OAKMONT, Pa. — Oakmont Country Club has been the backdrop for major victories by the likes of Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller. Through 54 holes, Sam Burns is in the best position to add his name to that storied list.
“This place is special in itself,” Burns said, “and the history here and all the people that have been before me and walked these grounds and played here, it’s really special.”
Burns saved par at the final hole after playing partner J.J. Spaun made bogey to earn a one-shot lead at the U.S. Open on Saturday at Oakmont Country Club.
Burns carded a 1-under-par 69 to climb to 4 under for the week, one better than Spaun (69) and Australia’s Adam Scott, who made a late charge to shoot 67. Norway’s Viktor Hovland (70) is three off the pace at 1 under.
Both Burns and Spaun landed their drives at the par-4 18th in the right rough, but Spaun’s next shot found a greenside bunker and Burns flew his to the back part of the green. Spaun couldn’t convert the up-and-down, while Burns managed a two-putt to remain at 4 under.
Burns, Spaun and Hovland are all vying for their first major championship. They each rank between No. 14 and 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking, but they’ve contended at relatively few majors before this week.
“Obviously I’ve got a chance,” said Hovland, the 2023 FedEx Cup winner with four top-10s at majors since 2022. “If you would have asked me start of the week if I had a chance to win on Sunday I would have been extremely happy with that, three shots behind. A lot of things can happen out here. That could go away on one hole.”
Carlos Ortiz, vying to become the first Mexican man to win a major, was bogey-free until a mis-read of his par save at No. 18. He still posted a 67, tied with Scott for the low round of the day, and sits fifth at even par.
Tyrrell Hatton of England, a LIV Golf member along with Ortiz, shot 68 and is tied for sixth at 1 over with South African Thriston Lawrence (70).
Oakmont received a dousing of rain overnight and another quick and heavy shower early in the leaders’ round, adding to a historically rainy past month in the Pittsburgh area. The course played somewhat softer and easier as a result, with a scoring average of 72.66, more than two shots lower than Friday.
“We had a wind switch before we even teed off,” Spaun said. “… So given that and how soft and wet everything was, it played longer, but it kind of allowed for longer irons in to really stop. You were able to control your landing spot, just because of how soft they were.”
Spaun briefly held the solo lead when he birdied the first hole and Burns bogeyed No. 2. After a bogey-birdie sequence from Spaun, Burns caught him at 3 under when he spun a short iron inside 3 feet at No. 5 to arrange a birdie.
They went par for par for the next seven holes before Burns took the edge by rolling in a 7-foot birdie putt at the par-3 13th.
Scott was even par through two and a half rounds before he hit a stellar series of shots on Saturday’s back nine. He stuck his tee shot at No. 13 inside 5 feet, then made it back-to-back birdies by spinning his approach at No. 14 within inches of the cup.
After nearly holing out of the sand for birdie at No. 15, Scott drove it into the bunker at the short par-4 17th and splashed out to about 14 feet. He made the ensuing birdie, while just behind him, Burns bogeyed No. 16 — creating a three-way lead at 3 under.
But Burns and Spaun followed with birdies of their own at No. 17. For Spaun, it ended a stretch of 12 consecutive pars.
Unlike his peers on the leaderboard, Scott has a major win under his belt (2013 Masters) and played at the past two U.S. Opens at Oakmont.
“I would say I was less overwhelmed coming to Oakmont this time, and that’s not a knock on the golf course, but maybe just a couple trips around the U.S. Open here, I knew what to expect,” Scott said.
Ortiz, who had four birdies between the fourth and 14th holes, had to advance through final qualifying to earn his spot in the field this week. It’s his first major appearance since the 2023 U.S. Open, and he feels he’s a new man.
“I have a completely different game than I had in my last major,” Ortiz said. “I feel that I’ve done a lot of good work with my coach to get the swing to be more consistent and hit the shots when I need to. I was just excited to be able to start playing majors again, because I feel like I’m playing good enough to compete on these things.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler posted an even-par 70, his best round of the week, and enters the final round at 4 over, eight off the pace set by his longtime friend.
“Sam’s been preparing for moments like this for a long time,” Scheffler said, “and he’s put himself in position to win the golf tournament and he’s going to go out tomorrow and try and execute.”
–Adam Zielonka, Field Level Media
