U.S. Open: Rahm closes 1 behind Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick

Rahm was leading by one heading into 18, but drove into a fairway bunker, and could not clear the lip on his next shot. He hit his third into a fried-egg lie in a greenside bunker, and could not get up and down to save 5.

The double-bogey gave him a 1-over 7. He was one of seven players on the leaderboard to card a double bogey on a difficult day at The Country Club.

Collin Morikawa, who shared the lead coming into the day, shot 77 to fall six shots off the lead.

One shot behind Rahm are Keegan Bradley, Adam Hadwin and Scottie Scheffler, at 2-under 208.

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6:10 p.m.

Will Zalatoris got up-and-down from a greenside bunker on No. 18 to save par and finish his third round with the clubhouse lead at the U.S. Open on Saturday.

Zalatoris shot 3-under 67 and finished the day at 4-under 206. He was one shot ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick and Scottie Scheffler, who were on the back nine on a cool, blustery day at The Country Club.

Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa were two of six players who were another shot back at 2 under.

Zalatoris lost to Justin Thomas in a playoff last month at the PGA Championship. It was the latest in string of five top-10 finishes at majors since the 2020 U.S. Open for the 25-year-old.

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5:45 p.m.

Scottie Scheffler, is headed back toward the U.S. Open pack after a double bogey on the par-3 11th hole at The Country Club.

Scheffler grabbed the lead with an eagle on No. 8, but three holes later he wound up in the thick rough, right on top of the red painted line that marks the penalty area. His chip shot didn’t quite make it to the green; his next one went 25 feet past the hole and he two-putted for double bogey.

That left the world No. 1 and reigning Masters champion at 4 under. He was tied with Will Zalatoris.

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5 p.m.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler has moved into the lead in the third round of the U.S. Open with an eagle on the fifth hole.

The reigning Masters champion holed his approach shot from about 100 yards away to improve to 6 under for the tournament. He briefly held a two-stroke lead before 36-hole co-leader Collin Morikawa birdied No. 5 to move to minus 5.

Patrick Rodgers chipped in from the collar for eagle on No. 8 to sit one stroke back at minus 4.

Morikawa made a 30-foot putt to avoid a double bogey on the fourth hole and stay close to the lead.

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4:05 p.m.

The leaders are on the course at the U.S. Open — and just in time to avoid some contenders who are making a charge in the third round at The Country Club.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is up to 4 under, and Aaron Wise has also moved one stroke in back of second-round leader Collin Morikawa. Joel Dahmen started the day as a co-leader at minus-5 but bogeyed his first hole to drop into second.

Only about a half-dozen golfers are under par in the windy and dry conditions outside of Boston. Denny McCarthy is in the clubhouse at 2 under for the day, bringing him to plus-1 for the tournament.

Will Zalatoris made the turn at minus 2 for the day and 3 under overall.

2011 champion Rory McIlroy started the day one stroke back but bogeyed two of the first three holes.

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2:40 p.m.

A whipping wind and dry conditions at The Country Club are sending scores soaring early in the third round of the U.S. Open.

The field was a combined 103 over par shortly after 2 p.m. — with only three golfers in the red. Co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen don’t tee off until 3:45 p.m. They were minus-5 through 36 holes.

Will Zalatoris was one of the few making birdies on Saturday morning, knocking in a 40-foot putt for birdie on the second hole and just missing another from 30 feet on No. 3.

He sank a 15-footer for birdie on No. 4 to improve to 2 under for the day and 3 under for the tournament.

Zalatoris is looking for his first major championship. He finished second at the Masters last year, and was the runner-up at this year’s PGA Championship.

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11:45 a.m.

The co-leaders in the U.S. Open are still four hours from starting the third round and no one is making a big run up the leaderboard.

Only two of the 18 players on the course at The Country Club are under par for the third round.

One is Sam Stevens. He’s 1 under through six holes — 2 over for the championship — and is part of a small group at Brookline that worked the hardest to get here. Stevens and two other players went through 18 holes of local qualifying in May and then made it through 36 holes of final qualifying in June.

The others are Oklahoma star Chris Gotterup and Chris Naegel. None are likely to win. One advantage to making the cut is they can advance straight to final qualifying next year.

Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth started seven shots behind and bogeyed his opening hole. Patrick Cantlay is 1 over for his round through seven holes and is nine shots back.

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8 a.m.

The U.S. Open is wide open going into the weekend at The Country Club, and not just at the top.

Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen are tied at 5-under par and won’t tee off until 3:45 p.m. Dahmen has never won on the PGA Tour and jokingly says that he’s used to being home at 5 p.m. to have dinner.

The cut was at 3-over 143. That means only eight shots separate the leaders from last place with 36 holes to go. Such a small margin has only happened once in the last decade at the U.S. Open. That was in 2017 at Erin Hills, which wasn’t nearly the stern test Brookline has been.

Erin Hills in Wisconsin is where a record seven players finished the U.S. Open at 10 under or better. The Country Club is expected to be firm and fast, and big numbers are easy to find.

Among the players who made the cut on the number is Patrick Cantlay, the reigning PGA Tour player of the year. Jordan Spieth was one better. He starts seven shots behind.

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The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

U.S. Open: Rahm closes 1 behind Zalatoris, Fitzpatrick

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