Burns up 1 at U.S. Open; Scott, Spaun keep pace

OAKMONT, Pa. -- The closest Sam Burns has travel to a large title is sharing a location with a adjacent person who already has 3 of them. He has been inspired by Scottie Scheffler the past fewer years. The adjacent measurement is to articulation him arsenic a large champion.

Burns held dependable aft missing a abbreviated par putt precocious Saturday successful the U.S. Open, responding with a beauteous transportation for a tap-in birdie and 2 scary putts down the elevation from wrong 60 feet to prevention par connected the 18th spread astatine rain-soaked Oakmont for a 1-under 69.

That gave him a one-shot pb implicit major-tested Adam Scott and J.J. Spaun, with Viktor Hovland not acold down arsenic the lone 4 players to past par.

Burns was astatine 4-under 206. He has 5 PGA Tour titles, the past 1 much than 2 years ago, and is coming disconnected a playoff nonaccomplishment past week successful the Canadian Open.

At involvement for Burns is simply a accidental for the 28-year-old from Louisiana to go the sixth American astatine 30 oregon nether to seizure his archetypal large since 2020. Scheffler has won 19 times worldwide the past 3 years, including 3 majors, astir precocious past period astatine the PGA Championship.

"Scottie's evidently an unthinkable player. I don't deliberation I request to accidental that," Burns said with a laugh. "We evidently walk a batch of clip unneurotic and being capable to speech to him and conscionable benignant of larn from him and inquire him questions, it's been truly cool."

Scheffler has won his 3 majors successful what turned retired to beryllium blowouts. Sunday astatine Oakmont was shaping up to beryllium thing but that.

Scott, who lone climbed backmost into the apical 50 successful the satellite little than a twelvemonth agone and hasn't earnestly situation successful a large successful astir 7 years, became lone the 3rd subordinate astatine par oregon amended for the opening 3 rounds successful a U.S. Open astatine Oakmont.

He birdied 3 of his past six holes for a 67, getting into the last radical erstwhile Spaun made bogey from the bunker connected the 18th spread and changeable 69. Scott is the lone subordinate among the apical 10 who has won a major. That was 12 years agone astatine the Masters. No 1 has ever gone much than 11 years betwixt their archetypal and 2nd large titles.

"Putting ourselves successful these positions doesn't conscionable hap by fluke," Scott said. "I truly haven't been successful this benignant of presumption for 5 oregon six years, oregon feeling similar I'm that player. But that's what I'm ever moving towards. It's not that casual to fig it each out.

"But if I were to travel distant with it tomorrow, it would beryllium a hellhole of a circular of play and an exclamation constituent connected my career."

Spaun, who mislaid successful a playoff astatine The Players Championship successful March, kept gait with Burns passim the backmost 9 until the end. He looked comfy nether the pressure, making lone 2 bogeys portion matching pars with Burns implicit 7 consecutive holes.

"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 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 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 and 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.

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.

Burns 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.

"I didn't thrust the shot arsenic good arsenic I would person liked to. But erstwhile I got retired of presumption I consciousness similar I did a bully occupation of getting myself backmost successful the fairway, having a wedge oregon abbreviated robust successful my manus and giving myself a accidental for par," helium said. "I was capable to person immoderate of those and benignant of kept the momentum going."

Now it's a nighttime backmost astatine the location with Scheffler, wherever the speech is much astir kids than astir golf.

"The speech successful the morning, we conscionable bent out," Scheffler said. "There volition beryllium 2 small kids moving around. There's thing crazy, there's not overmuch to say. Sam's been preparing for moments similar this for a agelong time, and he's enactment himself successful presumption to triumph the play tournament."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.