Burns holds steady, stays 1 shot up at U.S. Open

OAKMONT, Pa. -- Sam Burns lone wobbled doubly connected a soggy Oakmont people Saturday and held his nervus with a large lag from conscionable wrong 60 feet connected the last spread for a 1-under 69, leaving him 1 circular distant from a U.S. Open rubric and nary borderline for error.

Burns, who has ne'er contended successful his 20 erstwhile majors, adjacent takes connected the Sunday unit of golf's astir stringent trial alongside Adam Scott, the 44-year-old Australian and the lone subordinate among the apical 10 with acquisition winning a major.

Scott, whose lone large was 12 years agone astatine the Masters, didn't marque a mistake since a brushed bogey connected the opening spread and looked acold younger than his 44 years down the agelong with superb robust play and capable putts for a 67, leaving him 1 changeable behind.

This was shaping up to beryllium a chaotic pursuit to the finish, with lone 4 players nether par. That starts with Burns astatine 4-under 206. He has 5 PGA Tour titles, the past 1 much than 2 years ago. He is coming disconnected a playoff nonaccomplishment past week successful the Canadian Open.

J.J. Spaun, who mislaid successful a playoff astatine The Players Championship successful March, kept gait with Burns passim the backmost 9 until the end, erstwhile helium couldn't prevention par from a bunker and changeable 69. He joined Scott a changeable behind.

"It seemed similar we were benignant of backmost and forth," Spaun said. "He would instrumentality the lead, I would instrumentality the lead, I would autumn back, whatever. But it was fun. You can't truly play against your opponent; you got to play this course. There's conscionable truthful overmuch connected request with each shot."

The different subsister to par was Viktor Hovland, who has been smiling arsenic overmuch arsenic anyone connected a people that has been exasperating to truthful galore each week. Hovland salvaged a bogey from an opening tee changeable into the bushes and an exquisite changeable disconnected the muddied cart path.

But helium deed the pin connected the uphill ninth spread for birdie and deed an astonishing wedge from the cabbage near of the 17th greenish for a tap-in birdie. He closed with a bogey from the rain-soaked unsmooth connected the 18th for a 70 and was 3 behind

"I'm good alert that I've got a accidental tomorrow, and if I sprout a debased circular of play time past thing tin happen," Hovland said. "But there's a batch of bully players astir me. Adam Scott played a superb circular today, conscionable didn't truly miss a shot. That forces maine to play immoderate truly bully play tomorrow."

Carlos Ortiz turned successful 1 of the astir singular performances by going bogey-free for 30 consecutive holes. The streak ended connected the 18th, but the Mexican inactive had a 67 and was precise overmuch successful scope astatine even-par 210.

Missing from the premix was Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 subordinate who had won 3 of his past 4 tournaments coming into the U.S. Open. Scheffler ne'er recovered immoderate momentum, with 1 captious agelong coming close earlier the turn.

After holing a 20-foot birdie putt connected the sixth, Scheffler saved par aft driving into the unsmooth connected No. 7 and hitting wedge to 3 feet. But past what looked similar a tap-in par connected the agelong par-3 eighth turned into a shocking miss.

He coiled up with a 70, moving him from a necktie for 23rd to conscionable extracurricular the apical 10. But helium was 8 shots down Burns, his champion person connected circuit with whom helium shares a location astatine the majors.

"I enactment myself successful this position," Scheffler said. "It's not the presumption I privation to beryllium in, but I've done a bully occupation of hanging successful determination and staying successful the tournament."

The champion quality for this U.S. Open was that it finished the 3rd circular without upwind getting successful the way. Oakmont received an inch of rainfall from erstwhile played ended connected Friday evening. The USGA offered to refund tickets to spectators who didn't privation to traipse done the muck.

Divots taken from the fairways looked similar pelts, and the greens were noticeable softer and much receptive. There was 1 spell midway done the circular erstwhile umbrellas were retired and the prima was shining.

Everyone plodded along, trying desperately to debar unsmooth that hasn't been chopped and greens that ne'er look to suffer their speed.

Burns, a 28-year-old from from Louisiana, had the look of idiosyncratic determined to adhd his database to young Americans acceptable to seizure a major. He took a astir antithetic way connected the pugnacious 3rd spread with a thrust good to the left, implicit the religion pew bunkers and into the adjacent 4th fairway, allowing him to debar a unsighted shot.

He picked up birdies with a wedge from the fairway to a backmost pin connected No. 5 and a tee changeable to 7 feet connected the accessible par-3 13th. Equally important were the 3 times helium saved par from the fairway aft getting retired of presumption disconnected the tee

Then came the closing stretch. He clipped a wedge that raced toward a backmost pin and checked up a ft distant connected the abbreviated par-4 17th. And helium caught a interruption connected the 18th erstwhile his thrust into the unsmooth caught a bully lie, a rarity astatine Oakmont, allowing him to scope the backmost of the greenish astir 60 feet away. He mildly rolled the putt down to 4 feet for 1 past par and the lead.