JASON DAY
2015 U.S. Open Championship
Leaders after Satuday’s third round at Chambers Bay are Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day and Branden Grace, all with four-under scores of 206. Bremerton’s Troy Kelly is tied for 46th at seven-over 217.
- The winners of the last five major championships have led or co-led after 54 holes:
- 2015 Masters: Jordan Spieth
- 2014 PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy
- 2014 British Open: Rory McIlroy
- 2014 U.S. Open: Martin Kaymer
- 2014 Masters: Bubba Watson (co-leader)
- Only three of the last 10 leaders after 54 holes have gone on to win the U.S. Open (Kaymer, 2014; McIlroy, 2011; Woods, 2008)
- The four players tied for the lead through 54 holes is the most in the U.S. Open since four also led in 1973 at Oakmont (Arnold Palmer, Julius Boros, John Schlee, Jerry Heard)
Jordan Spieth
- The last Masters champion to win the U.S. Open in the same year was Tiger Woods in 2002. It has been done six times by five players. The others are Jack Nicklaus, 1972; Arnold Palmer, 1960; Ben Hogan, 1951 and 1953; and Craig Wood, 1941.
- This is the third time Spieth has led or co-led a major through 54 holes. He finished runner-up in the 2014 Masters and won the 2015 Masters.
- Spieth has played seven rounds in major championships this year and has led or co-led after six of them.
- Spieth is aiming to become the youngest champion of the U.S. Open since Bob Jones in 1923.
- Spieth would be the youngest to win two career majors since Gene Sarazen in 1922.
- The last U.S. Open champion from Texas was Tom Kite in 1992. The last Texan to lead after 54 holes and win was Ben Hogan in 1953.
Dustin Johnson
- This is the second time Dustin Johnson has held a 54-hole lead in the U.S. Open. He led by three strokes in 2010 at Pebble Beach, but shot a final-round 82 to finish tied for eighth.
- This is the fourth time that Johnson has played in the final group in a major championship. The others are the 2010 U.S. Open (T8), 2010 PGA Championship (T5) and 2011 British Open (T2).
- Johnson has eight top-10s in 24 career major championships.
Jason Day
- Jason Day was the only player in the final eight groups to break par in the third round.
- Day is playing in his fifth U.S. Open. He has recorded three top-4 finishes in the last four years. He was runner-up in 2011 and 2013 and was tied for fourth in 2014.
- Day will play in the final group of a major championship for the first time tomorrow. He has five top-4 and seven top-10 finishes in 18 career majors.
- Day has one win and four top-5 finishes in 2015, but has not made a cut since the Zurich Classic in April.
Branden Grace
- Branden Grace has led or co-led six times through 54 holes on the European Tour and has won all six times.
- Grace is playing in his third U.S. Open. He finished tied for 51st in 2012 and missed the cut in 2013.
- Grace has played in 12 major championships with his best finish a tie for 18th in the 2013 Masters. He has five missed cuts and one top-25 finish.
- Grace has won twice in 2015 (Alfred Dunhill Championship, Qatar Masters)
Players
- Louis Oosthuizen opened with a 77, but posted consecutive rounds of 66 to get to 1-under 209 through 54 holes and is tied for fifth.
- His 132 total for the second and third rounds is the lowest score for the middle 36 holes in the U.S. Open. The previous record was 133 held by Loren Roberts (1994) and Jim Furyk (2003).
- The last time a player won the U.S. Open shooting a 77 in the opening round was Sam Parks in 1935.
- The best comeback by a winner over the final 54 holes in the U.S. Open is Jack Fleck, who trailed by nine strokes in 1955. Oosthuizen trailed by 12 strokes after the first round.
- The highest score by a winner since World War II is a 76, by Ben Hogan in 1951 and Jack Fleck in 1955. Since World War I, it’s a 78 by Tommy Armour in 1927 and Walter Hagen in 1919. All-time, it’s Horace Rawlins with a 91 in 1895.
- For the second consecutive day, Oostheizen (66) had the low round of the day.
- Cameron Smith is looking to become the first player to win the U.S. Open in his first try since Francis Ouimet in 1913.
- No players had bogey-free rounds on Saturday. The only bogey-free round of the championship was in the second round by Kevin Kisner.
- Only four players have posted three rounds of par or better over the first 54 holes – Day, Grace, Smith and Lowry.
Statistics
- Putting has been an important statistic this week. Seven of the players in the top 8 on the leader board are in the top 10 in putting through 54 holes.
- T1 Jordan Spieth T6 in putting
- T1 Dustin Johnson T3
- T1 Jason Day T3
- T5 Louis Oostheizen T6
- T5 Cameron Smith 2nd
- T5 Shane Lowry T6
- T5 TJ.B. Holmes T6
Course
- The 12th hole has yielded 18 eagles through three rounds. That is the most eagles on a single hole in the U.S. Open since 1985 when course statistics were first kept. Seventeen eagles were made on the fifth hole at Pinehurst in 2014.
- Through three rounds, there have been 26 eagles at Chambers Bay. The most eagles made in a U.S. Open, since the statistic has been tracked starting in 1985, is 31 at Pebble Beach in 1992.
- The 509-yard fourth hole was the most difficult in the third round, playing to a 4.72 stroke average. It yielded no birdies.
Past Champions
- Seven past U.S. Open champions made the cut. Their scores through three rounds:
- Justin Rose T25 4-over 214
- Rory McIlroy T25 4-over 214
- Geoff Ogilvy T39 6-over 216
- Webb Simpson T39 6-over 216
- Jim Furyk T46 7-over 217
- Ernie Els T58 8-over 218
- Angel Cabrera T61 9-over 219
