Louis Oosthuizen is the man who shot up the leaderboard early Saturday at the U.S. Open. His 66 was the low round of the day with the leaders teeing off and it could have been much, much better.
Oosthuizen had an incredible ball-striking round and the 66 may have been the worst score he could have shot. He missed a three-footer for birdie at the final hole and missed another four birdie putts inside 10 feet during the course of his round.
“I had a lot of opportunities,” Oosthuizen said after he started the day at three-over but moved all the way up to red numbers and a one-under par total of 209, putting him in contention going into Sunday.
He had only one bogey and that came at the 530-yard par four 11th, longest par four in U.S. Open history.
***********
Phil Mickelson’s bid for the elusive U.S. Open is over. Mickelson struggled mightily on Saturday and finished with a 77 that left him at 10-over par and tied for 67th.
***********
Rory McIlroy spent yet another 18 holes unable to make any putts of consequence. McIlroy’s 70 left him where he started the day — four-over and tied for 23rd.
***********
There will be a hot contest for low amateur on Sunday. Six amateurs made the cut, the most since 1966. Five have a shot at low amateur. Ollie Schniederjans and Jack Maguire are tied at four-over. Denny McCarthy is five-over while Beau Hossler and Brian Campbell are in at six-over.
