Ludvig Aberg, seeking to become the first player to win the U.S. Open since 1913, started Saturday’s third round at Pinehurst one stroke behind, with world number one Scottie Scheffler 11 strokes back.
Aberg, ranked sixth in the world by Sweden, started the round tied with 2020 U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau at five-under 135 after 36 holes.
DeChambeau, who was runner-up at last month’s PGA Championship, was one of eight players from the Saudi Arabia-sponsored LIV Golf field to qualify for this weekend.
Also at 4 under par, one stroke behind DeChambeau, were Patrick Cantlay of the United States, ranked 9th in the world, and Thomas Detry of Belgium.
And France’s Mathieu Pavon joined them with a 6-foot birdie putt on the first hole.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, a four-time major winner, was another stroke back at three under par with American Tony Finau.
Pinehurst’s domed, elevated greens and the dangers of sloppy areas overgrown with dirt and weeds played a part, with only 12 players finishing under par in the tournament.
Scheffler, the favorite and the in-form player coming into the week, shot 1-over 71 to take the lead at 6-over 216 after 54 holes.
“Another frustrating day,” Scheffler said. “I thought I played a lot better than my score suggested. I’m really struggling to read the greens.”
After a bogey on the par-4 fourth hole, Scheffler’s tee shot landed in the native area left, and he sank a 17-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole.
He missed a 3-foot putt for par on the par-3 ninth hole for bogey, but bounced back with a birdie putt from within 9 feet on the 11th hole.
Scheffler, who made the cut at 5-over 145, missed a 9-foot par putt on the par-3 15th hole for bogey but then made par.
“The pin locations are definitely tricky,” Scheffler said, “and with this runoff situation, it’s going to be pretty tough this afternoon.”
Scheffler is the first player since Tom Watson in 1980 to win five PGA Tour events before a U.S. Open – his fifth victory came at the Memorial last week – and has recorded 12 top-10 finishes in 13 tournaments this season.
But the normally cool and collected Scheffler seemed to get frustrated by Pinehurst’s unique challenge, tossing his putter into the air and dropping it at a close second on Friday and then slamming his driver after a badly misaligned tee shot.
“Golf can be a mental torture chamber at times, especially the U.S. Open,” Scheffler said, rejecting the notion that the course was borderline unfair.
“When it comes to the U.S. Open, ‘borderline’ is kind of a trigger word,” he said.
The winner of the U.S. Open will receive $4.3 million out of a record total prize pool of $21.5 million, while the runner-up will receive a whopping $2.32 million.
But Aberg, who finished runner-up at the Masters in April in his first major tournament, also has a chance to make history.
No player had won his first U.S. Open tournament since 20-year-old American amateur Francis Ouimet defeated Britain’s Harry Vardon and Ted Ray at the Country Club in his hometown of Brookline, Massachusetts, some 111 years ago.
Aberg became the first debutant to lead after 36 holes at the U.S. Open since Taiwan’s Chen Tzu-chung in 1985.
– Deadly Precision –
The 24-year-old Swedish golfer has won on the US PGA Tour and DP World Tour since turning professional a year ago.
The main reason for his commanding lead at Pinehurst is that Aberg leads all competitors in both driving accuracy (93%) and on-the-green percentage (83%), primarily by avoiding the course’s two major danger zones.
The best result for a Swede at the U.S. Open is fourth place, achieved by Niklas Fath, Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson.
Cantlay is in his best position after 36 holes in 30 major tournaments and has a chance to overtake Collin Morikawa for the final spot on the U.S. Olympic team in Paris, but a tie for second place or better would be enough to do that.
Morikawa shot 66 on Saturday to finish the round at par 210 and capped it off with a 25-foot birdie putt, showing the favorite can get a low score.
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