Two putts for both JJ Spaun and Sam Burns. Bogey and par respectively, and the leaders are slowly dropping back towards the pack. A lot of players within striking distance, especially if these two falter this afternoon. Scottie Scheffler is +4 overall through 14, just saying.
-2: Burns (3), Spaun (3)
E: Lawrence (5), B Griffin (4)
+1: Ortiz (10), Scott (3), Hovland (3)
Spaun swishes out of the thick, wet rough at 3 and makes the green … but only just, and he’s faced with a 40-foot putt for his par. Bogey the most realistic scenario here. That’s the fate that befell Viktor Hovland moments earlier - he slips to +1 – but it’s birdie for Ben Griffin at 4, and the man from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, returns to level par.
A bit of bother for the leader JJ Spaun, whose drive at 3 nearly finds the Church Pews down the left of the fairway. The ball would have been better dropping in, because it sticks on the bank to the side, and Spaun has to grip down and lash at it, sitting awkwardly above his feet. He swings, and yanks the ball into further trouble down the left of the hole. Sam Burns, by comparison, hit a tee shot so wild it flew over the Church Pews and onto the 4th fairway … from where he sends his 6-iron pin high. He’s taken advantage of a great break there.
Scottie Scheffler birdies 12, then has a run at a long uphill putt on 13. One more turn, and it would have dropped, but the greens are just that little bit slower due to the burst of rain … which has suddenly stopped, and now the sun’s come out again.
Spoke too soon. The rain’s getting heavier. It’s heavy. No sign of any electrical activity at the moment, though, so silver linings.
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It’s started to rain at Oakmont. Nothing too heavy. Yet. But it’s worth putting the umbrellas up.
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Sam Burns sends his tee shot into a fairway bunker, from which he’s forced to splash out in the medicine-taking style. That leads to an inevitable bogey. His playing partner JJ Spaun gets up and down from the fringe, and having started the day one behind, he’s already moved one in front. Birdie for Thriston Lawrence at 4 meanwhile, last year’s Open nearly man refusing to go away, despite yesterday’s crash from the heights of -6.
-3: Spaun (2)
-2: Burns (2)
E: Lawrence (4), Hovland (2)
Another birdie for Jordan Spieth, at 12, and the 2015 champion is right in this … that is until he reaches the 15th green. Four putts from 40 feet, the last three from four-and-a-half, and that’s a triple-bogey seven. He’s +6 and it was fun while it lasted. And there are putting woes for Bob MacIntyre as well; he shoves a three-footer straight right of the cup on 15 and looks properly funky as a result. It’s his second dropped shot in three holes, and much of his good work today is undone in short order. He’s +3.
Jason Day is this close to a hole-in-one at the 253-yard par-three 8th. His long iron gently fades into the green, landing six feet in front of the pin. It takes one soft bounce, then a couple of very soft ones, and looks for all the world like it’s rolling into the hole. But it shaves the left-hand lip. The popular Aussie holds his head in disbelief. Half an inch to the right, if that, and that was in. Still, he’ll rise to +4 when he taps in for his birdie.
The last match is out, and both JJ Spaun and the leader Sam Burns make it to the green in regulation. Burns isn’t particularly close, and two putts later that’s a par. But Spaun plays the hole pretty much perfectly. Drive down the middle, approach to 15 feet, putt into the middle of the cup. They’re tied at the top! Meanwhile Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen’s birdie run ends at four, but he so nearly kept it going with a fifth, a 30-foot putt shaving the hole on 8.
-3: Spaun (1), Burns (1)
E: Hovland (1)
+1: Stevens (8), Neergaard-Petersen (8), Ortiz (8), Lawrence (3), B Griffin (2), Scott (1)
+2: MacIntyre (14), Hatton (6), Grillo (4), Henley (3), Perez (2)
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A three-putt bogey for Ben Griffin on 2. He drops to +1. Belated news of another dropped shot for Scottie Scheffler, at 9; the big man turned in 36 and is currently +5 through 12. And birdies for Tyrrell Hatton and Emiliano Grillo at 4; they’re both +2.
Viktor Hovland lags his 44-foot putt to four, and polishes off what’s left for bogey. He’ll be pretty happy with that result given the lunacy of his opening drive and subsequent horticultural antics. His playing partner Adam Scott won’t be too pleased with his bogey, though, effectively a three-putt from the fringe, though officially from off the green it only counts as a two-putt. The first two strokes unbelievably timid and short, whichever way one spins it. Hovland is level par, Scott +1.
While all that nonsense was unfolding, there’s been some birdie action elsewhere. Jon Rahm cracks his tee shot at 8 to 23 feet and makes the swinging birdie putt; he’s just hit the turn in 34 strokes. He’s +3. Meanwhile it’s four birdies in a row for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, the latest at 7. He’s +1.
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… but the problem with that is, his nearest point of relief from the path is back where he came from, ie the bush. So he’ll hit it off the path. Or more accurately, from a muddy tyre track in which his drop has landed. What a situation in which to find yourself, a couple of minutes into your round at the US Open! But Hovland is made of the right stuff. He keeps calm, and clips an iron from the tyre track, through a couple of trees, and onto the front of the green! That’s quite something. He’s 44 feet away, but with a chance of taking two putts and limiting the damage to bogey. He won’t feel too bad about himself if he makes that!
Hovland’s found his ball in the bush. And it’s in bounds. So he’s able to take an unplayable. Only problem is, he can’t reach his ball, so embedded is it in the bush. He’s allowed to use a new ball, having checked with the referee, but measuring two club lengths from where the unreachable ball lies is a bit of a puzzle. They’ll get there. And then he’ll drop, and get relief from the path. Again, more when we know what’s what.
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A horrific start to Viktor Hovland’s round. He carves a wild opening drive way right, over the trees that line the hole, onto the cart path, and into the bushes. That might be out of bounds. It might not. He might get a drop. He might not. He plays a provisional, which goes fine, as the reload nearly always does. You know the drill: why couldn’t I do that 30 seconds ago, etc., and so on, and so forth. More when we know what’s what.
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Ach, make that +2. MacIntyre misses the par-three 13th green, and can’t get up and down from the rough. He was blemish-free up until that point.
Scotland hasn’t produced a winner of the US Open since 1925, when Willie Macfarlane beat the famous Bobby Jones in a play-off. What odds Bob MacIntyre celebrating the centenary in style? He’s in with a shout all right, with birdies at 2 and 6 already in his pocket. Now he finds the green on the par-five 12th with two big blows and two putts later he’s made his third birdie of the day. He’s +1.
Three birdies in a row for Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen! The latest made on the par-three 6th with a huge right-to-left curler from 37 feet that travels on the outside of his playing partner Carlos Ortiz’s marker before kinking back and dropping. Ortiz then tidies up for a birdie of his own. Neergaard-Petersen, who has rebounded wonderfully after bogeys at 1 and 3, is +2; Ortiz +1.
Marc Leishman’s good round threatened to get away from him over the closing stretch. Bogeys at 14, 15 and 16. But the 41-year-old Aussie birdied 17, and finished with par for a highly decent 68. He’s the very early clubhouse leader at +4.
Tell you what, Jordan Spieth isn’t done yet. A slow start for the 2015 champion today with bogey at 2, but he’s bounced back with birdies at 7, 9 and 12, and rises to +3. A strong finish this afternoon, and if his driver is on good behaviour tomorrow, you never know, because that magical short game and his penchant for absurd feats of escapology could prove priceless around Oakmont.
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Birdie for Thomas Detry at 2, reward for wedging from 85 yards to ten feet. The Belgian moves to +1, and might be best served staying in the peloton for as long as possible, because when he hit the front yesterday evening, he immediately made three double bogeys in four holes. That’s not cost him his chance of winning yet, though. He’s +1.
-3: Burns
-2: Spaun
-1: Hovland
E: Scott, B Griffin
+1: Stevens (6), Detry (2), Perez, Lawrence
+2: MacIntyre (11), Ortiz (5), S Kim (1), Henley
A timid start on the greens for Brooks Koepka. He leaves a 50-foot putt ten feet short, then leaves his attempt to save par shy of the hole as well. That’s an unnecessary bogey. Let’s hope his coach Pete Cowan wasn’t watching that, or he’ll be due another full and frank debrief when he gets back to the clubhouse. Brooks is +3.
Scottie Scheffler finds the green at the long par-three 8th. He’s not close, but lags a wonderful 60-foot putt to a couple of feet. He’s just got to tidy up to walk off with his par … but he pulls his putt left. He holds the top of his cap as the ball lips out, as though his brain can’t compute what’s just happened and is trying to burst out of his head. A careless bogey, and the second time the putter has let him down today: the dropped shot at 1 was the result of a three-putt from 22 feet. He’s +4.
The reigning Open champion Xander Schauffele signs for a 71. He’s +7 overall. His playing partner today, Rory McIlroy, follows up birdie at 17 with a dropped shot at the last. A 74 for the Masters champ, and he’s +10. An early start for him tomorrow (unless the weather plays silly buggers and the third round can’t be completed today, but again, let’s keep those fingers crossed).
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Back-to-back birdies for Sam Stevens. The 28-year-old from Wichita picks up shots at 3 and 4 to move to +1 overall. All together now: ♫♪ I know I need a small vacation, but it don’t look like rain ♪♫ … except … “Those clouds are not looking friendly,” notes Rich Beem on Sky, snapping us out of our Campbell-Webb reverie. Indeed they do look dark and menacing in the middle distance. A fair chance we could have an enforced weather break sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen, but it doesn’t look promising.
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This is Matt Wallace’s first appearance at a US Open for four years. The 35-year-old Londoner is grabbing the opportunity with both hands: decent opening rounds of 72 and 74, and he’s on the move today, with birdies at 4, 11 and now 13, the latter the reward for a glorious tee shot sent over the flag to six feet. He’s +3 overall.
Rory McIlroy spent a good proportion of yesterday afternoon in a hot funk. A club tossed down the track here, some tee-box furniture smashed in half there. Bad Rory! Naughty Rory! He’s a bit more zen today, not that his game is helping any. Bogeys at 3, 9, 11, 14 and 16, his only birdie coming at 10. But instead of iron hurling and yardage-marker battering, he’s merely responding with wan smiles. It’s not for the want of trying, but nevertheless you can tell the fire’s gone out. Might be an idea to take a couple of weeks off before Portrush, because nothing’s gone right for him since completing his life’s dream at Augusta. He’s +10.
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Scottie Scheffler still doesn’t have his best stuff. But the world number one’s B-game could still be good enough. An opening-hole bogey today, followed by a very strange hack out of thick rough on 4 with a fairway wood that scuppered any chance of birdie at the gettable par-five, the third-easiest hole on the course and the one that’s given up the second-highest number of under-par scores. But he drained a 15-footer for birdie on 2, and now he’s made a 20-footer on the 6th to move into the red for his round today. He’s +3, just six off the pace, despite it all.
The monstrously long par-three 8th has laid waste to most of the field so far this week. Playing at 276 yards on Thursday, and 299 yesterday, the cumulative score made on it over the first two days was +159. There were just seven birdies. It’s playing a little kinder today at just – just! – 253 yards. But it’s still done for the aforementioned Trevor Cone, who finds the rough to the left of the green and pays the price with bogey. He’s back to +2. Wait until they push the tee back to 301 yards tomorrow, which they surely will, as that would break the US Open record set for a par-three on the same hole in 2007 (300). It’ll be quite the surprise if they don’t.
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… and now to a couple of bigger names who have started well today. Bob MacIntyre is keeping alive Scotland’s hopes of partying like it’s 1999, Paul Lawrie, all that, with birdies at 2 and 6. Collin Morikawa, who would be one step away from completing a career slam if he wins here this week, has birdied 2 and 3. Both are +2. All that’s left is to post the first leaderboard update of the day, and we’ll have just about caught up.
-3: Burns
-2: Spaun
-1: Hovland
E: Scott, B Griffin
+1: Cone (7), Perez, Lawrence
+2: Leishman (13), MacIntyre (8), Morikawa (3), Henley, Koepka, S Kim, Detry
The next best is the unsung Trevor Cone, making his US Open debut at the age of 32. The North Carolinian missed five consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour until surviving it last weekend in Canada. He finished modestly in a tie for 52nd, but from small acorns and all that, because he’s flown out of the traps today, with birdies at 2, 4 and 5. He’s +1 overall.
The hottest player out there right now is Marc Leishman. The US Open is the only major at which the 41-year-old Aussie hasn’t finished in the top ten – his best result is a tie for 14th in 2022 at Brookline – but he’s making moves to remedy that situation this afternoon. Birdies at 2, 3, 6, 8 and 12 with just the one bogey at 7, and he’s catapulted himself up the leaderboard to +2.
It absolutely hosed it down at Oakmont last night. Some rain this morning as well. It’s bright and sunny now, but the downpour has changed the way the course is playing. And it’s swings and roundabouts, because while the greens are now a little bit more receptive – normally they’re primed to get harder as the week goes on at a US Open – the rough is heavier and lusher. So there is a score out there if somebody can keep it straight. Which is easier said than done: of the 48 players to have hit a ball so far today, only ten are under par for their round. And of those ten, only five are doing better than one under …
Preamble
It’s Moving Day! Here’s what the top of the leaderboard looked like at the end of the second round …
-3: Sam Burns
-2: JJ Spaun
-1: Viktor Hovland
E: Adam Scott, Ben Griffin
+1: Victor Perez, Thriston Lawrence
+2: Russell Henley, Brooks Koepka, Kim Si-woo, Thomas Detry
… here are some selected other scores, because nobody’s running away with this and there are plenty of stars within striking distance …
+3: Tyrrell Hatton, Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
+4: Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre
+5: Ryan Fox, Jordan Spieth, Im Sung-jae
+6: Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy
… here are some big names who have missed the cut …
the defending champion Bryson DeChambeau; the 2016 Oakmont champion Dustin Johnson and his runner-up Shane Lowry; other former champions in Wyndham Clark, Lucas Glover, Gary Woodland and Justin Rose; erstwhile major champions in Cameron Smith, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas; and other big names such as Ludvig Åberg, Patrick Cantlay, Min Woo Lee, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia, Sepp Straka and Joaquin Niemann
… here’s the only amateur to make the weekend, so he’s assured of the low-amateur medal (won in recent years by Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay, so no mean feat) providing he completes the final two rounds …
+6: Justin Hastings (a 21-year-old from the Cayman Islands who was the best-performing amateur at this year’s Masters, but didn’t make the cut, so he couldn’t win the Silver Cup)
… and here are today’s tee times. (USA unless stated, all times BST, (a) denotes amateurs.) It’s on!
14.12 Philip Barbaree
14.23 Cameron Davis (Aus), Brian Harman
14.34 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Andrew Novak
14.45 Harris English, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
14.56 Laurie Canter (Eng), James Nicholas
15.07 Ryan McCormick, Patrick Reed
15.18 Ryan Gerard, Niklas Noergaard (Den)
15.34 Rory McIlroy (NIrl), Xander Schauffele
15.45 (a) Justin Hastings (Cay), Jordan Smith (Eng)
15.56 Tony Finau, Marc Leishman (Aus)
16.07 Corey Conners (Can), Michael Kim
16.18 JT Poston, Matt Wallace (Eng)
16.29 Chris Gotterup, Johnny Keefer
16.40 Joo-Hyung Kim (Kor), Maverick McNealy
16.56 Mackenzie Hughes (Can), Matthieu Pavon (Fra)
17.07 Sung-Jae Im (Kor), Jordan Spieth
17.18 Robert MacIntyre (Sco), Ryan Fox (Nzl)
17.29 Trevor Cone, Taylor Pendrith (Can)
17.40 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Aaron Rai (Eng)
17.51 Daniel Berger, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)
18.02 Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young
18.18 Denny McCarthy, Collin Morikawa
18.29 Jon Rahm (Spa), Nick Taylor (Can)
18.40 Keegan Bradley, Sam Stevens
18.51 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Den), Carlos Ortiz (Mex)
19.02 Jason Day (Aus), Chris Kirk
19.13 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)
19.24 Max Greyserman, Adam Schenk
19.40 Thomas Detry (Bel), Emiliano Grillo (Arg)
19.51 Si-Woo Kim (Kor), Brooks Koepka
20.02 Russell Henley, Thriston Lawrence (Rsa)
20.13 Ben Griffin, Victor Perez (Fra)
20.24 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Adam Scott (Aus)
20.35 Sam Burns, JJ Spaun
