Sam Burns heads into the final round with a one-stroke lead over Adam Scott and J.J. Spaun. After shooting a one-under 69, Burns sits at four-under total after 54 holes to lead the U.S Open. There have been 44 times where a player holds a one-shot lead through 54 holes of the U.S Open. Only 14 of those players have gone on to win the championship.
Burns struggled with the driver on Saturday, hitting only 7 of 14 fairways. His steady iron play and short game helped him stay atop the leaderboard after three rounds. On the short par four 17th hole, Burns had a 40-yard chip shot that he hit low and skipped up to 7 inches for a tap-in birdie.
Spaun also birdied the 17th hole after making a 14-foot birdie putt to tie Burns at four-under par. But Spaun found the greenside bunker with his approach shot on the following hole, and a two-putt from 21 feet led to a bogey that caused him to fall to three-under with Scott.
The low rounds of the day came from Scott and LIV golfer Carlos Ortiz, who both shot 67 (-3). Scott is looking for his second career major and first since winning the 2013 Masters. If Scott were to win, this would be the longest gap between a player’s first and second major championship victory.
Viktor Hovland’s third round got off to a rough start after hitting his opening tee shot into the hedges and taking an unplayable. He ended up shooting even par and sits three strokes back of Burns.
Ortiz is alone in fifth at even par for the tournament after his round today of 67 (-3). Ortiz, who has not played in a major since the 2023 U.S. Open, is looking for his best career finish in a major. Every player in the top five is looking for their first career major win except for Scott.
With the rainy conditions expected to continue on Sunday, the scoring average should be more in line with Saturday’s average of 72.6. After only one hole playing under par on Friday, Saturday saw five holes play under par.
