Sunday shootout likely

Round 1, Round 2, Round 4

Estimated reading time: 13 minutes

 

SAN DIEGO, CA. Get your popcorn and your favorite beverage ready because Sunday’s final round for the 121st U.S. Open looks to be a donnybrook with plenty of fireworks leading to a grand climax.

If the final round is anything like the one witnessed on Saturday, we could see the same kind of theatrics produced the last time this championship visited the South Course in 2008.

Tiger Woods won’t be the central figure this time around, but the storylines are plenty intriguing.

Three players with varying professional success share the 54-hole lead at 5-under-par 208 and no less than 13 players are within four shots of the lead.

 

There’s Mackenzie Hughes, a 30-year-old Canadian who missed the cut in his three previous U.S. Open starts. Hughes, who has one PGA Tour win (the 2016 RSM Classic), converted a 63-foot eagle putt on the par-5 13th and closed with an up-and-down birdie from a greenside bunker on the par-5 18th for a 3-under-par 68.

There’s Russell Henley, the 32-year-old Georgia native who barely broke 80 in his only tour around the South Course prior to this week. The 18- and 36-hole leader holed out a 65-foot bunker shot on No. 11, statistically the hardest hole on the course, for a birdie en route to an even-par 71.

And there’s the 2010 winner of The Open Championship at St. Andrews, Louis Oosthuizen, who always seems to be around the leaderboard in major championships. The 38-year-old South African has been a runner-up in all four majors: the 2015 U.S. Open, 2012 Masters the 2015 Open Championship at St. Andrews (in a playoff) and the 2017 and 2021 PGA Championships. On Saturday, he rolled in a 51-foot eagle putt on the closing hole for a 1-under 70 and a spot in Sunday’s final pairing with Hughes at 12:55 p.m. PDT.

But that trio can’t get too comfortable, especially with two stalwarts lurking two strokes back. Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, who carded a bogey-free 68 on Saturday, and 2011 winner Rory McIlroy (67) are no strangers to Sunday pressure in a major. McIlroy also owns a pair of PGA titles and a British Open title, while DeChambeau rallied from two shots back last September to win by six.

 

Three shots back are Jon Rahm, whose first PGA Tour win in 2017 came at Torrey Pines, 22-year-old Matthew Wolff, the runner-up last September at Winged Foot, and Scottie Scheffler, the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur champion who is still seeking his first win on the PGA Tour.

Because it’s a U.S. Open, never count out the likes of 2016 U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, 2020 PGA champion Collin Morikawa and local favorite Xander Schauffele, all of whom are just four behind.

“I feel like I’m starting to understand major championship golf and how to play it and how to go about managing my game, my attitude and just my patience level,” said DeChambeau. “If I can continue to do that tomorrow, I think I’ll have a good chance.”

While nobody is surprised to see Oosthuizen in this position, Hughes came into the week having missed his last five cuts on the PGA Tour and was without a top 10 in a stroke-play event since a tie for seventh in the Vivent Houston Open last November.

“I don’t think I’m ever surprised when I play well,” said the former Kent State standout who is bidding to become the first Canadian to win the U.S. Open. “I wouldn’t say I necessarily expected to be in the last group this week, but I know that my game is good enough to win on the PGA Tour. I’ve done it before. This is a bigger stage, but again — it’s an 18-hole golf course and 72 holes, so I just need to do a lot of the same things I did to win that tournament.”

 

Oosthuizen, who started Round 3 behind Henley and 48-year-old Richard Bland, got off to an indifferent start on Saturday, making the turn at 1-over 36. Another bogey at No. 10 pushed him three strokes out of the lead and seemingly out of the conversation. Then he rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th and the monster eagle putt at 18.

“Look, it will help a bit, but I need to play well,” said Oosthuizen, responding to his wealth of major-championship experience. “There’s a lot of great players who have a chance of winning this, and I just need to go out and play as good as I can tomorrow.”

Four years ago, Henley entered the final round of the U.S. Open at Erin Hills in a share of seventh, only to falter on Sunday with a 79. Now in his eighth U.S. Open, Henley, who shared low-amateur honors in 2010 at Pebble Beach, hopes that experience will pay dividends.

 

He showed some mental fortitude down the stretch on Saturday with a brilliant up-and-down save for par from a greenside bunker on his final hole.

“Tied for the lead going into the last day of a major, you never know,” said Henley, whose last win was the 2017 Honda Classic. “I’m 32, I don’t know how many more good years I have left, but hopefully a lot. I’m just excited. You always wonder what it would feel like to be in contention.”

Major championship pressure is unlike any other. And the internal nerves will clearly be present. The stakes are high — the ultimate reward clear. One man’s name placed on a trophy that honors the champion of American golf.

Odds and ends from Saturday’s 3rd round

• With an odd number of golfers making the cut (71), four-time U.S. Open competitor Jason Gore, the USGA’s senior director of player relations, played as a non-competitive marker with Akshay Bhatia. Outgoing USGA CEO Mike Davis served as Gore’s caddie. Gore, who grew up in Valencia, Calif., qualified for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, but missed the cut.

• Richard Bland, the feel-good story of the first two days, struggled to a 77 on Saturday. Last month, the Englishman won his first European Tour event in his 478th start. Bland failed to make a single birdie during his 3rd round.

• Six of the eight left-handers to start the championship made the cut. That list: Bhatia, Brian Harman, Rick Lamb, Robert MacIntyre, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson. No southpaw has ever won the U.S. Open, the only major with that distinction.

• Sixteen countries were represented among the 71 players to make the cut, with the USA leading the way with 36. England and South Africa each had six, followed by Australia (4), Italy (3), Spain (3), Canada (2), Japan (2), the Republic of Korea (2), Argentina (1), Chile (1), Germany (1), the Republic of Ireland (1), Northern Ireland (1), Scotland (1) and Venezuela (1). 

• The last non-American player to win the U.S. Open was Martin Kaymer in 2014 at Pinehurst.

• Paired together for the third round, 2015 champion Jordan Spieth (68) and Paul Casey (67) combined for a best-ball, 10-under 61. The two combined for 13 birdies.

 

• Bryson DeChambeau’s 68 on Saturday was just the third bogey-free round of the championship, joining Rafa Cabrera Bello (Round 1) and Chez Reavie (Round 2).

• For Saturday’s third-round setup, the par-4 sixth hole (534) played one yard longer than the par-5 18th (533). When the PGA Tour’s Farmers Insurance Open is contested in late January, the sixth is played as a par 5.

• Holes 10-12 have been three of the four toughest all week, and the par-5 13th is playing slightly over par (5.07). Mackenzie Hughes is 6 under on that stretch.

• Expect to see the front right pin placement on the 18th green Sunday — that was where the pin was located when Woods holed a remarkable 12-foot birdie putt to tie Rocco Mediate in the ’08 U.S. Open and win the next day via a playoff.

Pos.	Player	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
T1	Mackenzie Hughes	-5	73	67	68	208
T1	Louis Oosthuizen	-5	67	71	70	208
T1	Russell Henley	-5	67	70	71	208
T4	Rory McIlroy	-3	70	73	67	210
T4	Bryson DeChambeau	-3	73	69	68	210
T6	Jon Rahm	-2	69	70	72	211
T6	Scottie Scheffler	-2	72	69	70	211
T6	Matthew Wolff	-2	70	68	73	211
T9	Christiaan Bezuidenhout	-1	72	70	70	212
T9	Dustin Johnson	-1	71	73	68	212
T9	Collin Morikawa	-1	75	67	70	212
T9	Xander Schauffele	-1	69	71	72	212
T9	Kevin Streelman	-1	71	69	72	212
T14	Paul Casey	E	71	75	67	213
T14	Harris English	E	72	70	71	213
T14	Sungjae Im	E	72	72	69	213
T14	Brooks Koepka	E	69	73	71	213
T14	Francesco Molinari	E	68	76	69	213
T14	Ian Poulter	E	74	71	68	213
T14	Justin Thomas	E	73	69	71	213
T21	Chris Baker	+1	74	71	69	214
T21	Richard Bland	+1	70	67	77	214
T21	Lanto Griffin	+1	76	69	69	214
T21	Brian Harman	+1	72	71	71	214
T21	Martin Kaymer	+1	77	68	69	214
T21	Guido Migliozzi	+1	71	70	73	214
T21	Jordan Spieth	+1	77	69	68	214
T21	Lee Westwood	+1	71	72	71	214
T29	Daniel Berger	+2	71	72	72	215
T29	Joaquin Niemann	+2	75	69	71	215
T31	Patrick Cantlay	+3	70	75	71	216
T31	Branden Grace	+3	72	70	74	216
T31	Rikuya Hoshino	+3	69	74	73	216
T31	Si Woo Kim	+3	71	75	70	216
T31	Robert MacIntyre	+3	71	73	72	216
T31	J.T. Poston	+3	72	73	71	216
T31	Chez Reavie	+3	76	68	72	216
T31	Charl Schwartzel	+3	71	74	71	216
T31	Adam Scott	+3	70	75	71	216
T31	Bubba Watson	+3	72	67	77	216
T41	Matt Fitzpatrick	+4	70	75	72	217
T41	Dylan Frittelli	+4	73	72	72	217
T41	Adam Hadwin	+4	70	72	75	217
T41	Dylan Wu	+4	70	73	74	217
T45	Rafa Cabrera Bello	+5	68	76	74	218
T45	Sergio Garcia	+5	71	74	73	218
T45	Charley Hoffman	+5	72	71	75	218
T45	Kevin Kisner	+5	73	73	72	218
T45	Shane Lowry	+5	72	74	72	218
T45	Edoardo Molinari	+5	70	76	72	218
T45	Patrick Rodgers	+5	70	71	77	218
T45	Jhonattan Vegas	+5	75	69	74	218
T45	Gary Woodland	+5	74	71	73	218
T54	Akshay Bhatia	+6	73	73	73	219
T54	Stewart Cink	+6	73	72	74	219
T54	Tommy Fleetwood	+6	72	73	74	219
T54	Tom Hoge	+6	72	71	76	219
T54	Marc Leishman	+6	74	70	75	219
T54	Hideki Matsuyama	+6	69	76	74	219
T54	Troy Merritt	+6	75	71	73	219
T54	Wade Ormsby	+6	72	74	73	219
T54	Patrick Reed	+6	72	73	74	219
T63	Rick Lamb	+7	71	75	74	220
T63	Phil Mickelson	+7	75	69	76	220
T63	Taylor Montgomery	+7	70	76	74	220
T63	Greyson Sigg	+7	71	74	75	220
T67	Matt Jones	+9	72	71	79	222
T67	Kyle Westmoreland	+9	71	73	78	222
69	Jimmy Walker	10	74	72	77	223
70	Fabián Gómez	11	70	76	78	224
71	Wilco Nienaber	13	72	74	80	226
CUT	Marcus Armitage	+5	71	76		147
CUT	Sam Burns	+5	73	74		147
CUT	Wyndham Clark	+5	75	72		147
CUT	Thomas Detry	+5	71	76		147
CUT	Andrew Kozan (a)	+5	71	76		147
CUT	Taylor Pendrith	+5	75	72		147
CUT	Sam Ryder	+5	77	70		147
CUT	Cameron Smith	+5	72	75		147
CUT	Brendan Steele	+5	73	74		147
CUT	Bernd Wiesberger	+5	75	72		147
CUT	Zach Zaback	+5	75	72		147
CUT	Erik van Rooyen	+5	74	73		147
CUT	Corey Conners	+6	75	73		148
CUT	Tyrrell Hatton	+6	70	78		148
CUT	Garrick Higgo	+6	76	72		148
CUT	Zach Johnson	+6	75	73		148
CUT	Matt Kuchar	+6	73	75		148
CUT	Sebastián Muñoz	+6	71	77		148
CUT	Carlos Ortiz	+6	75	73		148
CUT	Ollie Osborne (a)	+6	76	72		148
CUT	Spencer Ralston (a)	+6	75	73		148
CUT	Johannes Veerman	+6	73	75		148
CUT	Matt Wallace	+6	74	74		148
CUT	Joe Highsmith (a)	+7	76	73		149
CUT	Max Homa	+7	76	73		149
CUT	Billy Horschel	+7	74	75		149
CUT	Michael Johnson	+7	74	75		149
CUT	Jordan Smith	+7	77	72		149
CUT	Zack Sucher	+7	75	74		149
CUT	Sahith Theegala	+7	76	73		149
CUT	Brendon Todd	+7	78	71		149
CUT	Will Zalatoris	+7	75	74		149
CUT	Abraham Ancer	+8	73	77		150
CUT	Eric Cole	+8	77	73		150
CUT	Tony Finau	+8	74	76		150
CUT	Luis Gagne	+8	75	75		150
CUT	Cole Hammer (a)	+8	77	73		150
CUT	Martin Laird	+8	74	76		150
CUT	Kevin Na	+8	77	73		150
CUT	Ryan Palmer	+8	76	74		150
CUT	Victor Perez	+8	75	75		150
CUT	Robby Shelton	+8	78	72		150
CUT	Hayden Springer	+8	77	73		150
CUT	Cameron Young	+8	72	78		150
CUT	Yosuke Asaji	+9	76	75		151
CUT	Paul Barjon	+9	73	78		151
CUT	Hayden Buckley	+9	69	82		151
CUT	Cameron Champ	+9	76	75		151
CUT	Pierceson Coody (a)	+9	73	78		151
CUT	Jason Kokrak	+9	73	78		151
CUT	Peter Malnati	+9	75	76		151
CUT	Adrian Meronk	+9	72	79		151
CUT	Matthew Sharpstene (a)	+9	74	77		151
CUT	Matthew Southgate	+9	75	76		151
CUT	Brian Stuard	+9	78	73		151
CUT	Brad Kennedy	10	74	78		152
CUT	Matthias Schmid (a)	10	76	76		152
CUT	Davis Shore	10	76	76		152
CUT	Webb Simpson	10	79	73		152
CUT	J.J. Spaun	10	77	75		152
CUT	Henrik Stenson	10	76	76		152
CUT	Justin Suh	10	78	74		152
CUT	Thomas Aiken	11	80	73		153
CUT	Roy Cootes	11	76	77		153
CUT	Ryo Ishikawa	11	77	76		153
CUT	Sung Kang	11	75	78		153
CUT	Chan Kim	11	76	77		153
CUT	Joe Long (a)	11	77	76		153
CUT	Andy Pope	11	76	77		153
CUT	David Coupland (a)	12	74	80		154
CUT	Christopher Crawford	13	76	79		155
CUT	K.H. Lee	13	76	79		155
CUT	Justin Rose	13	78	77		155
CUT	Carson Schaake	13	76	79		155
CUT	Luis Fernando Barco	14	77	79		156
CUT	Bo Hoag	14	78	78		156
CUT	Dylan Meyer	14	78	78		156
CUT	Tyler Strafaci	14	78	78		156
CUT	Mario Carmona	15	77	80		157
CUT	John Huh	15	80	77		157
CUT	Alvaro Ortiz	15	82	75		157
CUT	Steve Allan	17	80	79		159
CUT	Wilson Furr	17	77	82		159
CUT	James Hervol	18	79	81		160
WD	Viktor Hovland	+9	74			74