The American Will Zalatoris and Briton Matt Fitzpatrick, with a combined four under par, led the US Open on Saturdayon the third day where Jon Rahm (-3) was stuck on the 18th hole and lost the chance to lead alone.
The third day of a Grande has always been interpreted as ‘day that moves’ or ‘day that moves’, and it doesn’t disappoint expectations, with many favorites causing confusion over the difficulties presented by The Country Club and its climate change intensified the wind, made vegetables harder and He only saw two players from the others: Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Jon Rahm He closed out the day as the lone leader, with three birdies between holes 14 and 17, but he choked on the latter, twice visiting the bunkers of The Country Club and he couldn’t put it on the green. He added a double bogey that didn’t take him away with the final victory but it rested with a bad taste in his mouth.
Now Rahm doesn’t seem as satisfied with himself as he did on the first two dates, he suffered at some point of his journey, as in the bogeys of 2, 8 and 13.
Sometimes he was even annoyed in his reactions after using his scaffolding and not attacking the green as much as he would like, something the guy from Barrika always featured as the key to being up in Brookline, being successful on the scaffolding.
“As a general evaluation of the day, very good, alas 18. He made a mistake on the swing, the type of shot he wanted to hit. This is what it is, The rest of the day was very good, the course was very complicated, very difficult and making pairs was difficult. Scottie became minus six and that went fast. I don’t know how Collin (Morikawa) ended up but he’s having a hard time now. ” said Rahm at the end of his lap.
“It was a very ‘US Open’ course, the USGA prepared it in an intricate way and it was remarkable. Although it turned out to be a bad 18, I was happy with the day I had. Sometimes I get angry but I don’t let that disappoint me. It was a good day on a hard day“, he continued.
This is not a new situation for Jon Rahm, who became champion in 2021 at Torrey Pines entering the fourth round from sixth position at two under par. three shots to the leader.
He then manages to send pressure to the South African Oosthuizen hole by hole, and he has to go back to that technique that Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick are just a shot away.
Will Zalatoris signed the best card of the US Open today, with three shots under par for a combined -4 which puts him as the co-leader of the tournament. An almost perfect course and reducing positions on the table as he added his four birdies on holes 2, 4, 9 and 15. It was the best performance of his career in the third round of a major tournament with three strokes under of the field pair.
The American confirmed his inspiration in the majors this season after finishing second in the PGA Championship in May. Being among the best is not something new for him, in the absence of achieving the great goal of lifting the trophy.
“You have to believe. You must be in that situation, I think I’m part of it now, I feel that, you have to continue it tomorrow“, he claims.
Not only did Zalatoris take advantage of the hardships of the favorites on this third day, but also British Matt Fitzpatrick (-1) who signed a tour under par, and climbed into the positions to be co-leader and be included in the final list of candidates for Sunday. His bogey on the 18th left him closing in on the better, as will happen later on with his arrival at Jon Rahm.
This is a day to forget for many of the favorites, for example Collin Morikawawhich started on Saturday as leader and ended far beyond the top positions finishing +2 in three days.
Serves as data of what influenced the change in weather, which on Friday had 28 golfers playing less than par for the course and on the third date only seven managed it, none of them among the first classified in the world ranking Today is a day to see Scottie Scheffler (+1), Jon Rahm (+1) or Rory McIlroy (+3) suffer.
US Open Ranking
After the third day
1. Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) -4 (68-70-68)
. Will Zalatoris (USA) -4 (69-70-67)
3. Jon Rahm (ESP) -3 (69-67-71)
4. Keegan Bradley (USA) -2 (70-69-69)
. Adam Hadwin (CAN) -2 (66-72-70)
. Scottie Scheffler (USA) -2 (70-67-71)
7. Sam Burns (USA) -1 (71-67-71)
. Joel Dahmen (USA) -1 (67-68-74)
. Rory McIlroy (NIR) -1 (67-69-73)
10. Nick Hardy (USA) 0 (69-68-73)
11. Hayden Buckley (USA) 1 (68-68-75)
. Denny McCarthy (USA) 1 (73-70-68)
. Matthew NeSmith (USA) 1 (68-69-74)
. Seamus Power (IRL) 1 (71-70-70)
. Aaron Wise (USA) 1 (68-68-75)
. Gary Woodland (USA) 1 (69-73-69)
…
17. Dustin Johnson (USA) 2 (68-73-71)
. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 2 (70-70-72)
. Collin Morikawa (USA) 2 (69-66-77)
25. Patrick Cantlay (USA) 3 (72-71-70)
. Jordan Spieth (USA) 3 (72-70-71)
. Justin Thomas (USA) 3 (69-72-72)
33. Xander Schauffele (USA) 4 (70-69-75)
40. Brooks Koepka (USA) 5 (73-67-75)
45. Patrick Reed (USA) 6 (70-71-75)
49. Joaquin Niemann (CHI) 7 (71-70-76)
55. Bryson DeChambeau (USA) 8 (71-71-76)
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
