The coolest customer early on looked to be Landry, trying to become the first player since Keegan Bradley (2011, PGA Championship) to win in his major championship debut.
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The Farmington native took a bogey on the par-4 first hole, but got the stroke back with a long birdie putt on the par-5, 609-yard No. 4.
“Today, I had to wake up at 4:45, whereas those guys didn’t”. So they’re going to be waking up around 5, play the rest of their holes.
Even though Day is six shots behind leader Shane Lowry (who will have four holes to complete tomorrow morning), he and Zach Johnson are the highest-placed players in the chasing pack to have previously won majors. Ten players are under par through two rounds.
“I put this on on goal, knowing that if at any time I felt like anything was against me, I would look at my clothes and be like, What would Seve do?'” Rahm said.
Day has fought back into this position after opening the tournament with a 76.
But it was his play of the third round, in which he got to complete 14 holes, that made him a contender: after a bogey on the second hole, he clicked into gear that had him manoeuvring up the leaderboard with fourth and sixth getting him into a share of the lead before a 20 footer on the seventh moved him into the outright lead.
A nine-times victor on the PGA Tour who is renowned for his athleticism and power game, Johnson says he is happy with his position despite struggling a little in the third round as he mixed two birdies with two bogeys and a double at the par-four third.
The longest birdie putt Johnson made was four feet, though he did make a couple of par saves.
It is something the 29-year-old from County Offaly, the son of 1982 All-Ireland winning footballer Brendan Lowry, says he is looking forward to. I had a lot of clubs that were in between the first round.
“I just want it to play hard and fast and I think the harder the better, like a normal U.S. Open Sunday should be”, he said. I think it would be fun for everyone.
“I don’t need to play any different, just hit my wedges a little closer”, Spieth said.
Day is certainly familiar with them. The day offered a wonderful stage to set aside the angst and enjoy the cross-property cheers of a major championship. His adjusted odds are 15-1.
“We all know that this course can jump up and bite you in a split second”, he said.
“And then I went ahead and bogeyed the next hole”.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves”, the Irish player said. These are the best golfers in the world behind me, Dustin and Jason. “Obviously, today, I kind of started firing not on all cylinders, but started firing at my target and felt really good about my swing”.
Since Thursday’s multiple downpours, the course has slowly regained the fire that all expected early in the week. He stood on the fifth tee four shots out of the lead.
Miller won the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont with what many people consider the greatest round in golf. Jordan Spieth is out of contention. Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose also missed the cut. Bubba Watson is far down the leaderboard.
“Literally just came off the golf course”.
Day can sleep in, then assess his situation. The odds were against him when the third round began, as he trailed by nine.
Oakmont: A shocking back-nine implosion sent Rory McIlroy reeling out of the US Open on Saturday, the world number three missing the cut at a major for the first time since the 2013 British Open.
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“I beat a field of this quality already”, said Lowry, whose only win on the PGA Tour came less than 120 miles from here, at the 2015 Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
