Scotty Scheffler begins to unravel. He hits a monstrous drive down 12, only to drive a wedge into the thick thing guarding the front of the green. He then cuts another chip, his ball barely reaching the green, and is thrown back down a small fake front. He makes an almost amazing steam rescue with a 25-foot kick from the finish line, but it will be another shot. The Eagle of 8 suddenly looks awful long ago.
John Ram’s lid threatened to turn. After climbing the gods six on the attractive 8-pair pair, his approach to 9 stopped at a bunker, forcing him to play his third baseball style while standing in it. The makeshift chip falls a little less than the flag, but it throws in the 15-foot nominal savior, and that can reassure the defending champion – who was also effective with some force this afternoon – a little. He turns 36, a total of -3.
Will Zalaris is so close to draining a long bird strike at 16. He stays at -4 and if he manages to keep that for two more holes, he could be in an extremely healthy position at the end of Moving Day. Under the conditions as it is, it’s a great if, but you would certainly prefer to be in his place than all those players with six, seven, eight, nine, ten more holes.
How quickly everything can change. Seconds after Zalatoris made his bird at 15, Scheffler threw his chip out of danger at 11 on the side of the bank, then received a flyer with his second wedge. His ball floats 15 feet past the pin and he can’t make the shot come back. Elsewhere, John Ram can’t save his face value at 8, going down to -3, while Aaron Wise has 9. Look at the rankings now … and suddenly, maybe Rory McIlroy doesn’t feel so bad about himself.
-4: Zalatoris (15), Scheffler (11) -3: Wise (9), Ram (8) -2: Fitzpatrick (12), Damen (7), Morikawa (7) -1: Bradley (14), Hadwin (13), Rodgers (11), Hosler (10), McIlroy (9), Buckley (8)
Birdie for the aforementioned Will Zalatoris at 15! It goes to -4. Meanwhile, Séamus Power is having fun with a long nominal party at 18 to sign 70 and join Danny McCarthy and Gary Woodland at the +1 Cigar Lounge.
Scotty Scheffler climbs up and down from the green bunker at 10 to handle a brilliant level. He seems to be the only one out there – with the exception of Will Zalatoris – who doesn’t lose his head in these test conditions. But then he bounces a wedge over the back of the short pair-three 11th and in danger from behind. He will have a job to ascend and descend successfully from there. Let me tell you, Danny McCarthy and Gary Woodland, leaders of +1 club houses for some time, will have cigars right now. The way everyone goes, they may be in the middle of the problem by the end of the day.
… not least because others are fighting too! Morikawa sends his second at 7 into the green bunker, from which he finds only the edge. He then strikes a hot shot six feet past the hole and misses the one who returns. Double silence and he is -2. At 8, Ram’s disc finds the roots of a huge tree and he is forced to improvise a clip with his left hand back in play. He swings an iron up to the green and will have to go up and down from a nearby rough to save the money. Rodgers then missed 11 with a wedge and needed three chip attempts. Double and he is -1.
McIlroy’s head is not well today. He screamed a world-class chip at a height of 8 pins to three feet, but then pulled a nimble shot, which is always missing from the left. He at least knocks in the nominal blow, returning. Although he is far from the only player to go back in pace, he clearly suffers more than most. The heart is always on the sleeve. Go on, Rory.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacted to the eighth green. Photo: Andrew Redington / Getty Images
Updated at 22.39 BST
Ram is finally releasing one! He sends a slider from left to right from 20 feet into the cup at 7, for his first bird of the day. This brings it back to fractions of a second at -4. Meanwhile, at 8, McIlroy lands his second on the green … but only … and he crashes from the fake front and 50 yards back down the fairway. A big mistake, and you may remember that it was expensive for Xander Schaufele. Rory doesn’t get too cute with the chip.
McIlroy sent his approach 7 straight to the flag, six feet shorter. Great opportunity to test his momentum down, but he pushed his shot to the right. He looks completely ill at the moment. He will have to get out quickly, because on Saturday he is still only the top nine and there is a great opportunity in par-5. Meanwhile, fearing for Morikawa at 6, the punishment for sending his football figure shot into a deep bunker with a tall face. Inevitable nausea for Fitzpatrick at 10. And Scheffler makes 9 to pass 32. That looks very good for world number one right now.
-6: Scheffler (9) -4: Rodgers (9), Morikawa (6) -3: Zalatoris (13), Wise (7), Ram (6), Buckley (6), Damen (6) -2: Fitzpatrick (10), Hosler (7) -1: Hadwin (11), Burns (10), NeSmith (9), Hardy (8), McIlroy (7) E: Power (16), Bradley (13)
Matt Fitzpatrick needs to be creative at 10. He sends his drive to the top of the cliff down to the right of the fairway. He is lucky to have a blow, his ball is stuck between several large stones. He uses his 3-tree to gently push it back and down the fairway. He returns to position, but hits three in par four.
Fun statistics lit by NBC. Scotty Scheffler made an eagle in the first 247 holes of his career at the US Open. He has just made two in the last 13. Elsewhere, Jon Rahm sends a great tee-kick at 6 to 5 feet, but little effort for a bird is always lacking on the right. He looks completely disgusted with himself. Meanwhile, back at 5, Colin Morikawa makes a bouncing bird, even though he skinned his car in the gallery. He hits a wedge three feet away and is just one of the temples set by Scheffler.
-6: Scheffler (8) -5: Morikawa (5) -4: Rodgers (8), Wise (6) -3: Zalatoris (13), Fitzpatrick (9), Ram (6), Buckley (6), Damen (5)
Rory McIlroy is in hot funk. His tee, fired at 6, withstood the wind and crashed roughly. He can’t get up and down and that’s another shot. He’s -1 … and his mood won’t improve while he hears the roar of Brooklyn! Scotty Scheffler, who joined the Eagle on the 14th yesterday to ignite his attack to the leaderboard, drove a wedge right past the 110-yard flag at 8 and screwed it back into the cup! Another eagle at para-five and suddenly this US Open shifts several gears! He bumps into his chest with his caddy and smiles with a smile of great satisfaction.
-6: Scheffler (8) -4: Rodgers (8), Wise (6), Morikawa (4) -3: Zalatoris (12), Fitzpatrick (9), Ram (5), Buckley (5), Damen (4) )
Updated at 21.46 BST
Morikawa tickles in her 20-foot, descending from left to right kick! Shades of McIlroy on 3 yesterday! He limits the damage from a terribly played hole to a bogey. Meanwhile, his partner Joel Dahman, who has just missed the green with his approach, can’t stand up and get off and also throws a shot. But some positive news from 8. Matt Fitzpatrick makes a bird, and then in the next game Patrick Rodgers drives a chip into the green from the rough back, his ball swinging right to left and in for an eagle … and a share of the lead! Today there will be a lot of chances for this ranking. Hold on to me.
-4: Rodgers (8), Scheffler (7), Wise (5), Morikawa (4) -3: Zalatoris (12), Fitzpatrick (8), Ram (4), Damen (4)
Morikawa takes an age to work out the wind. Too long, maybe, because when he finally approaches to strike, he cuts him. His ball settles into the semi-rough 20 yards of green. He will do well to limit the damage to the tallah here. It rises and exceeds a bunker, but 20 feet along the flag. A big blow is coming.
The wind is blowing through Brooklyn and no one looks very comfortable right now. Colin Morikawa’s 4-pointer disappears into a tall fringe at the bottom left. He is forced to take his medicine and take it aside. Up at 5, Aaron Wise made a big mistake from the center of the fairway after abandoning the drive pair-four. It pulls its wedge into a deep bunker and can burst at only 12 feet. He didn’t hit the steady shot and dropped out of the lead … although unless Morikawa can get up and down from 100+ yards back to 4, he will have a share again in a few minutes.
Birdies at 11 and 13, and Séamus Power does well at -1. Late thriving at 35, Power made his US Open debut this week after making his Masters debut in April, finishing in the top 30, and making his PGA debut last month, finishing ninth. He obviously likes these big events and is currently 13th. An open debut of St. Andrews is forthcoming! Some kind of year he spends.
Aaron Wise joins Colin Morikawa at the helm. The 25-year-old Vegas player crashes 4 miles down, chips up to five feet and steers in a complex blow that oscillates back and forth. Rory McIlroy tries to match him up, but the shot stays high on the right. He remains at three of the leaders at -2 and is visibly annoyed by the Greens’ lack of luck so far. Zalatoris, meanwhile, calmly approaches from the bottom of the shore at 11 and leaves after finishing another nice bump.
-5: Wise (4), Morikawa (2) -4: Scheffler (5), Damen (2) -3: Zalatoris (11), Burns (7), Hosler (4), Ram (3) -2: Fitzpatrick (7), Rodgers (6), Hardy (4), McIlroy (4)
Will Zalaris sends something suspiciously resembling a knuckle in the tall fescue to the right of 10. Don’t worry! He calmly knocks a wedge out of the thick dirt a few feet away and secures his money. It’s a devil’s fight and he stays at -3, though how many more? Because he was very aggressive in the short descent, par-tri 11th, aiming at the flag placed in the far right corner, and knocked down …
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