US Open Golf 2017 Leaderboard: Live Updates and Storylines to Watch for Sunday
The young lions are roaring again.
Brian Harman, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Rickie Fowler are all at the top of the leaderboard at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.
The question is which one of those lions will roar the loudest at the end of Sunday's final round in Erin, Wisconsin.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Harman carries the lead into the final round with a score of 12-under par, and he thrived late Saturday afternoon as he shot a five-under par 67 and tracked down record-setting Justin Thomas, who is one stroke behind.
Thomas, Koepka and Fleetwood are one stroke behind Harman entering the final 18 holes, while Fowler looms two strokes back.
It looks like the U.S. Open could be in for a tremendous finish. In addition to those five players, eight more golfers are within five strokes of the lead, and that group includes Ryder Cup hero Patrick Reed, Brandt Snedeker and Charley Hoffman.
Thomas was the huge story on moving day, as he fired a nine-under 63 that included a spectacular birdie putt on the fifth hole and a closing eagle on the 18th hole.
"That means I'm a part of history," Thomas said, per the Associated Press (h/t PGATour.com). "It means I have a lot better chance to win the tournament than I did when the day started. I felt like I've been playing pretty well all week, and didn't have quite the numbers to show for it. Obviously, today I definitely had something to show for it."
The conditions were excellent at Erin Hills, and Thomas and the other leading golfers were able to exploit them even though the course is the longest (7,839 yards) in major championship history.
"It doesn't matter how long, how whatever the course is," Thomas said, per AP. "When you give us soft greens, good greens and not much wind, you know there are going to be some good scores. I was just happy that I was the one that was able to take advantage of it today."
Reed will be one of the biggest stories during the final round after firing a 65 Saturday. Reed, Fowler and Snedeker are among the most prominent contenders, and he is just four strokes behind at eight-under par.
While Reed played his way into the limelight during last year's Ryder Cup victory by the United States, he has struggled this year. He has not had a top-10 finish since January, and his game has lacked consistency from round to round.
Reed said he is in a better position to finish out the U.S. Open this year than previous majors because he has changed his mental approach.
"I worked too hard Monday through Wednesday and so by Saturday I was tired," Reed said, per Ben Everil of PGATour.com. "And then also I was living and dying by every golf shot, every putt and everything. Coming into this year I was just like it's another golf tournament. Show up. Do what you do on a normal event and just play golf."
Si Woo Kim trails Harman by three strokes as he prepares to tee off Sunday, and he has been consistent with rounds of 69, 70 and 68 during the first three rounds of the tournament.
If Kim can climb the ladder and win, it will give the 21-year-old Korean the Players Championship and the national championship in the same year. That would be a fantastic achievement that would put Kim in the same category as Jack Nicklaus (1978), Tiger Woods (2001), Hal Sutton (1983) and Martin Kaymer (2014).
Koepka has one key advantage of the five players at the top of the leaderboard. He is the biggest hitter among them, averaging 307.6 yards on his drives, and that ranks fifth on the PGA Tour.
If Koepka is accurate and can keep his tee shots in the fairway, it could make all the difference in the world. None of the other top contenders has that kind of distance, and over the course of the final round, it could make a big difference.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
