US Open golf 2024: third round – live | US Open

It’s been a disastrous day for the 2022 champion Matt Fitzpatrick. Out in 42, after three bogeys and two doubles, he ended the day with a 79. He props up the entire field at +14, and will almost certainly be going out in the first group early tomorrow morning. He’ll always have Brookline.

Speaking of Scottie Scheffler, the world number one is back in the hutch with his second 71 of the week. He’s +6 overall, and it’s just not happened here for the short-priced pre-tournament favourite. His 74 yesterday was only his third birdie-free round on the PGA Tour, the others coming in the final round of the 2022 Charles Schwab Challenge and the second round of the 2016 US Open, the latter when he was an amateur. Scheffler missed the cut at that US Open, but went on to win the low-amateur prize the following year. A good omen for Scottie for Oakmont next year? You read it here first if things pan out that way.

Commentator’s Curse dept. Having given Neal Shipley the big one in the first two live entries of today’s blog, his ball moves after he addresses it on 13, and the resulting one-shot penalty leads to a two-shot loss. The double-bogey six drops him back to +2 for the week. Sorry, Neal. That race for low amateur is really on now. Who’ll add their name to a list that features stellar names such as Freddie Couples, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler? We’ll find out over the course of the next 30 hours or so, a race within a race.

Of those three, Neal Shipley is the big story. Having already this year outshot Tiger at Augusta en route to winning the Silver Cup, then breaking the internet with his side-eye skills, he’s now going along great guns at Pinehurst. Birdies at 8, 9 and 10 take him to three under for his round, currently through 12, level par overall … and yet he’s by no means a shoo-in to end the week as low amateur. Luke Clanton has just carded his second 69 in succession to finish Moving Day at +4. However, the third amateur to make the weekend, Gunnar Broin, is currently suffering: bogey at 8, double at 9, and triple-bogey at 10. He’s +11 and hey, it’s all good experience for the 22-year-old from Ohio State.

… so of all the 56 players who have either completed their third round or are currently out on the course, only nine are under par for the day. Of those nine, only three are more than one shot to the good: Spain’s latest rising star David Puig, the two-time major champion Collin Morikawa, and this year’s Silver Cup winner at Augusta, the amateur Neal Shipley. They’re respectively +2, +1 and level par overall. It’s been tough.

Let’s just start by taking a look at today’s pin positions. Pin positions on turtle-back greens with small landing areas and run-offs a-plenty. As if Pinehurst No2 hasn’t been difficult enough already.

Preamble