Justin Rose trails Gary Woodland by a single shot heading into the final round of the US Open after watching the American defy the odds to remain in pole position at Pebble Beach.
Woodland chipped in for an unlikely par on the 12th and holed from 40 feet for another on the 14th, but Rose maintained his focus to birdie both holes as he seeks a second US Open title following his 2013 triumph at Merion.
Rose also birdied the 18th from a greenside bunker for the third day running to complete a 68 and finish 10 under par, with Woodland 11 under after carding three birdies and a solitary bogey in his 69.
World number one Brooks Koepka, who is aiming to become just the second player to win three consecutive US Open titles, is four shots off the lead alongside former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and American Chez Reavie, with Rory McIlroy another stroke back.
Tweet of the day
Henrik Stenson nailed a guy in the crowd with his second shot on 16. Guy was on the ground, down for the count. Henrik laid down for a photo this bloke will never forget. Henrik Stenson – absolute character 👏 pic.twitter.com/1YIE6pJUW4 — Evin Priest (@EvinPriest) June 16, 2019
Quote of the day
"It feels like he's had maybe one or two refreshments that might have eased the pain before the strike." – A sympathetic Stenson nevertheless thinks his "victim" may have had one or two adult beverages before the incident.
Shot of the day
BOOM! Gary Woodland simply cannot miss! #USOpen #LexusGolf pic.twitter.com/m0lA4WRdis — U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 16, 2019
Woodland also holed from 40 feet for an unlikely par two holes later, but his chip-in for par on the 12th was the shot of the day.
Round of the day
Koepka from the fringe! #USOpen pic.twitter.com/C9xWXQKSfg — U.S. Open (USGA) (@usopengolf) June 16, 2019
Former Masters champion Danny Willett shot the lowest score with a 67, but defending champion Brooks Koepka gets the nod thanks to a flawless 68 that featured a huge par-saving putt on 15.
Statistic of the day
Brooks Koepka, nearing the top of the leaderboard, is seeking a 2nd consecutive multiple-major win season. The only player to do that before? A guy called Tiger (2005-06)#USOpen #15thClubAtTheUSOpen — 15th Club (@15thClub) June 15, 2019
Koepka will be seen by many as the biggest danger to the final group of Woodland and Rose.
Easiest hole
The par-five sixth played as the easiest hole for the third day running thanks to three eagles and 39 birdies for a scoring average of 4.519.
Toughest hole
The ninth hole played as the toughest and gave up just three birdies while costing five players a double bogey and two players even worse. The scoring average was 4.468.
On the up
Justin Rose's prospects of a second US Open title after he put all his short-game skills to use to close within one shot of the lead.
On the slide
Animosity between the players and the USGA after the tournament organisers appeared to get the course set up spot on for the first time in recent years.
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