UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. (AP) — The latest from the U.S. Open (all times local):
1:55 p.m.
The USGA tried to prompt some red numbers in the final round of the U.S. Open by watering the greens at Chambers Bay and setting up a couple of the holes a little bit easier.
So far, a few have been able to take advantage of it.
Morgan Hoffman and Thomas Aiken have already posted rounds of 4-under 66, and amateur Nick Hardy shot 68 on Sunday. But with winds picking up and the sun high in the sky, Hoffman says he is “sure the greens will bake out” with the wind blowing and sun shining.
Co-leader Jordan Spieth has arrived at the practice green. He tees off with Branden Grace in the penultimate group at 2:48 p.m. local time. Dustin Johnson and Jason Day follow them.
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1:25 p.m.
Phil Mickelson arrived at the U.S. Open optimistic of his chances of completing the career Grand Slam. He leaves turning his attention to the British Open at St. Andrews.
Mickelson shot 1-under 69 in the opening round, but it was a struggle from there. He fell off the pace with 74 on Friday, and a 7-over 77 on Saturday left him playing early Sunday.
He closed with a 73 to finish at 13 over for the championship.
Mickelson has been the runner-up six times at the U.S. Open. He’ll try to win it again next year when the tournament heads to Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.
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1 p.m.
The USGA decided to make the finishing hole of the U.S. Open a par 5, much to the relief of players in the field who grumbled when it was a long par 4 on Friday.
The hole at Chambers Bay can be played either way, depending on how the USGA decides to set it up. But besides being a monstrous par 4 at 525 yards, that setup creates awkward landing areas that led Jordan Spieth to label it “the dumbest par 4 ever.”
The USGA said in a statement that, after seeing the forecast, “the north wind significantly reduces the effective playing width of the left-to-right sloping fairway when the hole is played as a par 4. As such, tee markers have been placed 19 paces forward of the 604 tee sign.”
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12:40 p.m.
George Coetzee has lost his head at the U.S. Open.
The one on his driver.
The South African was teeing off on the long par-4 11th at Chambers Bay on Sunday when the head of his driver followed his ball right down the fairway. Coetzee was left to look quizzically at the shaft in his hands, wondering just what happened.
His playing partner, Jim Furyk, walked ahead and kindly picked the head off the turf and handed it to Coetzee, who still seemed unsure of how everything had come apart.
Since the club was damaged in the normal course of play, he was allowed to replace it.
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12:15 p.m.
Four players are tied for the lead at the U.S. Open, but don’t rest on Louis Oosthuizen, who is just showing up at Chambers Bay for his final round.
Oosthuizen shot an opening-round 77 as part of the bumbling group of Tiger Woods (80) and Rickie Fowler (81). But he bounced back with a second-round 66 to make the cut, then had the best third round Saturday with another 66 to reach 1 under for the championship.
The 2010 British Open winner at St. Andrews, which is hosting that championship again next month, Oosthuizen is trying to make a bit of history.
Nobody has shot 77 or worse in the opening round and won since Sam Parks Jr. at Oakmont in 1935. Of course, Parks had to shoot only 11 over to hoist the trophy.
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11:50 a.m.
Billy Horschel did more than just talk about his disgust for the U.S. Open greens.
Playing in one of the first groups of the final round, Horschel made birdies on three of his first five holes. But after missing a putt for par on the sixth, Horschel slammed the heel of his putter into the green — er, brown — putting surface and left quite a dent.
He must be good at dealing with his temper, though. While others going out early Sunday were struggling, Horschel bounced back with another birdie at the eighth.
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11:30 a.m.
The greens at Chambers Bay have proved troublesome. Just ask every player who offered some type of complaint, or described them as some type of vegetable.
Cheng-Tsung Pan didn’t have much of a problem. In his first tournament after turning pro, Pan is the only player in the field not to have a three-putt.
Pan, who just completed his career at Washington, was the runner-up at the NCAA championships and medalist at sectional qualifying. He was 10 over for the tournament through his front nine Sunday, but it certainly wasn’t due to his trouble on the greens.
Pan did play Chambers Bay in college. His former coach, Matt Thurmond, is carrying his bag.
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11 a.m.
Much has been made of the fact that this is the first time the U.S. Open has come to the Pacific Northwest, but it is not the first time for a major championship.
In 1998, the PGA Championship was played at Sahalee just north of Seattle.
The two courses could not be more dissimilar. While Chambers Bay looks more like a British Open track than a U.S. Open, with its treeless topography and sandy dunes, Sahalee represents the quintessential Pacific Northwest: tall pine trees and verdant grass.
The USGA went to Sahalee in 2010 with the U.S. Senior Open.
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10:45 a.m.
There is plenty of air traffic surrounding the U.S. Open, and we’re not talking about the towering drives that Dustin Johnson has been hitting down the fairways.
Earlier this week, there were about 350 private planes parked at Tacoma Narrows Airport, just across the water. (Almost certainly one less when Tiger Woods missed the cut.)
The crowd of planes meant the Goodyear Blimp had to moor 60 miles away in Chehalis.
Then there are the massive military transport planes that have rumbled over Chambers Bay each day. The 62nd Airlift Wing is based at Joint Base Lewis-Mcchord, 15 miles south of the course.
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10 a.m.
The race is on to be low amateur at the U.S. Open.
Six of them made the cut this week at Chambers Bay, including Nick Hardy, whose bogey in the final group Friday moved the cut line and allowed 15 others to play the weekend.
Ollie Schniederjans and Jack Maguire were at 4 over for the championship entering the final round. Denny Maguire was one shot back and Beau Hossler two adrift, while Brian Campbell was at 7 over after his 3-under 67 in the opening round. Hardy was at 12 over.
Schniederjans is an interesting case. He could become the first player from Georgia Tech to earn the honor at the U.S. Open since the game’s most famous amateur, Bobby Jones.
Matthew Fitzpatrick was the only amateur to make the cut last year at Pinehurst.
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9:30 a.m.
Chris Kirk had enough of Chambers Bay on Sunday and still had 17 holes to go.
Playing in the second group off in the final round of the U.S. Open, Kirk was left in fits by the short, par-4 opening hole and its elevated green.
His tee shot found the left rough, and his approach to the green came up short. His next five shots up the slope all rolled right back to his feet. When Kirk finally got onto the green, about 30 feet from the hole, he promptly three-putted for a 10.
Or in golf parlance, a sextuple bogey.
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8 a.m.
The final round of the U.S. Open is under way at Chambers Bay, where Jordan Spieth could make history by following up his victory at the Masters with another major championship.
The young phenom will have to contend with a host of others if he is to become the first player to win the first two legs of the Grand Slam since Tiger Woods in 2002. Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Branden Grace are also at 4 under for the championship.
Four others are within striking distance at 1 under.
Then there is the course itself that Spieth must navigate. With its bumpy greens, slick fescue and wild terrain, Chambers Bay has been a stern test all week.
Who will be able to solve it best Sunday?
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