Matt Fitzpatrick On a cold, windy afternoon at The Country Club, eight men spent time atop the leaderboard, all of them getting
thrown around some more than others on a U.S. Open course that seemed every bit like the toughest challenge in golf.
Saturday was a traditional US Open day, with the emphasis on survival. Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick
limited the damage giving them another chance at a major championship that is 18 holes away but feels much longer.
Zalatoris, who lost in a playoff in the PGA Championship last month at Southern Hills, shot a 3-under 67 with only one
bogey, a remarkable performance on a brutal Brookline course. Zalatoris added, "I felt like I shot a 61. I was always able to get
away with it or pull off something amazing whenever I made a mistake. At the PGA Championship, Fitzpatrick was
in the final group. The 27-year-old Englishman is back on familiar ground at The Country Club, where he won the 2013 US Amateur.
He was as consistent, making three birdies in his final five holes to finish with a 68. The fact that they didn't make any
double bogeys is telling. On the final hole, that's what pushed defending US Open winner Jon Rahm out of the lead.
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The Spaniard felt he'd seen everything until he took three swipes from sand in two bunkers, including a shot he hit