Golf: Johnson squanders four-shot lead during third round at U.S. Open
By Andrew Both SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. (Reuters) - Overnight pacesetter Dustin Johnson squandered a four-stroke advantage as Brooks Koepka and Henrik Stenson took a share of the lead during the third round at the U.S. Open on Saturday. After playing with much assurance the first two days, Johnson was blown off course as strong winds hit later starters at Shinnecock Hills, with n one under par for the championship. Defending champion Koepka (through 13 holes) and 2016 British Open winner Stenson (12) were both even for the day, and that was enough to catch Johnson, who butchered the front nine in 41 strokes. A birdie at the par-four 11th, his first of the day, elevated world number one Johnson back into a share of the lead. Johnson's big lead all but disappeared quickly when he ran up his first double-bogey of the week, after a poor tee shot at the par-three second. He also had four bogeys, three consecutively, before the turn. Americans Daniel Berger and Tony Finau were just two strokes behind Johnson, Koepka, and Stenson as they beat the worst of the conditions to card four-under-par 66s and sit at three-over 213. Berger finished an hour before Johnson teed off, but warned of what was to face the leaders, as a freshening breeze on a warm, cloudless day baked the course dry. "As the day went on it continued to get more tough," said two-times PGA Tour winner Berger, who noticed the course starting to become more difficult on about the 12th hole. "It started to get a lot firmer and faster," he said. "The speed of the greens picked up. It's going to be tough (for the leaders)." Berger's round matched the lowest of the week, and it was soon equaled by Finau, who charged home in 31 strokes. "I feel my game is made for championship golf," said the extremely long-hitting Finau, who believes he is developing a complete, all-round game. "Today I needed something special to happen to have an outside chance. Whether I do or not I'm happy with the day." Johnson is seeking his second victory in three years, following his 2016 victory at Oakmont in 2016, his only major title to date. He arrived at Shinnecock Hills in fine fettle after winning the PGA Tour event in Memphis last Sunday, a result that lifted him back into the world number one position. But Saturday showed that no lead is safe at the toughest test in golf. Nothing was likely to create more discussion than Phil Mickelson hitting a moving ball on the 13th green. The astonishing moment occurred after the five-times major champion missed the hole with a short downhill putt, and his ball kept trickling and trickling down the slope. He trotted after it and when the ball was about 15 feet beyond the hole, and still trickling, he hit it back toward the cup. Mickelson said he knew the action would bring a two-shot penalty, and that he had hit the ball to prevent it from rolling off the green. He finished the day, his 48th birthday, with an 81, 11-over par. (Reporting by Andrew Both; Editing by Hugh Lawson/Gene Cherry)
