Johnson played a solid round of golf and shot a even par 70, which could have easily been higher or lower depending on the hole. He was accurate all day, hitting all fairways, and recovered well when he found trouble. Day, who made headlines on Friday after collapsing at the end of his round, stunned and earned the respect of many during yesterday's round, who have deemed his actions as "superhuman". All day he was visibly cautious around the course and said after that he was about to call it quits three times during his round, again due to vertigo, the worst on the 13th. Despite this, he birdied three of the four final holes to shoot a 68, which was only one of six sub-70 rounds yesterday; a remarkable feat considering his state and that fact that Chambers Bay requires one's full attention pretty much all the time. Many are pulling for him to win and what a story that would be.
Spieth had a solo lead by three shots at one point during his front nine, but had a relatively quiet back nine. He missed a few costly putts to give some shots back and ended off with a 71, despite excellent putting on the front nine. Grace, of South Africa, also played excellent golf and hit a very good number of approach shots during yesterday's round. If it wasn't for Chambers Bay's tough greens, he could have been leading by several shots as well.
Rory McIlroy's round was one full of frustration, especially on the back nine. The World Number one couldn't hole a putt despite numerous excellent approaches. He ended up shooting an even 70 (which wasn't that bad) and stands at 4-over par.
Louis Oosthuizen shot the low round on Saturday, a 4-under 66. Again if it wasn't for the tough greens, be could have been even lower. Remember that this is the man who has been deemed to have one of the "most perfect" swings in golf and is already a major champion (2010 British Open at St. Andrews). There's something about his game that just seems relaxed and effortless. Be sure to keep an eye on him today as he sits at 1-under T5.
Saturday yielded the toughest conditions for Chambers Bay, as indicated by the higher leading score compared to Friday. As we said only a few players managed sub par rounds and conditions worsened as the round progress. This was partially due to the course itself drying up as the day went on, making everything harder and firmer. A low 70's round was a good score and any overall round at par or better means you're still in contention. With all this unpredictability, who knows how Chambers Bay will play today?
Finally, here's how are picks stand:
1) Phil Mickelson: T66 at 10-over
2) Justin Rose: T25 at 4-over
Phil had a disastrous round that started off bad and stayed that way. He carded a total of nine bogeys and two birdies and he was seen hitting from all sorts of rough and fescue yesterday. Once again, it looks like Lefty's dream of the career grand slam is looking slim. Rose on the other hand played a decent round and neither increased or deceased his chances at winning. His score relative to this position on the leaderboard, shows just how tough it's been to go low this week.
Well it all comes down to the final round today. Who can step up and attack Chambers Bay? Who can defend from it as well when need be? We'll find out shortly and stay tuned for our post tomorrow morning about who won it.
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
Johnson, Spieth, Day, Grace; all looking for glory today
(Toronto Golf Reviews)
(Toronto Golf Reviews)
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