The USGA wanted Saturday’s third round to be a tough one at already tough Shinnecock Hills.
The day started out tame enough but by the late afternoon tee times, at least two of the Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse were running rampant over the Southampton property.
Destruction came to wipe out the scorecards and Death ended the hopes of many contenders.
Overnight leader Dustin Johnson was brutalized early and often.
He started four-under but a fast double-bogey at the tough par three second began a sequence of poor play that would see him shoot 41 over his first nine holes, opening the door for anyone who was good enough to step through it.
Things appeared to get out-of-control on at least three back nine holes, good shots weren’t rewarded and the world’s best were getting roughed up beyond comprehension.
“We want the Open to be tough — this morning and this afternoon was a tale of two golf courses,” admitted USGA Executive Director Mike Davis. “There were good shots not being rewarded out there and we don’t want that. We didn’t account for the afternoon wind. It was a tough test but probably too tough this afternoon,” Davis said after the carnage was complete.
D.J. battled back after he lost his lead, there were a bunch of quality players in contention — Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson, among others.
By day’s end, two players from the early morning wave reaped the biggest reward. Daniel Berger and Tony Finau were basically out of contention, tied for 45th at seven-over par, 11 shots behind Johnson’s 36-hole lead. But both found enough good shots to shoot four-under par rounds of 66. They were finished long before the final groups teed off.
By day’s end both ended up in Sunday’s final pairing as they were the first players to post three-over.
Koepka kept his wits about him well enough to shoot 72 and make it three at three-under.
Johnson, who struggled with his accuracy and most of all with his putting, had one final three-putt at the 18th that sent him into the next to last group with Koepka. His 77 dropped him to three-under and in a four-way tie for the lead. Would you believe the guy who putted so well the first two days took 38 putts for his third round?
Rose shot 73, posted four-over and will be third from last with Stenson, whose 74 put him at five-over, a shot behind Rose.
Master champ Patrick Reed (71), Kiradech Aphibarnrat (68) and Jim Furyk (72) aren’t out of it either. They’re all six-under, just three back.
Two-time major champion Zach Johnson shot 72 then watched the leaders struggle and promptly declared: “Unfortunately they’ve (USGA) lost the golf course.”
Former USGA boss David Fay insisted that wasn’t so. “I think that’s too dismissive of Zach Johnson,” he retorted. “It’s not 2004.”
The President of Shinnecock Hills texted the bumbling Fox broadcaster — Joe Buck — and said Shinnecock is supposed to be tough when the wind blows.
And that’s what went wrong on Saturday at Shinnecock.
The USGA made its plans and Mother Nature laughed.
