Spieth, Day part of 4-way share of U.S. Open lead after Round 3
Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Branden Grace, and Jason Day are part of a four-way tie for the lead at 4-under par following Round 3 of the U.S. Open.
For the second round in a row, Day's back nine was the big story as the Aussie fought through vertigo to shoot a 2-under 68. Day birdied five holes on the back nine, toting a hot flat stick after striking the ball well all day.
His caddie Colin Swatton said following the round that Day almost quit three times Saturday, but was able to push through the discomfort.
"Gutsiest round of golf I have ever seen," he said. "Also the most stressful."
"I started shaking on 16 tee box and then just tried to get it in, really," Day told reporters. "Just wanted to get it in."
While Day was dropping birdies, Spieth was struggling to stay in command, faltering with an up-and-down front nine before stabilizing on the back to stay tied for first at 4-under.
Johnson looked unstoppable at times, showing off his length and touch around the greens and threatening to run away from the field at mid-afternoon. A double bogey on 13 cooled him off and he parred out, ensuring a match up with Day in the final pairing Sunday.
The quietest leader, Grace, steadily recovered from trouble all day to card an even par 70. After two birdies in his opening nine, Grace gave back three strokes, bogeying nine, 12, and 13. He parred the final three holes to join the big names atop the leaderboard.
Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | To Par | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Jason Day | -4 | 206 |
| T1 | Dustin Johnson | -4 | 206 |
| T1 | Branden Grace | -4 | 206 |
| T1 | Jordan Spieth | -4 | 206 |
| T5 | Louis Oosthuizen | -1 | 209 |
| T5 | Cameron Smith | -1 | 209 |
| T5 | Shane Lowry | -1 | 209 |
| T5 | J.B. Holmes | -1 | 209 |
| T9 | Brandt Snedeker | +1 | 211 |
| T9 | Andres Romero | +1 | 211 |
| T9 | Henrik Stenson | +1 | 211 |
| T9 | Tony Finau | +1 | 211 |
| T9 | Joost Luiten | +1 | 211 |
| T9 | Patrick Reed | +1 | 211 |
Notables
Phil Mickelson: Lefty absolutely fell apart on Day 3, firing a 77 that included nine bogeys. The lone bright spot from this year's U.S. Open for Phil was the opening nine of Round 1, in which he fired a 3-under, 32. That seems like so long ago now.
Rory McIlroy: In a round that, McIlroy himself, said felt like he turned a "65 into a 70," the world No. 1 hit the ball well from tee-to-green. If Rory had hit even half of the short birdie putts he missed, he would be within striking distance of the leaders on Sunday. As it stands now, McIlroy will need to shoot 65 or better and hope the field comes back to him.
Louis Oosthuizen: Until Jason Day started going bananas, no one played better than the 2010 British Open champion. Oosty was dealing early, with birdies on three of his first six holes. On the back nine, he birdied 12 and 13 to keep it going. Had he made some putts down the stretch he very well could have been tied for the lead and had one of the greatest rounds in U.S. Open history.
Brian Campbell (a): At one point on Friday, Campbell was becoming a fascinating story, holding a share of the lead early on his front nine before falling off. Coming in to Saturday, he was right in the mix, sitting at 1-under par. Unfortunately, Campbell fell off on Saturday, succumbing to Chambers Bay and shooting a 78. He'll need to rally from 7-over on Sunday to catch low amateurs Ollie Schniederjans and Jack Maguire at 4-over.
Tweet/Quote of the Day
Great nugget from ESPN Stats and Info: Since '83, just seven 54-hole ties. Five of those seven times, a player not involved in the tie won.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) June 21, 2015
Shot of the Day
J.B. Holmes was flaggin on the back nine, sitting at even par on the 12th hole and buried in a greenside bunker. Holmes promptly blasted his way out of the bunker and drained an amazing eagle to get to 2-under, back in contention. He would finish three shots off the lead.