US OPEN: Lowry leads, Day surges into the hunt

BY JOHN HUGGAN AT OAKMONT CC

Three down, four left. When the ‘halfway’ cut eventually arrived at this 116th US Open, the seven-strong Australian contingent gathered at Oakmont suffered some unfortunate casualties.

Gone are the out-of-form Steven Bowditch, the 2006 champion Geoff Ogilvy and an emotional Aron Price. But all is far from lost. With the third round set to be completed on the fourth morning before the fourth round gets going – bear with me – Jason Day has reasonable hopes of ultimate victory. Adam Scott is two shots back and has only an outside chance. And Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith are playing only for pride.

Shane Lowry will have to complete four holes when third round play resumes on Sunday morning (local time). PHOTO: Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Not that anyone is going to find winning straightforward. Far from it. At the close of an ever-fluctuating but yet again incomplete third day, as many as 18 golfers are within six shots of the lead. Some heavy hitters are right there too, alongside one or two surprise names like Daniel Summerhays and Andrew Landry. In his first major, Landry, a 28-year old Texan who has missed six of 11 cuts on the PGA Tour this year, is bidding to become the first man since Orville Moody in 1969 to win the US Open after going through local and sectional qualifying.

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Perhaps the most significant number, however, is that, with just under a round-and-half to go for some, only six men – Shane Lowry, Andrew Landry, Dustin Johnson, Lee Westwood, Branden Grace and Sergio Garcia – remain under par. That number is likely to fall even further by the end of 72-holes. Despite the deluges that softened its hard edges on the opening day, Oakmont’s infamous claws are clearly sharpening almost by the minute.

Still, the man who will perhaps be commanding most attention from his rivals is one of those not in red figures. Four under par for the 18 holes he completed just before darkness stopped play at 8.49pm local time, Day is one-over-par overall and up to T7, an unlikely state of affairs when the reigning USPGA and Players champion began his campaign here with a disappointing six over 76 and was T45 at the end of the second round. Also adding to his mystique is that he is one of only two players in the top-ten who can already call himself a major champion.

Jason Day's four under 66 has him within a sight of the leaders.
PHOTO: David Cannon/Getty Images.

Others have come close though, multiple times. Remarkably, the trio of Johnson, Garcia and Westwood has between them accumulated 48 top-ten finishes in majors, 25 top-fives and nine runners-up spots. If they don’t yet know how to win, they surely know how to come close.

Particularly in Johnson’s case, breaking his major duck means he will have to find a way to defeat his demons as well as his rivals. He has capitulated before, more than once. Cast your minds back to Pebble Beach and Whistling Straits in 2010. At the former, Johnson led the US Open with 18 holes to play, but shot 82 to finish T8. Two months later, he grounded his club in what turned out to be a bunker on the 72nd hole, the subsequent two-shot penalty eliminating him from a play-off for the USPGA title with Martin Kaymer and Bubba Watson.

Bad enough. But the three putts Johnson needed to get down from maybe 15 feet on the 72nd green at Chambers Bay are even fresher in the memory. Two putts would have seen the South Carolinian into a play-off with Jordan Spieth.

Dustin Johnson will have to overcome his past major demons to capture this title.
PHOTO: David Cannon/Getty Images.

Given all of the above, Day will fancy his chances of doubling his haul of major titles. He may need some help from those up ahead, but the World No.1 – like Grace, who also shot a third round 66 – will benefit from not having to rise early from his bed to play a few catch-up holes.

A six-shot deficit is far from unassailable. Lowry is a formidable competitor, winner of a World Golf Championship and a strong candidate for Ryder Cup honours later this year. He is also one of the game’s premier wedge players. But he has yet to win a major title. And until a player does that, doubts as to whether he actually can remain.

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“Today I had to wake up at 4.45 and it has been a long day,” said Day. “So tomorrow is going to be the same for the guys who have to get up early. Mentally and physically – it’s going to be hot tomorrow – that can be difficult. But if a guy thinks he is ready he can win a major. I’m not sure it matters that much when you are out there. You think about it more off the course, to be honest. All I can hope is that I have given myself an opportunity.

“I just want the course to play hard and fast. I enjoy that. And I’m sure it will be more fun for the others too. As for my own game, I gave myself plenty of opportunities out there. I’m not saying I’m firing on all cylinders, but I’m getting there. My target today was to get to even par. I didn’t quite make it, but it will be the same tomorrow. My game plan isn't going to change."