US Open Golf 2015 Leaderboard: Live Updates and Storylines to Watch for Saturday
It's moving day at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, although Friday's second round of the 2015 U.S. Open did its best to steal the nickname.
Friday's leaders, Dustin Johnson and Henrik Stenson, struggled with over-par rounds by day's end, showcasing just how difficult the course can be for any player in the field.
Speaking of the course, for those who missed the first two rounds, most aren't happy with the degree of difficulty and ever-changing speeds of the greens.
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Going into moving day, Masters champ Jordan Spieth clutches the lead, but nothing seems sacred at Chambers Bay, so clear the schedule and kick back as one of the most interesting U.S. Open tournaments in years unfolds.
U.S. Open Round 3 Info
Coverage: 2-10 p.m., Fox
Live Stream: USOpen.com
Storylines to Watch for Saturday
The Final Pair's Form
Spieth and Patrick Reed know a lot about playing with one another, so in at least one way both men will be comfortable trying to fend off the rest of the leaderboard.
Both men sit at five under par, although Spieth needs to brush aside a horrific finish to Friday's action. After shooting six birdies offset by one bogey, he double-bogeyed No. 18 to land at a 67.
To be fair, it sounds like the young star's over the hole already, per USA Today:
Spieth's co-leader features much of the same momentum, though. It would be easier to talk about the Round 2 holes where nothing happened—on six holes Reed scored pars. On the others, well, chalk up five birdies, six bogeys and an eagle on No. 12.
Whatever works, right?
So far, the duo's performance sums up the tournament well, where chaos seems the defining trait. So long as these two continue to shrug off iffy holes and take it one step at a time, they should be able to enter the final day at or near the top again.
Phil Mickelson's Comeback Bid
In a normal tournament, even Phil Mickelson at three over par going into moving day wouldn't be worth much of a look.
This just isn't a normal tournament.
It's also Lefty himself, still searching for the career Grand Slam. Just eight strokes off the lead, low scores leading the way and an unpredictable course sure to hamper most, Mickelson's far from out of the competition with two days left.
Mickelson shot a 69 Thursday and followed with a dip to 74 Friday, where he posted five bogeys to one birdie. Still, the veteran doesn't sound too rattled about a course he continues to learn.
USA Today's Steve DiMeglio captured his thoughts on the matter:
"It was a tough day. It wasn't that far off. I had three three-putts and struggled on that surface area near the hole and I couldn't get the ball in. And I didn't quite hit it quite as well as yesterday, but it wasn't that bad."
Mickelson isn't one to ignore when it comes to such talk. It would be silly to think he can close the gap in its entirety on moving day, but with two days left and a strong first round under his belt, there's no reason to think Lefty can't put an iffy Friday behind him and find elite form to make a push.
The Course Itself, Pt. 2
There's no turning back now—golfers just don't like the course.
The silver lining, of course, is that each player has to deal with the difficult course, so the best will prevail in every sense of the word.
It still makes for one interesting storyline, though. Spieth's quote above about the No. 18 hole doesn't refer to his form, by the way, but the design of the hole itself, which many golfers struggled with Friday.
“I think the 18th hole doesn’t make sense because you can hit it down the left center of the fairway and still end up in the right bunker and in trouble,” said Spieth, per Bill Pennington of the New York Times.
Pennington also overheard Stenson saying it's "like putting on broccoli."
Regardless of whether top contenders like the design and no matter what vegetable it reminds them of, the course isn't going anywhere. This means no lead is safe, and no name above the cut line remains out of the running.
In a way, it's perhaps what the course designers had in mind—a gritty, unpredictable tournament. Stay tuned.
Stats and info courtesy of PGATour.com unless otherwise specified.
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