Most specifically, the rising star will remember the feel of the ball coming off the 3-wood second shot that he hit on the 667-yard par-5 18th, a shot he figured would end up in the front bunker at worst but flew almost 300 yards, snuggling to eight feet and leaving him an eagle putt for history. "If I did overcut it, I could hit it flawless". Meaning into the long, nasty fescue rough areas that line most holes.
His 13-foot putt for birdie at the par-5 seventh moved him to 3 under for the day and 4 under for the tournament. Even that final hole failed to improve his mood.
Reed is tied with Charley Hoffman and Tommy Fleetwood for the lead at 8 under.
Jun 16, 2017; Erin, WI, USA; Dustin Johnson waves to the gallery after his putt on the 18th green during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Erin Hills. "I'm looking forward to my shot at it. I was just happy that I was the one that was able to take advantage of it today".
"Michael and I were both talking, and we're still very much in it", Spieth said. But I'll play a lot, I just won't practice too much. "I guess it's rare you get through a U.S. Open or any major without some kind of a hiccup". It's hit or miss if you'll get a decent lie. "And unfortunately with where I was hitting it, I wasn't in the way".
Thomas made six birdies and one bogey on his front nine in the third round, and capped the round with an eagle, three birdies and a bogey on the back nine. He wasn't alone; the Erin Hills course that torpedoed such favorites as Irmo's Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day after 36 holes continued to wreak havoc on some of the game's best.
Matsuyama, who had struggled in the opening round with a two-over-par 74, produced an electrifying second round seven-under-par 65 to thrust himself firmly into contention.
Fleetwood was poised to take the lead until his pitch to the 18th wasn't strong enough and his next shot went beyond the flag and down the slope some 70 feet away. You can't fake it out here; if you hit it in the hay all day, you'll shoot 100. If you get four or five, that's pretty good.
"It's tough, long, and there's tricky breezes, and some pin locations are on the sides of hills".
America's Cup 2017: Sir Ben Ainslie leads Great Britain into Qualifying Series
Oracle skipper Jimmy Spihill twisted the knife in Team New Zealand, and has even claimed he has a leak in the Kiwi camp. Wins earn one point, and the four Challengers with the most points advance to the next round.
And he's still in the thick of things, just two back.
Johnson, who had bullishly expected to do well on a course he believed to be perfectly suited to his game, admitted he was surprised to be out after only 36 holes. Before assuming Kisner blamed all his Saturday woes on the course setup, here's the rest of the story.
"All Jimmy (caddie Jimmy Johnson) and I were trying to do is give ourselves a best chance to make a four. I'm enjoying it right now".
Rickie Fowler, one of the top players on Tour without a major, is two shots off the lead after a third-round 68. It was one of his four top-10 finishes between the European and PGA Tours this season.
Day arrived at Erin Hills a week ago and felt "I put in the best preparation for any major in my career", he said. "Obviously, today I definitely had something to show for it".
To realize what most observers believe is his potential, he does.
Last year's victor and world number one Johnson, who arrived late in Wisconsin after staying in California for the birth of his second child, added a one-over-par 73 to his opening 75 to finish on four-over 148, three off the cut line. McIlroy played in the same group with Day, who had a 7-over 79 on Thursday and followed with a 75 to finish at 10 over.
"I think the greens are getting U.S. Open-like, but not as firm as they're going to get if we don't get any rain", Garcia said about the course that allowed a record number of sub-par scores in the first round after rain soaked the layout earlier in the week.
Kisner hopes to see his name up there - someday.
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