OAKMONT, Pa. — Sam Burns and J.J. Spaun each came into Saturday’s third round at Oakmont Country Club in an unfamiliar position — sitting atop the leaderboard at a major championship.
Burns led Spaun by one to start the day, and after going shot-for-shot for 18 holes, trading birdies, pars and even the occasional bogey, the pair maintained their spots atop the leaderboard with Burns sitting alone in the lead at 4-under after a 1-under 69 and Spaun a shot back after his own 1-under 69, each in search of their first major championship at the 125th U.S. Open.
“If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 100 times, but this golf course is difficult. It takes a lot of patience,” Burns said after his round. “I didn’t drive the ball as well as I would have liked to, but when I got out of position, I feel like I did a good job of getting myself back in the fairway, having a wedge or short iron shot in my hand and giving myself a chance for par. I was able to convert some of those and keep the momentum going. That was key to the round today.
“I think as a kid growing up, you dream about winning major championships and that’s why we practice so hard and work so hard. All these guys in this field I think would agree that to have the opportunity to win a major is special. I’m definitely really excited for (Sunday).”
Playing his self-described brand of “old-man-par” golf this week, 44-year-old Adam Scott is tied with Spaun at 3-under one shot off the lead. It’s the seventh time in his long career that Scott has been in the top-3 of the 54-hole leaderboard at a major championship.
The most recent was at the 2018 PGA Championship where he finished third, and his only time going on to win came at the 2013 Masters, which he took in a sudden death playoff against Angel Cabrera.
After back-to-back even-par 70s, Scott put together a 3-under 67 during the third round, which tied for the low round of the day with Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz. He’s just the second player ever to open with three rounds of par or better in a U.S. Open held at Oakmont.
“Everyone out here has got their journey — putting ourselves in these positions doesn’t just happen by fluke,” Scott said. “It’s not easy to do it. I really haven’t been in this position for five or six years. But that’s what I’m always working towards. It’s not that easy to figure it all out. But if I were to come away with it tomorrow, it would be a hell of a round of golf and an exclamation point on my career.”
Spaun made an early birdie on the first hole and kept pace with Burns for most of the afternoon, even briefly retaking the solo lead after a bogey by Burns on No. 2.
But an errant tee shot led to a bogey on 18 to put him one shot back heading into Sunday.
“I’m just happy I’m still within shouting distance going into tomorrow,” Spaun said. “18’s just a tough hole if you’re out of position. … Bogeys happen at Oakmont, and I still got 18 holes tomorrow.
“This is the first time for me to be in contention in a major. … It’s everything that you prepare and hope to have the opportunity to have at these big events, let alone just getting into them, which is so hard.”
Viktor Hovland, who began the day at 1-under, looked headed for disaster after pulling his opening tee shot on No. 1 fore right into an unplayable area. He composed himself, took a drop, put his approach on the green from an questionable position and made bogey.
Despite another quick bogey on No. 3, he would go on to make three more birdies before bogeying the 18th to finish even-par for the round and alone in fourth at 1-under.
“Pretty pleased with how I battled out there,” Hovland said. “Didn’t get off to a great start, and just kept plugging along. Hit some great iron shots and made some nice putts around the turn there. … I’m well aware I’ve got a chance (Sunday), and if I shoot a low round of golf, then anything can happen. But there’s a lot of good players around me. Adam Scott played a brilliant round today, just didn’t really miss a shot. That forces me to play some really good golf tomorrow.”
OLD TIMERS
Legendary golfers Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller know a little something about winning U.S. Opens at Oakmont.
The pair were both on hand Saturday to take in the action on moving day at Oakmont.
Nicklaus, a Columbus native and Ohio State product, won the first of his 18 majors and four U.S. Opens at Oakmont in 1962. Having just turned professional that previous fall, he fended off western Pennsylvania native and fellow legend Arnold Palmer in an 18-hole playoff by three strokes.
“The key was to beat Arnold Palmer,” Nicklaus said during a press conference at Oakmont on Saturday. “I came in 10 days before the tournament and played a couple of times. … I hadn’t won. I finished second in ‘60 and fourth in ‘61 and sort of felt like this was my Open. I didn’t realize, as a 22-year-old might not, that I was in Arnold Palmer’s backyard. … I loved USGA setups. I knew that you had to drive the ball straight, and I knew putting was going to be a premium on this golf course.”
Miller, a two-time major winner, won the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont by closing out the tournament with an 8-under 63 to rally from six strokes back at the start of the final round. His 63 was a single-round scoring record for all major championships that would last for more than 40 years until Justin Thomas broke it with a 9-under 63 at Erin Hills in 2017.
“I was pretty upset about the 76 I shot the day before,” Miller said Saturday. “I thought, well, that’s the end of that. I had played well the three U.S. Opens before — top-10 finishes. … I birdied the first hole, that was a nice start. … After (birdieing) the fourth hole, I thought, I’ve got a shot here if I can keep this up.”
TEARS OF JOY
Even near the bottom of the leaderboard, magic can happen.
Phillip Barbaree, Jr., a 26-year-old Shreveport, La. native who played college golf with 36-hole leader and fellow Shreveport product Burns at LSU, was on the eighth green, his 17th hole Friday night when the horn blew to suspend play.
Sitting at 6-over, Barbaree had to come back early Saturday morning to finish his final two holes in the hope of making the cut, which sat at 7-over.
He ended up bogeying No. 8, which meant he needed par on the hardest hole on the course, No. 9, to make his first career PGA Tour, Korn Ferry Tour and major championship cut in eight attempts.
With his wife, Chloe, on the bag, Barbaree rolled in a five-footer for par and immediately fist-pumped. Chloe raised her hands to the air and the two embraced, sharing a teary, emotional moment together on the ninth green.
“A lot of pent-up emotion and stress from sleeping last night, or not sleeping last night, just knowing that I pretty much had to come out and make par on one of the hardest holes on the course,” Barbaree said. “Then to actually do it, that’s what you practice for, that’s what you care about. To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters, and then with her on the bag, it’s special.”
Chloe has caddied for Barbaree for just about a year. At first, it started on a temporary basis. But then when he started playing well on the PGA Tour Americas tour, he had her stick around.
“I love it. I always tell him I’m honored that he chooses me as his caddie because I know that’s a big role to fill,” Chloe said. “But I think it just works because I’m there for moral support, whatever he needs. I’m not pushy, and I don’t know all the facts, so I’m really there for moral support.”
After making the cut in the morning, Barbaree came out later for the third round and shot a 5-over 75, where he sits at 12-over overall in a tie for 57th heading into the final round on Sunday.
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