It’s almost Sunday at the US Open and the leaderboard is packed with players who would be first time major champions.
Adam Scott is the only major champion among the top-10 on the leaderboard at Oakmont. Will the energy of youth or the experience of age prevail?
Here are 10 things to know about round 3 of the US Open at Oakmont.
1. Sam Burns, who was the 36-hole leader this week, made just two bogeys in Round 3, which helped him maintain the lead entering the final round. He is the first player ever to hold a 36-hole lead at a U.S. Open at Oakmont and commit just two bogeys (or worse) in the third round. The previous best was three bogeys, by Dustin Johnson in 2016 and Ben Hogan in 1953.
2. Adam Scott, who will be 44 years, 334 days old on Sunday, would become the second-oldest player ever to win the U.S. Open. Hale Irwin was 45 years and 15 days old when he won at Medinah CC in 1990. Next on the list is Raymond Floyd, who was 43 years, 284 days old when he won at Shinnecock Hills in 1986.
3. With a win tomorrow, Adam Scott would break the record for the longest time between a player's first and second major championship victories. Scott won the 2013 Masters. The current mark is shared by Julius Boros (1952-1963) and Ben Crenshaw (1984-1995), both of whom went 11 years between their respective first and second majors.
4. This will be the third time in his career that Adam Scott will play in the ultimate group in the final round of a major. He did that at the 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive CC (paired with eventual winner Brooks Koepka) and the 2012 Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes (paired with 54-hole leader Graeme McDowell). Scott finished third and second in those two championships, respectively.
5. The front nine played much easier in Round 3 (36.567) than it did in Round 2 (38.477). Six players shot 33 or better on the front nine in Round 3; whereas only player managed to do that in Round 2 (Victor Perez, who benefitted from an ace on Hole #6!).
6. No player birdied Hole #15 in the third round. It marked the first time since 2018 that no player managed to birdie a hole during one round of a U.S. Open. That happened on Hole #14 at Shinnecock Hills during the third round. The last time there were no birdies on a particular hole during one round at Oakmont CC in a U.S. Open was in 2007, at Hole #1 in Round 3. (That almost happened again on Saturday, as only J.J. Spaun managed to birdie the first hole in round three!).
7. Missing the green on #9 proved to be extremely punitive in the third round. Twenty-six players missed the green and only one managed to save par...and that was Jordan Spieth who chipped in to save his four.
8. Adam Scott is the only player among the top-10 on the 54-hole leader board with a major championship to his credit. That last time a U.S. Open had one or zero major winners among the top-10 and ties entering the final round was 2017 at Erin Hills (there were none that year).
9. Carlos Ortiz and Adam Scott shot the best third round score (67). It is just the second time in major championship history that a player representing Mexico had the best round of the day (tied or outright) at a major championship. Abraham Ancer had the best final round at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island (65).
10. A) Scottie Scheffler has made 15 bogeys (or worse) this week. It is the highest total through three rounds of any tournament during this PGA TOUR career.
10. Rory McIlroy has made just seven birdies/eagles, which matches his career low number of par-breakers through three rounds of any major championship.
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