Jordan Spieth missed two birdies putts on the last two holes but still managed to keep a share of the lead Saturday at the U.S. Open.
He’s part of a crowd however. Dustin Johnson, Branden Grace and Jason Day are there with him, all with a shot at winning the Open for the first time come Sunday. Of the four, only Spieth has a major to his credit — the 2015 Masters.
Chambers Bay played tough and it was Day, the least likely of the leaders, who shot the best round of the leaders. He fought off vertigo the entire back nine. He almost had to quit three times by his own count, but gutted it out and put himself in position for his first Masters. He was the first to post 206 and will play with Johnson in the final twosome.
Johnson, like Spieth, missed some birdie opportunities coming home. “It was really tough out there today. I felt like I played really well,” Johnson said after shooting even par 70. “I hit every fairway, first time I’ve ever done that.”
Grace is the least known of the four leaders. He hails from South Africa and is a regular competitor on the European Tour, looking for his first major. He will play in the next to last twosome with Spieth.
Spieth made two big putts early that got him to seven-under for the championship but three front nine bogeys and two more on the back left him a bit frustrated. “That was a grind on the back nine,” Spieth said after struggling with his driver for most of the day.
Spieth finished with 71 while his playing partner Patrick Reed had a bad day, shooting 76 and falling back into a tie for ninth at one-over.
A group of four players will start Sunday three behind the lead foursome. Louie Oosthuizen, Cameron Smith, Shane Lowry and J.B. Holmes are in at one-under. Oosthuizen posted the round of the day, a four-under par 66.
Only eight players are under par through 54 holes as Chambers Bay has grown more difficult with each round.
