U.S. OPEN NOTES
Surrenders 4-shot advantage after 77, in 4-way tie for 1st
The 36-hole leader came back to the pack Saturday, carding four bogeys and one double bogey on the front nine — and then also bogeying No. 18 — to finish with a 7-over-par third-round score of 77 to drop to plus-3 for the tournament entering Sunday’s final round.
Johnson, the 2016 U.S. Open winner, carried a four-shot advantage into Saturday’s play, but he now shares the lead with three golfers — Daniel Berger, Tony Finau and defending champion Brooks Koepka. Justin Rose is one shot off the pace, with Henrik Stenson two behind Johnson.
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.
Rickie Fowler’s quest for his first major title is over, however, recording zero birdies for a dreadful third-round score of 84 to fall to plus-16 for the tournament.
Scott Piercy and Charley Hoffman also tumbled down the leaderboard after entering tied for second at even par. Piercy shot a 79, while Hoffman posted a 77.
“That was the smartest thing Phil ever could have done,” Daly told the Daily News by phone.
“People need to get off Phil’s ass. That decision probably saved him two, three, four strokes. If he hadn’t done that, he’d still be out there.”
Daly has experience hitting moving balls during a major. At the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in 1999, Daly had a similar reaction on the No. 8 hole during the final round. After trying to chip the ball onto the green multiple times — only to have his ball roll back toward him — Daly finally, in his words, “chili-dipped” the ball while it was still moving. He ended up with an 11 on the par-4 hole, a septuple bogey.
“But there is no comparison to what I did and what Phil did today,” said Daly. “Listen, I love Phil, and he’s one of the smartest golfers out there. If he let the ball continue to roll off to the left, and then had to chip it, he’d probably be looking at a 15 or 16.”
“Someone asked me if I brought my clubs here and I said no, I came here to watch golf, not play golf,” Wayne Gretzky told the Daily News outside the clubhouse. “It’s harder to watch. It’s way better playing. It’s too hard to watch.”
Gretzky’s daughter Paulina is engaged to Johnson, the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the third-round co-leader. They have two children together.
“Listen, it’s exciting for everyone,” Gretzky said of Johnson holding the lead. “To be back in New York, it was a special place to be an athlete, a special place to play. I’m not playing, obviously, but I’m feeling the excitement that he’s feeling and I know he’s excited. He’s been beaming since Monday when he got here. He’s excited and loves it.”
The all-time leading scorer in NHL history said he’d “love to” play at Shinnecock Hills but never has, joking “I probably couldn’t break 100, but I’d love to give it a go.”
“It’s funny, one dude (golfer Peter Uihlein) was trying to play an iron on a par-3,” Darnold said. “He was on the second shot and someone yelled ‘J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets!’ right on his backswing.
“(The fan) knew I was there. That’s why he was yelling it. It just so happened to be right on the guy’s backswing on accident. But it was just a funny moment.”
Yes, the former USC star who starving Jets fans hope will lead them to Namath territory and a Super Bowl title is spending Father’s Day weekend in the Hamptons, taking in the Open with Allen, and enjoying the opportunity to witness “greatness” on the links.
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