19 June 2022: If championship Sunday in the 122nd U.S. Open can match the high drama of Round 3 on Saturday at The Country Club, fans are in for a wild ride. The way the lead kept flipping, one almost felt sorry for the folks manning the leader boards.
By the end of a turbulent and challenging day when temperatures dropped into the 60s, winds gusted in the mid-20s and red numbers were replaced by red faces, two players seeking their first major championship – and a bit of history – led the way.
Matt Fitzpatrick, an Englishman who is vying to join all-time great Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win a U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur at the same venue, and Will Zalatoris of Plano, Texas, who is looking to become the fourth player to have his name on both the U.S. Open and U.S. Junior Amateur trophies, sit at 4-under 206.
They are part of a leader board that features six players ranked in the top 18 of the Official World Golf Ranking. Zalatoris, the runner-up in last month’s PGA Championship and the 2021 Masters, is No. 14, and Fitzpatrick, whose only win on U.S. soil to date is the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club, is No. 18. Fitzpatrick shot 68 while Zalatoris shot 67 on the 7,210-yard, par-70 layout.
World No. 2 Jon Rahm could have led Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick by one stroke if not for a double-bogey 6 on his final hole when his approach shot from a fairway bunker caught the lip and stayed in the sand, and his third shot plugged in a greenside bunker. The 27-year-old Spaniard, seeking to become the eighth player to successfully defend his U.S. Open title, settled for a 1-over 71 and a 54-hole total of 207.
The group at 2-under 208 includes world No. 1 and 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who also can join Johnny Miller, Tiger Woods and fellow Texan Jordan Spieth as a U.S. Open/U.S. Junior Amateur champion, Vermont native and 2011 PGA champion Keegan Bradley and first-round leader Adam Hadwin, a last-minute alternate who is bidding to become the first Canadian winner of this championship. Scheffler got to 6 under on Saturday by holing out a 101-yard wedge approach on the par-5 eighth for eagle, only to give four strokes back coming home, including a double-bogey 5 on the 141-yard 11th.
Bradley could become the first New Englander to win the U.S. Open since Connecticut native Julius Boros prevailed in a playoff in 1963 at The Country Club for his second title.
Another stroke back is a group featuring 2011 U.S. Open winner and world No. 3 Rory McIlroy, world No. 9 Sam Burns and 54-hole co-leader Joel Dahmen.
All eyes, of course, will be on the Sunday weather forecast, which is calling for chillier temperatures – the high might creep into the low 60s – with gusty winds similar to Saturday.
When play began on Saturday, 23 players were in red figures. By day’s end, that number dropped with the temperatures as just nine are under par, and the scoring average climbed from 72.0 to 73.5.
“I put my sun cream on before the round, and I was thinking, oh, it’s going to get nice and warm, but quite the opposite by the end of the day,” said Fitzpatrick, who became the first Englishman in 102 years to win the U.S. Amateur. “The wind was strong. It made it tough. You had to be switched on with the way you were hitting it, where you were missing it, and I think that was why it was a great challenge. [Just] really happy with my score.”
Nicklaus won his U.S. Amateur in 1961 at Pebble Beach and then returned 11 years later to capture the U.S. Open. Obviously, Fitzpatrick has found a liking to The Country Club layout, which features a slightly different routing than nine years ago.
Consecutive birdies on 14 and 15, and another on the iconic 17th hole got Fitzpatrick to 5 under for the championship before a wayward tee shot on No. 18 led to his third bogey of the round.
“To come back here and play so well again, it just gives me growing confidence round by round,” said Fitzpatrick, a seven-time winner on the DP World Tour (formerly PGA European Tour). “I certainly think it gives me an edge over the others. I genuinely do believe that. It’s obviously a positive moment in my career. It kind of kickstarted me.”
Zalatoris also was here nine years ago. It was a year before he won his U.S. Junior Amateur title and four years prior to him representing the USA on the victorious Walker Cup Team. In the four years since he turned pro out of Wake Forest – the same school where Fitzpatrick’s younger brother and caddie from 2013 (Alex) just completed his eligibility – the 25-year-old has been steadily rising in the OWGR. His lone win to date is the TPC Colorado Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour, but he has had two playoff defeats in 2022, the aforementioned PGA Championship and the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in February. He also tied for sixth in this year’s Masters.
The breakthrough seemingly is on his fingertips.
“I think especially coming off the PGA it gave me a lot of belief and confidence that I belong in this situation,” said Zalatoris. “There’s a difference in thinking it and then actually being in the situation and believing it. That’s probably the biggest change. I’ve put myself in this situation a few times in my career, and obviously I have to go out and get it tomorrow.”
What’s Next
Sunday’s final round will begin at 8:49 a.m. EDT with the final twosome of Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick starting at 2:45 p.m. Peacock has live streaming from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., followed by two hours on USA Network, with NBC beginning its seven hours of coverage at noon.
Notable
Sixteen countries were represented by the 64 golfers who made the cut, including 39 Americans. England had five, Australia four and two each from Canada, the Republic of Korea and Sweden. The others were Belgium, Chile, Colombia, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Spain and South Africa.
Min Woo Lee, whose sister, Minjee Lee, won the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks ago at Pine Needles, finished with consecutive birdies on Saturday to post 1-under 69 and move from T-55 to a share of 17th. Lee eagled the par-5 eighth hole on Friday – his 17th of the day – to make the cut on the number (3-over 143). Min Woo (2016) and Minjee (2012) are the only siblings to have won USGA Junior championships.
Denny McCarthy made the biggest jump on Moving Day, going from a tie for 55th to a share of 11th with his 2-under 68. The 2015 USA Walker Cup competitor also made the cut on the number.
Two players in the top 10 got into the field as last-minute alternates: Adam Hadwin and Nick Hardy. Hadwin, who is two strokes off the lead, replaced an injured Paul Casey. Hardy got into the field after the Canadian Open was not won by a multiple PGA Tour winner who wasn’t already exempt.
In the race for low amateur, University of Texas standout and 2021 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Travis Vick owns a two-stroke lead over Texas A&M All-American Sam Bennett. Austin Greaser, the 2021 U.S. Amateur runner-up, is three strokes back.
Stewart Hagestad became the second reigning U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the cut since the USGA began given an exemption to the winner in 2017. Matt Parziale played the weekend in 2018 at Shinnecock Hills.
Aldrich Potgieter, a 17-year-old from South Africa, booked his spot into the 2023 U.S. Open at The Los Angeles Country Club on Saturday with his triumph over Sam Bairstow in the 36-hole final of The Amateur Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annees. His victory also earned him a spot in the U.S. Amateur later in August at The Ridgewood Country Club.
Select Scores
T1,Will Zalatoris,69-70-67-206,-4
T1,Matt Fitzpatrick,68-70-68-206,-4
3,Jon Rahm,69-67-71-207,-3
T4,Keegan Bradley,70-69-69-208,-2
T4,Adam Hadwin,66-72-70-208,-2
T4,Scottie Scheffler,70-67-71-208,-2
T7,Sam Burns,71-67-71-209,-1
T7,Rory McIlroy,67-69-73-209,-1
T7,Joel Dahmen,67-68-74-209,-1
10,Nick Hardy,69-68-73-210,E
T11,Denny McCarthy,73-70-68-211,+1
T11,Gary Woodland,69-73-69-211,+1
T11,Séamus Power,71-70-70-211,+1
T11,Matthew NeSmith,68-69-74-211,+1
T11,Aaron Wise,68-68-75-211,+1
T11,Hayden Buckley,68-68-75-211,+1
T17,Sebastián Muñoz,74-69-69-212,+2
T17,Min Woo Lee,73-70-69-212,+2
T17,Dustin Johnson,68-73-71-212,+2
T17,Hideki Matsuyama,70-70-72-212,+2
T17,Davis Riley,72-67-73-212,+2
T17,Brian Harman,68-69-75-212,+2
T17,Patrick Rodgers,69-68-75-212,+2
T17,Collin Morikawa,69-66-77-212,+2
Tee Times of the top 20 golfers – local time at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts
12:39 p.m. — Collin Morikawa, La Canada, Calif., 69-66-77 212, +2; Patrick Rodgers, Avon, Ind., 69-68-75 212, +2
12:50 p.m. — Brian Harman, Sea Island, Ga., 68-69-75 212, +2; Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss., 72-67-73 212, +2
1:01 p.m. — Hideki Matsuyama, Japan, 70-70-72 212, +2; Dustin Johnson, Jupiter, Fla., 68-73-71 212, +2
1:12 p.m. — Min Woo Lee, Australia, 73-70-69 212, +2; Sebastián Muñoz, Colombia, 74-69-69 212, +2
1:23 p.m. — Hayden Buckley, Tupelo, Miss., 68-68-75 211, +1; Aaron Wise, Jupiter, Fla., 68-68-75 211, +1
1:34 p.m. — Matthew NeSmith, Aiken, S.C., 68-69-74 211, +1; Séamus Power, Republic of Ireland, 71-70-70 211, +1
1:50 p.m. — Gary Woodland, Topeka, Kan., 69-73-69 211, +1; Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md., 73-70-68 211, +1
2:01 p.m. — Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill., 69-68-73 210, E; Joel Dahmen, Clarkston, Wash., 67-68-74 209, -1
2:12 p.m. — Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland, 67-69-73 209, -1; Sam Burns, Shreveport, La., 71-67-71 209, -1
2:23 p.m. — Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas, 70-67-71 208, -2; Adam Hadwin, Canada, 66-72-70 208, -2
2:34 p.m. — Keegan Bradley, Woodstock, Vt., 70-69-69 208, -2; Jon Rahm, Spain, 69-67-71 207, -3
2:45 p.m. — Matt Fitzpatrick, England, 68-70-68 206, -4; Will Zalatoris, Dallas, Texas, 69-70-67 206, -4
USGA Release
