Rory McIlroy remains in contention to end his nine-year wait for a fifth major title after a "stress-free" third round at the US Open moved him to one shot of co-leaders Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark.
McIlroy is a four-time major winner but the last of those came at the 2014 PGA Championship, despite several chances over the years to add to his haul. Once again, the Northern Irishman is right in the mix at the top of the leaderboard at Los Angeles Country Club after three birdies and two bogeys to card a one-under 69 during a round in which was rarely in real trouble.
"The golf course definitely got a little bit trickier today than the first couple of days," McIlroy, the world No 3, said. "Felt like I played really smart, solid golf.
"Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens. Sort of felt somewhat stress-free out there, if you can ever call golf at a US Open stress-free."
Overnight leader Fowler led playing partner Clark by two as they stood on the 18th tee at LACC.
Clark had just dropped a shot at the 17th, but his approach at the last threatened the pin before leaving him a six-foot birdie putt that he calmly rolled in.
Fowler, who had gone 12 holes without a bogey as a string of rivals faltered on the treacherous back nine, saw his 42-foot birdie putt skim the edge, but his four-footer for par coming back lipped out. Fowler signed for an even par 70 while Clark posted a one-under 69.
After two days of record scoring, the sun-baked LA Country Club North Course – hosting the championship for the first time – proved plenty capable of providing a classic US Open test of patience and nerve.
Fowler, who had a stunning 18 birdies over the first two rounds, couldn't match those fireworks, his three birdies including a 36-foot putt at the seventh and a 70-footer from off the green at 13.
Clark, a long-hitter who broke through for his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow last month, had grabbed a one-shot edge through nine holes before back-to-back bogeys at the 11th and 12th.
Unable to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the par-three 11th, Clark then botched his first attempt to chip out of greenside rough at the 12th.
He rebounded with a birdie at 13, but it looked as if he'd be chasing on Sunday after his second shot at 17 found the barranca right of the green.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler was alone in fourth after a 68 for seven-under 203.
Scheffler, the 2022 Masters champion who started the day five adrift, picked up three strokes in the last two holes.
Coming off his fourth bogey of the day at the 16th, Scheffler holed out from 196 yards out in the fairway for eagle at the 17th then drilled a 22-foot birdie putt at the last.
"I was fighting all day today, trying to just get myself back in position," Scheffler said. "Just trying to make some birdies and avoid the bogeys.
"Today it seemed like every time I got off line I was really fighting for par – just fortunate to see that shot go in on 17 and then a nice birdie on 18 to kind of get myself back into it."
Scheffler was one stroke in front of fellow American Harris English, who was one off the lead after his fourth birdie of the day at the 10th but had four bogeys the rest of the way in a one-over 71.
Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson and 2021 Olympic champion Xander Schauffele shared sixth on five-under 205, one shot in front of Japanese qualifier Ryutaro Nagano, who posted a 68.
It was a further stroke back to reigning British Open champion Cameron Smith of Australia, former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and South Korean Tom Kim on 207.
Kim fired seven birdies in the first 10 holes to reach six-under for the tournament.
His front-nine 29 tied the US Open nine-hole scoring mark, but he had three bogeys coming in on the way to a four-under par 66.
"To be honest, that back nine is really hard," Kim said.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
Read more about the coronavirus
Five personal finance podcasts from The National
To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes
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Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth
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What is a portfolio stress test?
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What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested?
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How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies
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Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi
Director: Kangana Ranaut, Krish Jagarlamudi
Producer: Zee Studios, Kamal Jain
Cast: Kangana Ranaut, Ankita Lokhande, Danny Denzongpa, Atul Kulkarni
Rating: 2.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
