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What you need to know for Round 3 of the U.S. Open

Published

10 years ago

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A script writer would wake up and ask someone to pinch him, given the number of story lines woven into the first two rounds of the 2015 U.S. Open championship at Chambers Bay.

Get this one out of the way quickly. Tiger Wood and Rickie Fowler finished T150 and T145, respectively, and are gone for the weekend.

Two months ago, the golf world discussed the possibility of a Rory slam, as the northern Irishman arrived at Augusta with two majors in tow. How things have changed. The Masters champion, Jordan Spieth, finds himself in the thick of things. Despite a double-bogey on the 18th hole (his ninth hole of the day), Spieth made six birdies, moving into a tie for first with Patrick Reed. And somehow, the young Texan manages to keep it all in perspective. When asked about a particular hole-out by playing partner Jason Day, Spieth replied:

[quote_box_center]”I screamed. I had a good view. I was right in line with it and he hit it and the wind started holding it up. That’s pretty good, second bounce or third bounce or whatever it was, dunk. I just screamed back at him as if I was sitting in the gallery. It was a cool shot to see. Probably wouldn’t scream if he did it on Sunday and we were tied, but it was nice today.”[/quote_box_center]

As for Reed, the self-proclaimed top-5 golfer lived up to that billing. He made a mere six pars on the day. He speckled his card with six bogeys, five birdies and an eagle for the most diverse 69 of the day. One thing’s for sure: the third-round pairing of Reed and Spieth in the final spot has soooo muuuuch potential!

Henrik Stenson and Dustin Johnson found that a first-round lead is hard to hold, especially on a course like Chambers Bay. Stenson dropped three shots to par, going from 5-under to 2-under and a tie for ninth. Johnson fared a bit better, but bogeyed three of his final five holes for a 1-over-par round, 4-under for the tournament.

Nearly a decade ago, Jamie Lovemark was the Jordan Spieth-Patrick Reed of the amateur circuit. He was the can’t-miss kid, who then missed for the better part of a decade. Now, Lovemark has a chance to make a (love)mark for himself in the U.S. Open. He currently sits at 2-under par, in prime position to make a run on the weekend. Lovemark is well aware of his current opportunity:

[quote_box_center]”A lot of solid golf, nothing too great. A bunch of consistent play, some good finishes. Played the Honda earlier and a bunch on the Web.com Tour. No huge tournaments. I’ve been playing well in what I’ve been playing.”[/quote_box_center]

Dark horse of the week card is currently held by Branden Grace of South Africa, with Tony Finau in close pursuit. Grace added a 67 to his opening 69 to move into a tie for third with DJ. Grace’s four birdie, three bogey round was highlighted by a monster putt for eagle on the monster 582-yard eighth. Finau proved himself to be another one capable of birdie runs. The tour rookie had six birdies on the day for 68 and is 3-under overall.

And finally, the fellow you’ve all been worrying about: Jason Day. The Aussie is recovering from a bout of vertigo. He is 2-under, is still entered in the tournament and is scheduled to tee off on Saturday in one of the final six pairings. Still in search of his first major title, Day will need to continue his average of five birdies per day, while limiting the number of “others.” And he’ll need to stay on his feet. Here’s hoping he feels better on Saturday.

What can golf fans expect from the weekend? Continued opinions on the course set-up. Jordan Spieth was vocal about the reversing of par on Nos. 1 and 18. For the uninformed, No. 1 played as a par-4 on Thursday and a par-5 on Friday, while No. 18 did the opposite. This and other inroads (fescue greens, for one) by Mike Davis, the USGA’s executive director, are met with a variety of reactions from all involved. Davis spoke honestly on the topic on Wednesday:

[quote_box_center]”To play on fine fescue, whether it’s roughs, fairways or even greens, and being built on sand and in an area that really has very little humidity and we’re not going to get rain, this is going to be a very, very different U.S. Open test. But a good one. And ultimately while it’s going to be different, while it’s esthetically going to be different, architect really different, we are going to remain true to really what a U.S. Open is and what it’s been, which is a great comprehensive test of shot-making skills, course management skills, ability to handle your nerves, and I think truly anybody that’s walked this, there’s a bit of an endurance test, as well.”[/quote_box_center]

From fans to writers to contestants, the vision for this year’s U.S. Open is certainly different and not always understood or supported. To see how it all plays out, stay tuned this weekend to GolfWRX and your flat screen.

Related Topics:

Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

16 Comments

16 Comments

  1. prime21

    Jun 20, 2015 at 11:45 pm

    I’m pretty sure everyone knew what tour ad ment when it was referenced to being used in a 3 iron. Don’t need to be a tour gear head to catch that one. I just want to know why Fox refuses to use a ticker or even show where players stand while teeing off. While I can appreciate seeing the Top 4, I also like to keep tabs on others throughout the day.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Ronald Montesano

    Jun 20, 2015 at 11:17 pm

    diverse, not divers.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Ronald Montesano

    Jun 20, 2015 at 10:52 pm

    It is quite divers, Bubba. Golfers at the top hung on, while others entered the picture from beneath. Sunday will provide drama amidst the dusty heat of a true Western!

    Reply Report comment

  4. Matto

    Jun 20, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    Well opinions are like you know what. I’m personally really liking the commentary, especially Greg Norman & Cory Pavin. It’s been enjoyable not to hear mushmouth/sounds as though he’s drunk, Johnny Miller on the mic. (The camera work on the other hand, that seems to be the main issue, that seems average at best)

    Reply Report comment

    • Ronald Montesano

      Jun 20, 2015 at 3:58 pm

      Unlike other US Open venues, this one has really never been shot (save the US Amateur in 2010.) I wonder if the Fox team did research into the angles used then. I hope that the course and the golf take over at the forefront of commentary from here on out.

      Reply Report comment

    • Barry S.

      Jun 20, 2015 at 4:11 pm

      I’ve enjoyed listening to the commentary of Corey Pavin and The Shark.

      Reply Report comment

  5. Reeves

    Jun 20, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    Want to agree worst coverage of a golf tournament ever….keep waiting for Whoopi Goldberg and her crew to show up and give us 10 minutes on what they think of the course set-up. How much money did FOX spend to hire a bunch of Golf Channel cast offs to commentate a golf tournament. Producer does not under stand it is about the players on the course not the has been’s up in the booth.

    Reply Report comment

    • Ronald Montesano

      Jun 20, 2015 at 3:57 pm

      Interesting take. I agree that there is a lot of commentary. I hope to see more of the course today.

      Reply Report comment

      • gordern

        Jun 20, 2015 at 10:50 pm

        did not happen until they spent over 30 minutes hashing out what we were going to see today (which never happened) no one came from out of the early wave to make a statement. Have to agree with Gary Player this does nothing for the game of golf, amateurs already think they play as good as pros, now I can hear all the single digits at my club talking about how they would have took out a bunch of the pros this weekend.

        Reply Report comment

    • Barry S.

      Jun 20, 2015 at 4:08 pm

      Brian Williams a past Master’s Champion would be a great addition to the Golf Channel.

      Reply Report comment

      • Signboy

        Jun 23, 2015 at 11:12 pm

        I like that, I think he won the grand slam in 1958.

        Reply Report comment

    • Pat M

      Jun 21, 2015 at 9:43 am

      The course is awful too. I turned it off because you cannot see the ball on the green most of the time. The “greens” are a joke.

      Reply Report comment

  6. Christosterone

    Jun 20, 2015 at 10:51 am

    It is really surprising/impressive that spieth and finau are using the tour ad in their 3 irons….graphite shafts have come a long way.

    Reply Report comment

    • Ronald Montesano

      Jun 20, 2015 at 3:56 pm

      Is that a typo, Christosterone? What does “using the tour ad” mean?

      Reply Report comment

      • TJS

        Jun 20, 2015 at 5:30 pm

        your’e welcome for the correction on Reed…thanks for deleting the comment. Not a real WRX’er if you don’t know what a Tour AD is. As they say, “search” is you’re friend.

        Reply Report comment

        • Ronald Montesano

          Jun 20, 2015 at 11:21 pm

          Written like a tour gear head and my apologies for not being a “real WRX’er,” gents. I think you’ll agree that “tour ad” reads like an advertisement for the tour, while Tour AD has product written all over it. Both Finau and Spieth are in Sunday’s top ten, so let’s see if the Tour AD brings either of them the brass ring.

          Reply Report comment

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