Adam Scott rolled back the years to move within a shot of Sam Burns heading into the final round of the US Open, as Ryder Cup stars Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton remained in major contention.
Scott carded three birdies in a five-hole stretch on his back nine to post a three-under 67 at Oakmont Country Club, matching the lowest round of the day and bolstering his hopes of a first major title in 12 years.
The former world No 1 heads into the final day on three under and in tied-second with JJ Spaun, as Burns retained his overnight one-shot advantage after mixing three birdies with two bogeys in a third-round 69.
Viktor Hovland is three strokes behind Burns and one of four players still under-par for the tournament heading into the final day, with Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz in fifth on level par after matching Scott’s 67 and Hatton within four of the lead after a second-round 68.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is in a share of ninth at three over and world No 1 Scottie Scheffler is eight strokes back as he chases a second successive major, while Masters champion Rory McIlroy tumbled further down the leaderboard to ten over after a four-over 74.
How Burns stayed ahead at Oakmont
Spaun rolled in a 15-foot birdie at the first and moved ahead when Burns’ wayward tee shot at the next led to a bogey, only to lose his outright advantage with a dropped shot at the third.
Burns failed to take advantage of the par-five fourth, where Spaun converted from five feet to reclaim his advantage, but made a kick-in birdie after a brilliant approach into the fifth to join his playing partner on three under.
Iona Stephen took a look at the final pairing and how their recent good form has carried them in to the lead at Oakmont Country Club
Last week’s RBC Canadian Open runner-up scrambled a par at the seventh after struggling to get out of a fairway bunker to stay level with Spaun, with nothing separating the pair as they continued to exchange pars around the turn.
Neither player took advantage of the par-five 12th, where Burns got up and down from the fairway to salvage a par, before he edged back ahead with an eight-foot birdie at the par-three next.
Burns holed from seven feet to save par at the next and produced a stunning up and down from a greenside bunker to match Spaun’s par at the 14th, only to miss from six feet and bogey the par-three 16th.
Scott – playing in the group ahead – had started the day three behind and lost further ground with an opening-hole bogey, only to temporarily make it a three-way tie, following back-to-back birdies from the 13th by holing from 15 feet to add another at the 17th.
Rich Beem and Nick Dougherty discuss Adam Scott’s chances of winning the US Open at Oakmont, with the 44-year-old just one off the 54-hole lead
Spaun ended a run of pars with a 12-foot birdie on the same hole, where Burns chipped to tap-in range to also get to four under, but lost his share of the lead when he failed to get up and down from the sand to save par at the last.
Burns’ two-putt par was enough to secure the first 54-hole lead of his major career and set up a final-round pairing with Scott, who also closed with a par, while Hovland stayed within three of the lead despite cancelling out a penultimate-hole birdie with a dropped shot at the last.
Viktor Hovland made an incredible birdie to briefly get within one of the leaders during his third round
Scheffler fails to close as McIlroy falls further behind
Scheffler maintained he was still in contention after Friday’s second round but heads into the final day outside of the top-10 after a level-par 70, where he saw three birdies cancelled out by three bogeys as he failed to make ground on the leaders.
“It’s going to be really tough for me to catch them,” Scheffler said. “Do I feel like I’m out of the tournament? No. Do I wish I played a little bit better today? Yeah, of course. It’s not the position I want to be in, but I’ve done a good job of hanging in there and staying in the tournament.”
Scottie Scheffler missed an incredibly short putt on the eighth hole during his third round at Oakmont
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka is a further stroke back and Jon Rahm sits on seven over alongside Xander Schauffele, who carded a one-over 71 playing alongside McIlroy.
The Masters champion scrambled two birdies in the final four holes during Friday’s second round just to make the cut but drifted further out of contention during day three, where he carded two birdies and six bogeys in another frustrating display.
Speaking after the third round of the US Open at Oakmont, Rory McIlroy explained to the press why he’s decided to avoid post-round media duties at recent tournaments
Asked what his expectations were for Sunday’s final round, he said: “Hopefully a round in under four and a half hours and get out of here.
“I actually feel like I’ve played OK this week. It’s a golf course where the tiniest mistakes get penalised a lot and that’s sort of how it’s felt this week.”
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