Scottie Scheffler begins to unravel. He hit a monster to go down 12, only to throw his wedge at the thick things that protect the front of the green. Then he chops another chip, his ball just hits the green and falls back down a small false forehead. He almost makes an outrageous pair stop with a 25-foot putt from the strip, but that will be another missed shot. The eagle at 8 suddenly looks like a long time ago.
Jon Rahm’s cap threatened to turn around. After reaching a bogey six in the attractive par-five eighth, his approach to the 9 stopped next to a bunker, forcing him to play his third style of baseball while standing in he. The makeshift chip lands well below the flag, but pulls at 15-foot torque savings, and that can calm the defending champion a bit, which has been making some volume this afternoon. 36 years ago, with -3 overall.
Will Zalatoris is so close to running out of a long bird putt through 16. He stays at -4, and if he can hold it for two more holes, he could be in an extremely healthy position at the end of Moving Day. Given the conditions they are in, that’s a big yes, but you’d definitely rather be on your skin than all those players with six, seven, eight, nine, ten holes still to play.
How fast everything can change. A few seconds after Zalatoris makes his bird on the 15th, Scheffler throws his obstacle chip at 11 next to the bench, then gets a steering wheel with his second wedge strike. His ball sails 15 feet past the pin and cannot make the bogey putt return. Elsewhere, Jon Rahm can’t save his pair at 8, down to -3, while Aaron Wise is 9. Look at the rankings now … and all of a sudden, maybe Rory McIlroy doesn’t feel so bad about him. same. .
-4: Zalatoris (15), Scheffler (11) -3: Wise (9), Rahm (8) -2: Fitzpatrick (12), Dahmen (7), Morikawa (7) -1: Bradley (14), Hadwin (13), Rodgers (11), Hossler (10), McIlroy (9), Buckley (8)
Birdie for the aforementioned Will Zalatoris at 15! Go to -4. Meanwhile, Séamus Power sounds like a long parity save on the 18th to sign for a 70 and join Denny McCarthy and Gary Woodland in the cigar lounge at +1.
Scottie Scheffler climbs up and down from a greenside bunker at 10am to traverse a brilliant pair. He seems to be the only one there, with the exception of Will Zalatoris, who does not lose his head in these test conditions. But then he bounces a wedge over the short eleven-pair and toward the obstacle at the back. You will have a job to get up and down successfully from there. Tell yourself what, Denny McCarthy and Gary Woodland, for a time leading the club at +1, will have their cigarettes on right now. As everyone goes, at the end of the day they could be at the bottom.
… mostly because others are struggling too! Morikawa sends his second at 7 to a greenside bunker, of which he only finds the fringe. He then hits a hot putt six feet beyond the hole and misses what comes back. A double bogey, and has -2. On the 8th, Rahm’s unit finds the roots of a huge tree, and is forced to improvise a clip for the left back into play. Lift an iron to the green, and you’ll have to get up and down from the nearby rough to save the pair. Rodgers then fails 11 with a wedge and requires three attempts to do so. A double, and has -1.
McIlroy’s head is not well placed today. He calls out a world-class 8-pin three-foot-tall chip, but then pulls out a creepy putt that is always missing on the left. At least call the pair putt back. While he is far from the only player who is slowing down, he is visibly suffering more than most. The heart always on the sleeve. Go on, Rory.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts to the eighth green. Photography: Andrew Redington / Getty Images
Updated at 22.39 BST
Rahm finally makes one! Send a slider from left to right from 20 feet into the cup at 7, for your first bird of the day. Returns it to a second rate of -4. Meanwhile, at 8, McIlroy lands his second on the green … but only … and falls off the false forehead and returns 50 yards down the court. A big mistake, and you may remember that it cost Xander Schauffele a lot. Better that Rory doesn’t look too pretty with the chip up.
McIlroy sends his 7-yard approach to the flag, six feet. A great opportunity to check your momentum down, but push your bird putt right to the right. Now he looks completely ill. He will have to get out of it quickly, because on Saturday there are only nine strikers, and there is a great chance in a par-five. Meanwhile, bogey for Morikawa on the 6th, the punishment for sending his exit shot into a deep, high-face bunker. Bogey is inevitable for Fitzpatrick on the 10th. And Scheffler will stop at 9 to reach 32. That looks really good for world number one right now.
-6: Scheffler (9) -4: Rodgers (9), Morikawa (6) -3: Zalatoris (13), Wise (7), Rahm (6), Buckley (6), Dahmen (6) -2: Fitzpatrick (10), Hossler (7) -1: Hadwin (11), Burns (10), NeSmith (9), Hardy (8), McIlroy (7) E: Power (16), Bradley (13)
Matt Fitzpatrick has to be creative on the 10th. He sends his unit to the top of the rock to the right of the street. He is lucky to have no shots, his ball nestled between a couple of big blocks. Use your 3-foot wood to gently pull it out and down the street. He has returned to the position, but hits three in the par four.
A funny statistic presented by NBC. Scottie Scheffler had made an eagle in the first 247 holes of his career at the U.S. Open. He’s just made two in the last 13. Elsewhere, Jon Rahm sends a magnificent 6- or 5-foot starting shot, but he always misses a weak birdie effort on the right. He looks totally upset with himself. Meanwhile, back at 5, Collin Morikawa makes a bouncing bird even though he has taken off his unit in the gallery. He wedges up to three feet, and is at another pace set by Scheffler.
-6: Scheffler (8) -5: Morikawa (5) -4: Rodgers (8), Wise (6) -3: Zalatoris (13), Fitzpatrick (9), Rahm (6), Buckley (6), Dahmen (5)
Rory McIlroy is in a funk. His 6-point throw-in holds in the wind and sinks in the rough. He can’t get up and down, and that’s another missing feature. He’s -1 … and his mood won’t improve as he hears the roar of Brookline! Scottie Scheffler, who yesterday bet on the eagle at the age of 14 to light his load on the leaderboard, lands a wedge just behind the flag from 110 yards out of 8 and re-screws it into the cup! Another eagle in a par-five, and suddenly this US Open changes a couple of speeds! His chest hits his caddy and he smiles with a smile of great satisfaction.
-6: Scheffler (8) -4: Rodgers (8), Wise (6), Morikawa (4) -3: Zalatoris (12), Fitzpatrick (9), Rahm (5), Buckley (5), Dahmen (4) ). )
Updated at 21.46 BST
Morikawa tickles his 20-foot bogey putt, downhill, from left to right! Shades of McIlroy yesterday at 3! Limit damage from a terribly played bogey hole. Meanwhile, his teammate Joel Dahman, who has just lost the green with his approach, cannot go up and down and also throws a shot. But some good news from 8. Matt Fitzpatrick makes a birdie, then in the next game Patrick Rodgers nails a chip to the green from the back, his ball spins from right to left and towards the eagle … and a part. of lead! Today there will be many opportunities for this classification. Be patient with me.
-4: Rodgers (8), Scheffler (7), Wise (5), Morikawa (4) -3: Zalatoris (12), Fitzpatrick (8), Rahm (4), Dahmen (4)
Morikawa takes an age to work the wind. Too long, perhaps, because when he finally manages to make his shot, he breaks it. His ball is installed on the semi-route 20 meters from the green. It will do well to limit bogey damage here. Raise a bunker, but 20 feet beyond the flag. A big bogey putt approaches.
The wind is blowing Brookline and no one seems particularly comfortable right now. Collin Morikawa’s 4-point shot goes wide. He has been forced to take his medicine and put it aside. At 5, Aaron Wise makes a big mistake from the center of the fairway, after getting into the manageable par-four. It stretches its wedge into a deep bunker and can only splash up to 12 feet. He doesn’t hit the right putt, and he drops out of the lead … although unless Morikawa can go up and down from more than 100 yards in 4, he’ll be back in a few minutes.
The birds at 11 and 13, and Séamus Power goes well at -1. At the age of 35, Power will make his U.S. Open debut this week, having made his Masters debut in April, finishing in the top 30, and his PGA debut last month, tying the ninth place. He clearly likes these big events, and is currently tied for 13th. The open debut in St Andrews is also approaching! Some years have.
Aaron Wise joins Collin Morikawa at the helm. The 25-year-old from Las Vegas crashes 4 miles away, chips at five feet and guides in a tricky putt that swings back and forth. Rory McIlroy tries to even things up by sending a long ball towards the centrally placed strikers, but the visitors’ defense got the best of this rather direct style of play. He remains three of the leader at -2, and is visibly irritated by his lack of good luck on the greens so far. Meanwhile, Zalatoris approaches quietly from the shore at 11, and walks away after completing another good fight.
-5: Wise (4), Morikawa (2) -4: Scheffler (5), Dahmen (2) -3: Zalatoris (11), Burns (7), Hossler (4), Rahm (3) -2: Fitzpatrick (7), Rodgers (6), Hardy (4), McIlroy (4)
Will Zalatoris sends what suspiciously looks like a stalk to the tall pistachio to the right of 10. Don’t bother! He calmly pulls a wedge of thick dirt down to a couple of feet and secures his pair. This is a hell of a fight, and it stays at -3, but for how long? Because he has been very aggressive in the short par-tres of descent 11, going to look for the flag located in the extreme right and to demolish the …