Will Zalatoris, Matt Fitzpatrick emerge with lead at U.S. Open; Jon Rahm stumbles on 18

BROOKLINE, Mass. — Will Zalatoris and Matt Fitzpatrick avoided the carnage and calamity that took down golf's best Saturday at a U.S. Open that set the tone for a final day of survival.

Zalatoris, who lost in a three-hole playoff at the PGA Championship last month, made only one bogey a — staggering feat on a beast of a Brookline course — for a 3-under 67.

«Felt like I shot a 61,» Zalatoris said. «Whenever I made a mistake I was able to get away with it or pull off something miraculous.»

Fitzpatrick, already a champion at The Country Club with his U.S. Amateur title in 2013, was equally steady and ran off three birdies over his last five holes for a 68. He will be in the final group of a major for the second straight time.

Most telling was they didn't make any double bogeys.

That's what knocked defending champion Jon Rahm out of the lead on the final hole. The Spaniard thought he had seen it all — including a shot he played back-handed from the base of a tree on the eighth hole — when he took three swipes from the sand in two bunkers.

Rahm's first shot from a fairway bunker hit the lip and nearly rolled into his footprint. His next shot found a plugged lie in a greenside bunker, and two putts later he had a 71 and went from one ahead to one behind.

Rahm wasn't upset with his swing on the final hole. If anything, he said it was getting dark and he didn't notice his ball sitting down in the sand. The USGA sent the last group off at 3:45 p.m. to maximize television exposure.

Rahm was looking ahead instead of what he left behind.

«I have 18 holes, and I'm only one shot back,» he said. «That's the important thing.»

Zalatoris and Fitzpatrick were at 4-under 206, the same score of the 54-hole lead when the U.S. Open was last at