2022 U.S. Open

Don Wassall

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It's a very tightly bunched leaderboard with some big names at or near the top.

Collin Morikawa is tied for the lead at -5. Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm are among the group at -4, while Scottie Scheffler is among those in with -3. Should be a great weekend with a fantastic finish on an old-fashioned, challenging course.
 

Carolina Speed

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US Open leaders going into the final round.
T1. Zalatoris. -4. Has placed second in two Majors; The Masters in 2021 and the PGA this year. Could get his first today
T1. Fitzpatrick -4. Won the US Amateur here. Maybe this is his week?
T3. Rahm -3. Last year's US Open Champion. Can he win in consecutive years?
T4. Bradley. -2. Former PGA Champion. Can he win near his hometown?
T4. Scheffler. -2. Can the Masters Champion come back after a disappointing +2 round yesterday?
Lots of story lines here. I'm pulling for Scheffler or Zalatoris, but it will be a great tournament no matter who comes out on top. After Father's Day lunch at the in-laws, I will be relaxing at the house to watch the ending.
BTW, Happy Father's Day to all of the CF fathers.
 

icsept

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I like Sam Burns and Rory McIlroy. Either one could get hot and make a final round run.
 

Don Wassall

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Putting has been Rory's weakness in recent years but he's putted great in this tournament thanks to coaching by Brad Faxon, who is one of the all-time great putters, up there with Ben Crenshaw. If McIlroy can straighten out more of his drives and iron shots it could be his day.
 

Don Wassall

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NBC is running a ludicrous ad for the upcoming British Open at St. Andrews, centering around whether Tiger Woods can win there for a third time. As always, the actual contenders are ignored. Tiger's chances of winning next month are only slightly better than those of 82 year old Jack Nicklaus.

Scottie Scheffler has birdied three of the first four holes and has a one shot lead. He had a two shot lead at one point yesterday in the third round but lost it when he had a bad stretch early in the back nine.
 

Don Wassall

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Will Zalatoris with a two shot lead with seven holes to play. He's been knocking at the door at the majors the past two years, we'll see if he can finish it off. Scheffler and Fitzpatrick are both two back. . .
 

Carolina Speed

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Great US Open. Fitzpatrick with the clutch birdie and Zalatoris putt to save par! Scheffler hanging in there as well.
 

Don Wassall

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And now it's Fitzpatrick with a two shot lead with three holes left. He's made some tremendous clutch putts and his ball striking has been close to impeccable.

Edit: Scheffler just closed to within a shot, Zalatoris is two back but in birdie range on 16. Lots of great golf taking place on the back nine!
 

Don Wassall

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Well deserved win by Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick, who was ranked number eighteen in the world coming into the event, holding off Scheffler and Zalatoris. He played quite simply outstanding golf all round, especially in the pressure-packed back nine, and had ice water in his veins.
 

BeyondFedUp

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The putt at 10:46 on 13 was ice water in veins type stuff. Epic.
 

Don Wassall

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The putt at 10:46 on 13 was ice water in veins type stuff. Epic.

Excellent highlights, which show how overall near brilliant Fitzpatrick was all day, as well as how fair and on the money the NBC announcing crew was. Topnotch all the way around.
 

Freethinker

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The putt at 10:46 on 13 was ice water in veins type stuff. Epic.
Thanks for sharing and well deserved win for Fitzpatrick. That putt was fantastic but how about that bunker shot on 18? If he doesn’t hit that brilliant shot, there would have been a playoff at minimum.

Couple things I find interesting about Matt and make him someone fun to follow. First, his quick pace. That’s always appreciated. Then you have the fact he leaves the flag stick in when he’s putting on the green. Wasn’t even sure that was allowed, but now that I know it is, clearly he’s pretty unique in that regard. I wonder what his rationale is behind that?
 

Don Wassall

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Fitzpatrick won the 2013 U.S. Amateur on the same course, so he had some fan backing but not a lot. He had won seven times on the European Tour but never on the PGA Tour coming into the Open, though he had been in contention numerous times. Overall he was known as an excellent player but certainly wasn't a fan favorite or expected to be one of the main contenders to win. I know I wasn't rooting for him, in part because he had shown almost no personality on the course, but once he accomplished his well-earned feat he and his large number of family and friends present showed sheer unrestrained joy. He smiled non-stop and was witty and engaging, and coming from a working class background in Sheffield made it that much easier to like him and what he pulled off.

Fitzpatrick also noticeably increased his length off the tee without bulking up, which I like to see. Players like Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris and Justin Thomas are able to effortlessly pound long drives without looking like easily injured hulking linebackers (Koepke) or defensive tackles (DeChambeau). There's no need for golfers to look like they're prepping for Strongest Man contests.
 
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