US Open Golf 2023: Updated Predictions for Top Prize Money for Day 3

The 2023 US Open belonged to Rickie Fowler through two rounds.

The 34-year-old conquered Los Angeles Country Club with 18 birdies on 36 holes, which was good enough to tie the US Open 36-hole scoring record.

Fowler now has to follow through on his dominance from Thursday and Friday and turn that into a major championship on Sunday night.

Finishing off the victory will be a challenging task since LACC started to play harder on Friday afternoon and there are a ton of players waiting beneath him to snatch the lead.

Wyndham Clark is Fowler's top competition on the scoreboard, as he sits one shot back, but the biggest threat comes in the form of Rory McIlroy.

McIlroy's key to two solid rounds was a dominant front nine. He shot a five-under 30 on holes No. 1-9 on Thursday and Friday. A nine-hole start of that caliber could put him in the lead by the time he makes the turn on Saturday.

The one factor that could kill everyone's dreams of winning the $3.6 million winners' purse is the weather. AccuWeather's forecast shows mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 70s for most of Saturday. Those conditions could dry out the course and make it much harder to navigate.

Rickie Fowler Gets Hurt by Lack of Pars

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 16: Rickie Fowler of the United States lines up a putt on the fourth green during the second round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Fowler's second-round scorecard all had sorts of shapes on it.

The 36-hole leader had eight birdies, six bogeys and four pars during his two-under 68.

Fowler certainly deserves credit for bouncing back on most holes and not letting the bogeys get to him.

However, he may not have that many chances to record birdies on Saturday if he makes a handful of mistakes.

LACC is expected to play tougher with the sunny conditions drying out the course for the third round. We saw that take shape during the afternoon wave of tee times on Friday that included Fowler.

Fowler got a firsthand look at how tough the course could play, and that may help him in certain instances, but the slew of birdie opportunities may not be there.

The US Open will only get harder, not easier, as the 2014 event showed us after Martin Kaymer set the 36-hole scoring record that Fowler tied on Friday.

Kaymer shot one-over across the final two rounds, but he had the fortune of a six-shot lead. Fowler does that have that built in and that could magnify every mistake he makes on Saturday.

Rory McIlroy Puts Pressure on Fowler With Early Surge

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 16: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland lines up a putt on the second hole during the second round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)

McIlroy has been fantastic on the front nine so far at LACC.

The four-time major winner produced 11 birdies, six pars and one bogey on that part of the course.

McIlroy had a single birdie on the back nine in each of his first two rounds.

The stage is set for McIlroy to replicate that hot scoring run to put pressure on Fowler from the outset on Saturday.

A multi-birdie start could even catapult McIlroy into the lead by the time he makes the turn to the 10th hole.

McIlroy will have to deal with potentially tough course conditions, which he did not face on Friday morning while cloud cover hovered over the venue.

If he manages that and birdies a few of the opening holes, the leaderboard could flip and McIlroy could preserve the advantage on the back nine, where he has 12 pars, four bogeys and two birdies this week.

Best Round of the Day Comes From Early Tee Times

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 16: Jon Rahm of Spain plays his shot from the tenth tee during the second round of the 123rd U.S. Open Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club on June 16, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

LACC could be tougher to play as the afternoon goes on.

Jon Rahm and the golfers who tee off at the start of the round could experience the most favorable scoring conditions.

The forecast flips from mostly cloudy to mostly sunny around 2 p.m. Pacific time, which would be right around the time Rahm and others would be on the back nine.

Thursday and Friday's top scores occurred when there was some cloud cover on top of the course, and that could play to the benefit of the players who barely made the cut.

Rahm will be in the first pairing to hit the course on Saturday. Ryan Fox is scheduled to go out on his own in the tee time prior to Rahm and Adam Hadwin.

Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Reed and Tyrrell Hatton are among the notable golfers who are scheduled to tee off before Noon PT.

One of those players could produce the best round of the day, and while it may not put them in the lead, it could place them in a good spot to finish inside the top 10 on Sunday.