Fitzpatrick, Zalatoris share lead through 54 holes after tough day at U.S. Open
Matt Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris shot rounds of 68 and 67, respectively, to share the U.S. Open lead at 4-under following Saturday's third round at The Country Club.
Jon Rahm dropped into solo third after a double-bogey on the 18th hole. He's one shot back at 3-under.
Scottie Scheffler, Adam Hadwin, and New England native Keegan Bradley are all tied at 2-under entering the final round, with Rory McIlroy in a group at 1-under.
PLACE | PLAYER | ROUND 3 SCORE | TOTAL TO PAR |
---|---|---|---|
T1 | Will Zalatoris | 67 | -4 |
T1 | Matt Fitzpatrick | 68 | -4 |
3 | Jon Rahm | 71 | -3 |
T4 | Keegan Bradley | 69 | -2 |
T4 | Adam Hadwin | 70 | -2 |
T4 | Scottie Scheffler | 71 | -2 |
T7 | Sam Burns | 71 | -1 |
T7 | Rory McIlroy | 73 | -1 |
T7 | Joel Dahmen | 74 | -1 |
10 | Nick Hardy | 73 | E |
The third round of the U.S. Open proved to be the most difficult yet. Not a single player recorded a bogey-free round and only seven players signed for under par.
Co-leader Zalatoris had the lowest round of the day at 67, making just one bogey. The 25-year-old is still looking for win No. 1 on the PGA TOUR. He's finished runner-up twice at major championships.
Zalatoris' second runner-up came just last month when he lost a playoff to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship.
The other leader, Fitzpatrick, is also without a win on the PGA TOUR, though the 27-year-old has seven victories on the DP World Tour.
With a victory tomorrow, Fitzpatrick would join Jack Nicklaus as the only other player to win the men's U.S. Amateur and U.S. Open on the same course. Fitzpatrick won the U.S. Amateur in 2013, becoming the first English winner at the event in over a century.
Joel Dahmen, who started the third round tied for the lead at 5-under, shot a 4-over 74 on Sunday and is now three back of the leaders.
"I knew it was going to be hard," said Dahmen following his round, according to CBS Sports' Kyle Porter. "I didn't know it was going to be that hard. It was a true U.S. Open setup, that's for sure."
Hadwin, from Abbotsford, British Columbia, is looking to become just the second Canadian to win a men's major. Mike Weir is the only Canadian to do so after winning the 2003 Masters.
McIlroy, who will enter the final round three back at 1-under, is looking for his first major win in eight years. McIlroy has four previous major wins, his last coming in 2014 at the PGA Championship.
McIlroy will tee off alongside Sam Burns at 2:12 p.m. ET on Sunday, followed by Scheffler and Hadwin at 2:23 p.m. ET.
Bradley and defending champion Rahm will tee off in the penultimate pairing at 2:34 p.m. ET. Fitzpatrick and Zalatoris will tee off in the final pairing on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. ET.