US Open Golf 2012: Latest Standings for Golf's Top Performers

The US Open isn't won. It is managed, respected, approached with patience and handled with care.

But rarely is it dominated.

More so, the golfer that played the course consistently and smartly over four days is most likely to find himself atop the leaderboard on Sunday evening.

The normal contenders failed to do so this year. Rory McIlroy failed to make the cut. Phil Mickelson is out of contention. Tiger Woods may have shot himself too large a deficit on Sunday.

But this tournament is still there for the taking, and and a number of golfers are in the running. With 13 golfers within four strokes, anything is possible.

In the end, I think this one will come down to a battle between Jim Furyk (-1) and Lee Westwood (+2). Furyk has played more consistently over the past three days than any of the contenders, while Westwood will carry the momentum of a Saturday 67 in the final day of play.

Personally, I'm taking Furyk in this one. With the way this course has played, minimizing mistakes and remaining steady are the keys to winning, and no one has done either as proficiently as Furyk.

It should be one hell a day of golf. Here's how the top of the leaderboard shakes out heading into Sunday, along with a peek at where some of the sport's biggest names stand.

Leaderboard

Player	Score	Place
Graeme McDowell	209 (-1)	T1
Jim Furyk	209 (-1)	T1
Fredrik Jacobson	211 (+1)	3
Lee Westwood	212 (+2)	T4
Ernie Els	212 (+2)	T4
Blake Adams	212 (+2)	T4
Nicolas Colsaerts	212 (+2)	T4
Webb Simpson	213 (+3)	T8
Kevin Chappell	213 (+3)	T8
John Senden	213 (+3)	T8
Beau Hossler	213 (+3)	T8
Jason Dufner	213 (+3)	T8
John Peterson	213 (+3)	T8
Retief Goosen	214 (+4)	T14
Martin Kaymer	214 (+4)	T14
Matt Kuchar	214 (+4)	T14
Tiger Woods	214 (+4)	T14
Other Notable Performers
David Toms	215 (+5)	T18
Hunter Mahan	216 (+6)	T27
Phil Mickelson	218 (+8)	T43
Rickie Fowler	219 (+9)	T47

Hit me up on Twitter—my tweets have more style than a Russell Westbrook press conference.