A lot at stake for the four golfers on top of the U.S. Open leaderboard - ESPN

OAKMONT, Pa. — Whenever the U.S. Open makes its way back to Oakmont Country Club, there are two numbers that are discussed at length. It's here, where the club's culture is centered around a course that likes to reach beyond the difficult and graze the impossible, that the winning score and the number of players under par is touted like a badge of honor.

In 2016, 10 entered the final round under par; only four emerged sporting red numbers. In 2007, only two players finished any round under par, and that happened in the first round. By the end, 5-over allowed Ángel Cabrera to raise the trophy.

The way that Oakmont can repel golfers left and right at any given moment makes separating a challenge. On Saturday, however, as the setting sun made the course glow, four players appeared to do just that. Fittingly, they were the four that had ventured into the depths of Oakmont's depths for 54 holes and emerged under par.

«If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, but this golf course is difficult,» said Sam Burns, who holds the 54-hole lead at 4-under. «It takes a lot of patience.»

Perhaps it is not the U.S. Open leaderboard golf fans or TV executives would have dreamt up before the week. After all, the past six majors have featured winners who are currently inside the top 10 in the world golf rankings. But the four players — Burns, Adam Scott, J.J. Spaun and Viktor Hovland — who will head into Sunday atop the leaderboard make for a final round that sets up to be compelling in its eclecticism.

Take Burns. The 28-year-old has been a professional since 2017. He has five PGA Tour wins but has never, in 19 tries, sniffed a major. His best finish was a backdoor top 10 at the U.S. Open last year at Pinehurst.

The two things