Will Chloratoris (USA), who won the Rookie of the Year on the PGA Tour last season, took the lead in the third round of the 122nd US Open golf tournament (total prize money of $17.5 million).
In the 3rd round of the tournament held at The Country Club (par 70, 7,193 yards) in Brooklyn, Massachusetts, USA on the 19th (Korean time), Xalertoris hit a 3-under par 67 with four birdies and one bogey.
With a three-day total of four-under 206, Xalertoris tied for the lead with Matt Fitzpatrick (England).
Zaratoris, who made her debut on the PGA Tour last year, tied for 6th at the 2020 US Open, won the Arnold Palmer Award, the rookie of the year, with eight ‘Top 10’ results, including runner-up at the Masters.
Although he has not won the tour yet, he has achieved good results in major tournaments, and he put his name at the top of the leaderboard with calm putts in this game as well.
After catching the first birdie on the 2nd hole (par 3), Chloratoris recorded a second birdie on the 4th hole (par 4) and succeeded in entering the top spot.
He faltered with a bogey on the 7th hole (par 4), but ended up leading the third round by adding birdies on the 9th (par 4) and 15th (par 4) holes.
Fitzpatrick, who has not yet won a championship on the PGA Tour, like Xalertoris, tied for the lead with a total of 4 under par 206 for three days by hitting a 2-under 68 with 5 birdies and 3 bogeys that day.
Fitzpatrick, who was tied for 12th at the 2018 and 2019 US Opens for two consecutive years, took the lead by reducing three strokes to the 17th hole (par 4) with an aggressive green attack that day, but took the lead on the 18th hole (par 4). Bogey had to be satisfied with a joint lead.
Last year, the winner of this competition, Jon Lam (Spain), shot a 1-over-par 71 with 4 birdies, 3 bogeys and 1 double-bogey, placing a solo 3rd place with 3-under-par 207 for three days.
Lam, who is aiming for a second consecutive championship, recorded a disappointing double bogey on the 18th hole and finished the third round with one shot behind the lead.
Following that, World No. 1 Scotty Schaeffler (USA), who won the Masters in April, recorded a two-under-par 208 shot over three days, finishing the third round with Keegan Bradley (USA) and Adam Hadwin (Canada) tied for 4th.
The players from the LIV Invitational Series, sponsored by Saudi Arabian capital, were also sluggish in the third round.
Dustin Johnson (USA) was tied for 17th with a two-over-par 212, and Patrick Reed (USA), who was sluggish with a 5-over that day, was also tied for 45th with a 6-over 216.
As a Korean player, Kim Joo-hyeong (20) achieved the best performance with a total of 213 3-over par over three days.
Joo-Hyung Kim finished the final round in a tie for 25th with Jordan Spieth and Patrick Cantlay (USA).
Kyung-Hoon Lee (31) finished the third round with a 6-over-par 216 and tied for 45th.
/yunhap news
