Johnson: 4-shot lead to 4-way tie
SOUTHAMPTON – Dustin Johnson finally got bitten by Shinnecock Hills, frittering away a four-shot advantage Saturday and falling into a four-way tie atop the leaderboard at the U.S. Open, but even USGA chief executive officer Mike Davis admitted Saturday that the historic course was "too tough" during the latter part of third-round play.
Johnson, who was leading after two rounds at 4-under, had six bogeys and a double-bogey Saturday, finishing with a 77. Johnson is at 3-over for the tournament, and in a tie for the lead with Daniel Berger, Tony Finau and Brooks Koepka, the defending Open champion.
But Johnson is probably the only golfer who will take a glass half-full approach to shooting 7-over for a round.
"I'm in a good position, in the lead tomorrow. Today's round, I didn't feel like I played badly at all. Seven-over, you know, usually is a terrible score, but, I mean, with the greens the way they got this afternoon, they were very, very difficult," said Johnson. “I had seven or eight putts that easily could have gone in the hole that didn't. That's the difference between shooting seven-over and even par."
Finau said he hadn't had a lot of time to think about Sunday's round, but was pleased he was in contention for a major.
"If I can feed off the energy I had late in today's round and continue that momentum into tomorrow, it will be fun," said Finau. "But you know, this is what we play for. This is what we practice for. Put ourselves in contention and just in a good position going into Sunday."
Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open winner, carried a four-shot advantage into Saturday's play, but finally got slayed by Shinnecock's demanding course. Friday's weather was beautiful, with wind during the afternoon, but nothing like the first day of the tournament when Johnson and the rest of the field played in 25-mph winds. Johnson then played through Friday morning's chilly, steady rain, but still shot a 67.
After making par on the par-4 No. 1 hole Friday, Johnson had a double-bogey on the par-3 No. 2. He also bogeyed Nos. 4, 6, 7 and 8 on the front nine. When he made the turn, Johnson played better, making birdie on the par-3 11th, but he bogeyed twice more (15 and 18) to fall back into a pack of leaders.
"For the most part, we all had to play this afternoon. Yeah, it was a little — I felt like the speeds were a little inconsistent," said Johnson. "I don't mind it being fast. I don't mind it being tough. But, you know, I felt like they were just a little inconsistent. Some greens were extremely fast, and some I felt like were slow. So I felt like it was tough to get a good beat on the speed today."
Justin Rose, the 2013 Open champ, is one shot off the pace, with Henrik Stenson two behind the four co-leaders.
The last Open champion to finish above par was Rose, who shot 1-over at Merion in 2013. Koepka finished 16-under par one year ago at Erin Hills. If he prevails Sunday, Koepka would be the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion since Curtis Strange won in 1988-89.
"I feel really good about the position I'm in," said Koepka.
Berger and Finau began the day 11 strokes off the lead, but each of them carded a 66, matching the low score of the tournament.