US Open 2015 Leaderboard: Real-Time Updates for Sunday Leaders at Chambers Bay
Don't look now, but we have a four-way tie atop the 2015 U.S. Open leaderboard heading into Sunday's final round. In addition, plenty more players are slightly off the pace but still in contention because of the inconsistent and enigmatic Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington.
Hang onto your hats—we're in for a wild Sunday.
Masters champion and world No. 2 Jordan Spieth will look to make history Sunday and become just the sixth player ever—alongside Craig Wood, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods—to win both the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year. He can also become the first player since Gene Sarazen in 1922 to win multiple majors before the age of 22. That's impressive.
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Spieth won't have it easy during Sunday's final round, however. Not only will the course continue to test him, but he'll also have to best the big-hitting Dustin Johnson, surprising Branden Grace and resilient Jason Day—all of whom are tied for the lead at four under par.
As we await the final round of the U.S. Open to commence, let's take a look at the tournament's updated leaderboard and analyze the leaders through three rounds of action.
Updated U.S. Open Leaderboard
The full tournament leaderboard can be viewed at USOpen.com.
Analyzing Leaders After Round 3
Jason Day
Day put forth a heroic effort Saturday, overcoming his vertigo symptoms to shoot a two-under 68 and earn a share of the lead—a remarkable effort after his scary collapse on the ninth hole just one day prior.
After beginning the day in shaky fashion, bogeying two of his first four holes, Day slowly began to get a grip on his game and parred out a two-over 37. He showed signs of life on the back nine, recording birdies on Nos. 10 and 12, but a bogey at the 11th kept him at one over. That's when he sprung to life.
A brilliant tee shot on the par-three 15th led to a short birdie putt, getting Day back to level for his round. He went on to sink an 18-footer on the par-three 17th to get into the red for the day and followed it up with a beautiful approach to the par-five 18th for yet another birdie.
After his round, Day spoke of how he felt on Saturday during a press conference, via Bob Harig of ESPN.com:
"I didn't feel that great coming out early and then felt like—I felt pretty groggy on the front nine just from the drugs that I had in my system, then kind of flushed that out on the back nine. But then it kind of came back. The vertigo came back a little bit on the 13th tee box, and then felt nauseous all day. I started shaking on 16 tee box and then just tried to get it in, really. Just wanted to get it in.
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Dealing with adversity is a big part of major championships, and Day's ability to flourish against all odds on Saturday bodes well for his chance to claim his first major title after Sunday's final round.
Dustin Johnson
Johnson has produced three roller-coaster rounds at Chambers Bay. In fact, he's been just about as unpredictable as the highly criticized links course. After a brilliant opening-round 65 that featured just one bogey, Johnson began to struggle and paired nine birdies with eight bogeys and a double over his next 36 holes.
Saturday was his most erratic round of the tournament, but not in the way you'd expect. While Johnson is a long hitter off the tee, his accuracy has wavered at times this year. Not so in Round 3, however, as he hit all 14 fairways. Instead, his iron play and putter let him down, as he only hit 12 greens in regulation and took a total of 32 putts.
Those struggles showed up on Johnson's scorecard, as nine pars, five birdies, three bogeys and one double comprised his round. At times he looked electric—his tee shot on the par-three third came to rest just six feet away from the hole for a birdie—however, he also struggled on several occasions. For example, he followed up that birdie by missing a three-foot par putt on the ensuing hole.
Johnson has never won a major title before, but he's been in the mix regularly and has posted top-10 finishes in each of the four tournaments. However, he also had bad memories at the U.S. Open, blowing a three-shot lead in the final round in 2010 with a dreadful 82. We'll see if he can put those memories aside and remain in contention on Sunday.
Jordan Spieth
Spieth dealt with his own adversity Saturday, as his form was slightly off and his usually steady putter let him down. He wasn't able to get going off the tee, hitting just seven of 14 fairways, and that led to other inconsistencies, as he hit 13 greens in regulation and racked up 32 putts.
It looked as though Spieth would run away with the tournament early, as birdies on Nos. 2 and 3 gave him a three-stroke lead over the field. However, he quickly watched his lead vanish, as a slew of bogeys—five over the next eight holes—tarnished his round. Still, he refused to buckle under the pressure and soldiered on.
Instead of letting frustration get the best of him, Spieth remained calm, continued going through his routines and practiced patience. That maturity paid off in a big way, as he was able to play the final seven holes at one under par despite some bad luck and near misses on the greens.
Spieth's ability to overcome the obstacles and pressure of a major tournament is impressive, and it makes him dangerous heading into a pressure-packed final round. All of the leaders will be feeling the heat on Sunday, and Spieth may be best equipped to deal with whatever comes his way.
Branden Grace
Grace has been quite a surprise through 54 holes in the U.S. Open. He's been consistent with his scoring, rattling off rounds of 69, 67 and 70, and the reason for his success has been his ability to avoid dropped shots.
In each of his first three rounds, Grace recorded exactly three bogeys, totaling nine for the tournament. He's done a nice job of gaining ground on scoring holes and navigating his way safely through the rest of the course. He hasn't been overly accurate off the tee at Chambers Bay, but solid iron play and nice touch around the greens have paid dividends for the South African.
Grace's biggest obstacle on Sunday will be sharing such a big stage with some of golf's brightest stars. While he's had some success on the European Tour, collecting six wins, he's never been in contention in a major tournament. His best finish was a tie for 18th in the 2013 Masters—he's never finished better than tied for 51st in a U.S. Open.
If Grace can focus on hitting fairways off the tee Sunday, he'll put himself in a better position to remain atop the leaderboard. His accuracy with the driver has declined over the first three rounds, and spending too much time in the fescue on Sunday will only add to the pressure of playing in the tournament's penultimate pairing with the world's No. 2 golfer.
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