Jordan Spieth at US Open 2015: Saturday Leaderboard Score and Twitter Reaction

Jordan Spieth couldn't quite replicate his strong play from the first two days during Saturday's third round of the 2015 U.S. Open. He shot a one-over 71, which still puts him right in the thick of things heading into the final round.

Spieth is at four under for the tournament, which is good enough to force a four-way tie atop the leaderboard. You can view the full standings after three days below:

It wouldn't be accurate to classify Spieth's Round 3 as a great day. However, his Saturday could've gone much worse after he struggled right out of the gate. And he's still tied for the 54-hole lead, which is always a nice position in which to be.

NFL Network's Rich Eisen is still waiting for Rory McIlroy to hold up his end of the bargain regarding a head-to-head faceoff with Spieth:

Alas, golf fans will have to hold off until the 2015 Open Championship to see a potential McIlroy/Spieth battle since McIlroy is tied for 25th at four over.

Spieth's front nine couldn't have been more erratic. After birdies on the second and third holes, he bogeyed Nos. 4 and 5. Then, he birdied No. 6 and bogeyed Nos. 7 and 9. As Yahoo Sports' Pat Forde noted, that stretch resulted in a massive shift in fortunes for Spieth:

On the back nine, the 21-year-old was a bit more consistent, which was both good and bad. On one hand, he wasn't losing many strokes and falling down the leaderboard. On the other hand, he wasn't gaining many strokes, either.

Without question, though, the back nine illustrated Spieth's resolve. Most golfers his age would've been completely rattled after such a roller-coaster start to the third round of a major tournament. That wasn't the case with Spieth.

ESPN's Jonathan Coachman was impressed with his body language throughout the round:

Spieth bogeyed 11 but got that stroke back with a birdie on 15.

One area where Spieth excelled was putting. According to USOpen.com, his 1.78 putting average was 0.06 shots better on average than the field. Spieth needed a strong putting and approach game considering he missed half of his fairways on the day.

The Chambers Bay Golf Course greens have come under fire a bit over the last few days. Henrik Stenson compared the surface to broccoli Friday, per Golf.com's Josh Berhow.

Jason Sobel of ESPN.com didn't see Spieth needing to come up with any excuses for his putting:

Fox Sports' Shane Bacon joked that Spieth's putter might be juiced:

It's no secret that Chambers Bay hasn't been easy for golfers to navigate. The 2013 U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club was arguably more difficult, but it's doubtful many stars will be too upset when they pack their bags and depart University Place, Washington.

Keeping that in mind, Spieth has every reason to feel good about his chances going into Sunday. He has been one of the most consistent performers in the tournament and proven capable of handing the difficult conditions.

Since Spieth already has a Masters victory under his belt, there's also no question he'll be able to handle the pressure that comes with protecting a lead in the final round of a major championship.