Wednesday, December 18, 2024

US Open live updates: Third round leaderboard, tee times, highlights from Saturday

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The 2024 U.S. Open continues Saturday with the third round at Pinehurst Resort in North Carolina.

Ludvig Aberg, 24, is the leader at 5-under entering Saturday. Bryson DeChambeau, Thomas Detry and Patrick Cantlay are tied for second at 4-under while Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau) and Matthieu Pavon sit at 3-under, tied for fifth.

Temperatures are expected to rise into the 90s on Saturday, with the first golfers of the day teeing off at 8:44 a.m. ET.

Stay tuned throughout the day Saturday for updates and highlights from the U.S. Open’s third round:

2024 US Open leaderboard

Check out the full leaderboard here

US Open TV channel

Golf Channel: Live From the U.S. Open, 8 a.m. – 10 a.m. ET

Peacock: U.S. Open All Access, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. ET

USA: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. ET

NBC: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. ET

Golf Channel: Live From the U.S. Open, 8 p.m. – 10 p.m. ET

David Puig opened Saturday’s round with three birdies in the first five holes, but bogeyed on No. 6 to halt his rise up the leaderboard. The 22-year-old sits at 2-over for the tournament.

Brooks Koepka was off to strong start Saturday with two birdies in the first eight holes, but his double-bogey on No. 9 dropped him back to even on the day and 5-over for the tournament.

Two-time US Open champion Brooks Koepka pars the first three holes of the day to sit at +5, well off the leader Ludvig Åberg. Francesco Molinari, playing alongside Koepka, makes a nice pitch on No. 3 to set up a birdie.

Ryan Fox and Sahith Theegala, both sitting a +5, officially begin the third round of the US Open. Fox bogeys the first hole, Theegala pars it.

Rory McIlroy talks Pinehurst

The precision with which Pinehurst No. 2 requires was on display again Friday, when Rory McIlroy pulled off a one-putt for the ages, putting through the green on the 17th hole, but then chipping in.

After he posted a 72 to slip back in the pack a bit McIlroy discussed the difficulty that the course presents.

“It just requires a lot more thought,” he said. “A little more consideration to everything that you’re doing. Very conservative strategy off the tee. And because most of us are playing conservative off the tee, with irons you can aim down one side of the fairway or the other to try to give yourself better angles to these pins.”

– Tim Schmitt, Golfweek

Bryson DeChambeau, the 2020 U.S. Open champion, followed up his opening-round 67 with a 1-under 69 on Friday, the first time he’s shot back-to-back under-par rounds at the U.S. Open since the second and third rounds in 2021. 

In doing so, he shared the clubhouse lead with Thomas Detry during the second round with a 36-hole total of 4-under 136. 

He’s now sat inside the top 10 after nine of the last 10 rounds at a major – the exception being the first round of the PGA Championship, where he eventually finished second. 

It didn’t hurt that DeChambeau holed several clutch putts, totaling nearly 130 feet on Friday.

“He’s solved the riddle on these greens,” said NBC’s Brandel Chamblee. “He’s had a wizard’s day.”

– Adam Schupak, Golfweek

2024 US Open purse

The U.S. Open had the largest purse of the four men’s major championships in 2023, and that amount is going up in 2024.

Mike Whan, the CEO of the United States Golf Association, announced Wednesday the purse for the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 was going up to $21.5 million, a $1.5 million increase from last year. In addition, the winner will take home $4.3 million, up from $4 million in 2023.

The winner of the first U.S. Open in 1895 took home $150.

In addition, every player will make at least $10,000, as players who miss the cut will pocket that amount.

At the Masters, the purse was $20 million with $3.6 going to the winner, Scottie Scheffler. The PGA Championship had a record purse of $18.5 million, with Xander Schauffele taking home $3.33 million.

– Cameron Jourdan, Golfweek

Ludvig Aberg claimed a one-stroke halfway lead in a dream debut U.S. Open on Friday but said his biggest “pinch-me moment” at Pinehurst might be playing alongside the stars he has long admired.

The tricky North Carolina course humbled some of the biggest names in the sport this week but could not slow down the 24-year-old Aberg, who had three birdies and two bogeys for a one-under-par 69 to reach 5-under on the week.

“Sometimes I have to stop for a little bit and think about how fortunate I am to be able to do this at this level,” said Aberg.

“To be able to play these tournaments, to be able to play with the guys that I’ve watched on TV for such a long time is definitely a pinch-me moment.”

– Reuters

This “may or may not be” Tiger Woods’ last appearance at the U.S. Open, the three-time champion said after he missed the cut on Friday at Pinehurst.

“I’ve only got one more tournament this season,” Woods said, referring to July’s Open Championship, the last remaining golf major. “Just one more event and then come back, whenever I come back.”

He added, “As far as my last U.S. Open championship, I don’t know when that is. It may or may not be.”

He won the U.S. Open in 2000, 2002 and 2008.

Woods, who shot a 74 on Thursday, had four bogeys and one birdie for a 73 on Friday. He finished 7-over on the tournament and missed the cut into the weekend by two strokes.

– Cydney Henderson

Where is Pinehurst?

Pinehurst Resort, home of the 2024 U.S. Open,  is located in Pinehurst, N.C., about 90 miles east of Charlotte.

How many golf courses are at Pinehurst?

There are 11 golf courses at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, including the historic No. 2 course, site of the 2024 U.S. Open.

While No. 2 is the headliner, golfers around the world visit the Sandhills of North Carolina to experience a crowd of different layouts in Moore County.

Known as “The Cradle of American Golf,” Pinehurst is hosting the United States Golf Association’s 1,000th championship this week. The No. 2 course has hosted four men’s U.S. Open tournaments in the last 25 years.

– Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville Observer

US Open Saturday tee times

The third round of the 2024 U.S. Open begins at 8:44 a.m. ET on Saturday.

  • 8:44 a.m. ET – Ryan Fox, Sahith Theegala
  • 8:55 a.m. – Brooks Koepka, Francesco Molinari
  • 9:06 a.m. – Matthew Fitzpatrick, Max Greyserman
  • 9:17 a.m. – Justin Lower, Dean Burmester
  • 9:28 a.m. – Tom McKibbin, Brandon Wu
  • 9:39 a.m. – Luke Clanton (a), Brendon Todd
  • 9:50 a.m. – Ben Kohles, Shane Lowry
  • 10:01 a.m. – Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler
  • 10:12 a.m. – Tommy Fleetwood, Greyson Sigg
  • 10:23 a.m. – Austin Eckroat, David Puig
  • 10:39 a.m. – Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley
  • 10:50 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Wyndham Clark
  • 11:01 a.m. – Aaron Rai, Neal Shipley (a)
  • 11:12 a.m. – Si Woo Kim, Daniel Berger
  • 11:23 a.m. – Matt Kuchar, Cameron Smith
  • 11:34 a.m. – Gunnar Broin (a), Brian Campbell
  • 11:45 a.m. – Martin Kaymer, Jordan Spieth
  • 11:56 a.m. – Harris English, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
  • 12:07 p.m. – Adam Svensson, Mark Hubbard
  • 12:18 p.m. – Isaiah Salinda, Davis Thompson
  • 12:29 p.m. – Min Woo Lee, Emiliano Grillo
  • 12:45 p.m. – Denny McCarthy, Adam Scott
  • 12:56 p.m. – Chris Kirk, Jackson Suber
  • 1:07 p.m. – Sepp Straka, Brian Harman
  • 1:18 p.m. – Nico Echavarria, Sam Bennett
  • 1:29 p.m. – Nicolai Højgaard, Seonghyeon Kim
  • 1:40 p.m. – Frankie Capan III, Taylor Pendrith
  • 1:51 p.m. – Russell Henley, Sergio Garcia
  • 2:02 p.m. – Stephan Jaeger, Sam Burns
  • 2:13 p.m. – Billy Horschel, Zac Blair
  • 2:24 p.m. – Corey Conners, Tim Widing
  • 2:40 p.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Xander Schauffele
  • 2:51 p.m. – Tyrrell Hatton, Tom Kim
  • 3:02 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Matthieu Pavon
  • 3:13 p.m. – Tony Finau, Rory McIlroy
  • 3:24 p.m. – Patrick Cantlay, Thomas Detry
  • 3:35 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Åberg

Contributing: Reuters, Golfweek

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