Fowler and Clark share the lead in the third round of the US Open
Rickie Fowler had only three 1/2 feet left for par on what should have been his last shot on Saturday in a US Open round filled with much bigger moments. At stake was his first 54-hole lead in a major. Shockingly, he missed and tied with Wyndham Clark.
Fowler wasn’t bothered in the slightest.
He knows what to expect by looking ahead to a final lap on a Los Angeles Country Club course that gets harder by the minute, and by looking back at some of the players chasing them – Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson.
“That’s kind of when the tournament really starts.”
Fowler sparked excitement at the US Open with a 70-foot birdie putt, but lost the lead with a three-putt bogey on the 18th hole, which turned into a two-shot lead and a tie for the lead when Clark bravely took the fight entered into a tight peg he could barely see for a closing birdie.
Clark’s birdie put him – not McIlroy – in the final group. And he knew.
“I wanted to be in the last group. Every shot matters here,” said Clark.
He had a 69 that left him one shot behind, poised to end nine long years without a major.
“It’s fun to be on the hunt,” McIlroy said.
Fowler had to settle for an even-par 70. Clark escaped big trouble from the barranca to the right of the 17th green with a 6-foot bogey putt to stay close, then boldly grabbed a tight left pin on the 18th for a 6-foot birdie and a 69.
They were at 10-under 200.
The last hour brought a surprise at every turn. A long day of blazing sunshine baking the north runway of the Los Angeles Country Club gave way to the infamous navy coat that brought out a pair of sweatshirts late in the day.
Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, never seemed to be in the mix until he finished his round of 68 by holeing a 7-iron from 196 yards on the 17th hole and making a 20-foot birdie putt that put him in the lead. penultimate group with McIlroy.
Schauffele started his round with three shots to get out of a fairway bunker and made three bogeys in five holes, getting it all back before losing ground at the end with a series of bad drives. He was on 73, five shots back.
Harris English kept pace with the leaders until he missed short putts and big drives and ended his day with a chip shot from the deep collar around the 18th green that didn’t move the ball. His fourth bogey from the back nine gave him a 71, leaving him four shots behind.
The final hour salvaged what had been a stale atmosphere beneath the glitz of LA, with just about everyone playing a part. The five players within five shots of the lead included three major champions who were world No. 1: McIlroy, Scheffler and Johnson (71).
This is Fowler’s third time in the final group at a major. This is only Clark’s third time playing in the final round of a major. He showed great courage, followed up consecutive bogeys with a birdie on the 13th – just after Fowler stunned the stands with his 70-footer – and smartly took a penalty drop on the 17th for a closing bogey.
In the end a lot happened.
“I felt like I handled it all really well,” said Clark. “I felt like I was over all the adversity and I feel like my best lap is still out there.”
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McIlroy had a chance to end his big drought last summer in St Andrews when he shared the lead going into the final round in St Andrews, only for Cameron Smith to blow past him. He was in position twice in the past two weeks, at the Memorial and Canadian Open, but turned a last-round dud.
The stakes are huge this time, on this stage. And he has the experience, though he wasn’t sure to make it.
“It’s been so long since I’ve done it,” said McIlroy, whose last major was at the PGA Championship in 2014. “I’m going out to try and execute a game plan, and I’ve been feeling like for the past three days I executed that game plan very, very well. And I just have to do that one more day.”
Scheffler is suddenly in the mix, all because of a remarkable shot and a big putt. He’s been the epitome of consistency this year, even in the majors – tied for 10th in the Masters, tied for second in the PGA Championship.
“I’m up there on the 17th tee and just bogeyed again, and I think I was probably 4 under for the tournament and I look up at the backboard and I’m seven shots back and I think maybe I can steal a shot that comes in,” Scheffler said.
The marine layer blocking the sun had kept LACC’s greens receptive and ridiculed, at least by US Open standards. The sunshine made it a stronger test and perhaps offered a taste of things to come.
The scores don’t indicate that this is the toughest test in golf. It will probably feel like a way for the players chasing the silver trophy – Fowler and Clark going for their first, McIlroy hoping for a win that will divert attention from what has kept him from another.
Hughes is in charge of Canada
The top Canadian after three rounds is Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ont., who is five over 50th. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, BC, is tied for 55th at six left, while Adam Svensson of Surrey, BC, is tied for 61st at eight left.
