OAKMONT, Pa. — Moving Day holds a different meaning at an Oakmont-hosted U.S. Open as scores could only go so low despite golfers doing their damndest to progress up the leaderboard during Saturday’s third round. Instead, the field was fighting mostly to hold serve and avoid moving backwards, hoping the leaders may come back to them.
None of that happened. Sam Burns and J.J. Spaun, who entered Saturday in the top two spots at Oakmont, shot dueling 69s to remain in those positions, while Adam Scott and Carlos Ortiz delivered matching 67s with the former moving into T2 and the final pairing alongside Burns on Sunday.
Burns and Spaun impressed by avoiding big mistakes despite going head-to-head. Both handled the nerves of being in the last group nicely, never falling more than one shot off where they started the day while playing smart, sensible golf. They combined for just four bogeys — no doubles or worse — in Round 3, dashing hopes for many of the more notable names behind them.
The duo was tied at 3 under after the front nine, briefly three shots clear of the field. There was a distinct lack of buzz around Oakmont at that juncture as fans were waiting for someone to make a move and prevent this from becoming a two-horse race.
The penultimate pairing finally provided that jolt as Adam Scott and Viktor Hovland started to progress on the back nine after treading water on the front side. Scott, who opened the tournament with two 70s, threw a pair of darts at the 13th and 14th holes to move into red figures and apply some pressure to the final pairing for the first time.
Scott added another birdie on the drivable par-4 17th to tie Spaun and Burns for the lead at 3 under with Hovland pulling within one of the lead at 2 under. The final pairing watched all of that take place from the tee box and responded in kind with two terrific birdies of their own to push the lead back out to 4 under.
After players spend a long day of managing the stresses of Oakmont, the 18th hole presents one final, incredibly difficult hurdle to clear. Scott played it perfectly, splitting the fairway off the tee and then playing to the center of the green to allow for a relatively calm two-putt par. The rest of the final four did not make things as easy, though, as Hovland, Burns and Spaun all missed the fairway and had to battle from there.
Hovland and Spaun each bogeyed to drop back to 1 under and 3 under, respectively, while Burns drew the best lie of the bunch and could get onto the back of the green. A solid two-putt par from there made him the solo leader going into Sunday at 4 under, where he’ll be paired with Scott.
Among the stars who many fans hoped would make a move, Jon Rahm (73) and Collin Morikawa (74) both backed further down the leaderboard, while Scottie Scheffler could only tread water with an even-par 70 to remain 4 over. That’s good for T11, but it’s still eight off the lead going into Sunday’s final round.
2025 U.S. Open leaderboard, Round 3
1. Sam Burns (-4): Burns made a head-scratching decision off the tee on No. 2, hitting a driver into the deep fairway bunker for bogey. That was, impressively, his last mental error of the round; he played steady, smart golf the rest of the way in to shoot 69 and get into the clubhouse as the solo leader. He heard the roars throughout the back nine from the group in front of him and never wavered, often producing his best moments in response to them. Burns handled the Saturday nerves as the 36-hole leader extremely well, and he will now have to deal with even more on Sunday as he sets sights on winning his first major trophy.
T2. Adam Scott, J.J. Spaun (-3): Scott’s 67 finally moved him into red figures for the tournament, and the 44-year-old is staring down the best chance he’s had in nearly a decade to capture that elusive second major championship. Scott won the Masters in 2013, and with his sweet swing, it was assumed he’d add a couple more over the ensuing years. That did not come to pass. His status as a single-major winner is a reminder of how difficult it is to win these tournaments. Now, more than a decade removed from that victory at Augusta National, he’ll be in the final pairing on Sunday with a chance at history.
Spaun’s 69 was extremely solid, but he’ll be a bit frustrated with the way his round ended with that bogey on the 18th to fall out of the final pairing. Still, for someone contending for the first time in a major championship, he’s handled himself exceptionally well all week after being at the top of the leaderboard since Thursday morning, and he doesn’t look like he’ll just bow out on Sunday afternoon.
4. Viktor Hovland (-1): Hovland was the pick of many coming into Saturday, but he got off to the worst possible start, blowing his tee shot way right and nearly out of bounds on No. 1. He had to take an unplayable lie, which would have completely flustered most players. Instead, Hovland managed to salvage a bogey from a drop on the cart path that limited the damage. He was solid the rest of the day but couldn’t make the kind of surge at the leaders he hoped, finishing with a 70 to sit three off the lead going into the final round. He’s still a significant threat but will need to avoid those occasional wayward swings if he’s going to capture his first major.
5. Carlos Ortiz (E): Prior to Scott matching him, Ortiz had the round of the day with a 67 that brought him into contention going into Sunday. He was bogey-free for his first 17 holes and had moved into red figures before finally dropping a shot on the 18th. Even with that late blemish, his ball-striking on Saturday was incredible as Ortiz hit 15 of 18 greens in regulation. If he can produce another performance like that, he’ll have a real chance on Sunday.
T6. Tyrrell Hatton, Thriston Lawrence (+1): Hatton’s 68 was one of the four best rounds of Saturday, and the mercurial Englishman joked after the effort that he’s more comfortable than most at a U.S. Open brings the rest of the field into the world he lives in every week.
T11. Scottie Scheffler and 10 others: Anyone outside that top seven is going to need some serious help to have a chance at wining. Even an historic round to match Johnny Miller’s 63 wouldn’t be enough for Scheffler to win if the leaders manage to shoot even par, but Oakmont always presents the possibility of high scores. Scheffler looked a bit better on Saturday, but he still missed some short putts and a few too many fairways to really make a move up the leaderboard. He will tee off an hour before the leaders, though, and if he can put a few early birdies on the card to push his name up onto that first page, perhaps he can create some additional stress for the final groups.
