UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. (AP) — The latest from the U.S. Open (all times local):
10:25 a.m.
Morgan Hoffman nearly holed out for double eagle in the U.S. Open and didn’t even know it.
The eighth hole at Chambers Bay is so far up the hillside on the far side of the property that the gallery can’t get there. It creates an eerie quiet for a major championship.
So when Hoffman hit a long iron into the lumpy green in the third round Saturday, he thought it might be good. Only when he hiked the 270-odd yards to the green did he realize his ball had stopped a couple inches from the hole.
Hoffman was off to a rocky start with bogeys on four of his first five holes, but the tap-in eagle lifted his spirits. He even acknowledged the crowd.
Even though out there it was merely imaginary.
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9:45 a.m.
Unpleasant. Terrible. A tragedy.
These were the words used to describe the U.S. Open by someone who isn’t even playing.
Gary Player used an appearance on Golf Channel to deliver a rant on Chambers Bay and the U.S. Open. He called it the most unpleasant tournament he’s ever seen in his life and took a shot at the architect, Robert Trent Jones Jr. “The man who designed this golf course had to have had one leg shorter than the other,” he said.
Player later referred to the course as terrible.
As for the tragedy?
He rambled so much it was hard to keep track, though it appeared he was talking about the maximum length of 7,900 yards and how much water it requires. Actually, USGA executive director Mike Davis says fescue doesn’t need as much water as other grasses.
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8 a.m.
Nick Hardy began the third round of the U.S. Open on Saturday about 10 hours after finishing his second, and one has to wonder if he got any sleep at all.
He was probably busy receiving “thank-you” text messages.
Hardy made bogey as the sun was setting over Chambers Bay, and that moved the cut line from 4 over to 5 over and allowed a slew of others to play the weekend. Among them: Sergio Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter, Jimmy Walker and Camilo Villegas.
Hardy was first on the course Saturday, playing with Bryson Dechambeau as a marker.
Masters champion Jordan Spieth is tied with Patrick Reed for the lead at 5 under. They will go off at 2:50 p.m. local time. Dustin Johnson and Branden Grace are a shot back.
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