U.S. Open third round highlights: Sam Burns holds lead into championship round
OAKMONT — Despite the on-and-off rain for part of the day during the third round of the 125th U.S. Open Championship on Saturday, June 14, 2025, play was conducted as scheduled setting up an exciting finish in tomorrow's championship round with a tight margin at the top of the leaderboard.
Here is a look at some of the action that unfolded in Saturday's round.
Burns holds lead into final round
For most of the third round, both J.J. Spaun and Sam Burns jockeyed for first and second on the leaderboard with Burns edging out Spaun on the final hole sinking his par putt while Spaun settled for bogey.
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'I didn't drive the ball as well as I would have liked to,' Burns said. 'But when I got myself in a bad spot, I felt like I did a good job getting back in the fairway. Having a wedge or short iron in my hand giving myself a chance for par, I could convert some of those to keep the momentum going.'
He holds a one-stroke lead in front of Adam Scott and Spaun (3-under par) and Viktor Hovland, who stayed put at 1-under after shooting even.
Burns was even on the front nine, canceling out a bogey on the second hole with a birdie on the fifth. He did the same on the back by regaining a stroke on the 17th hole, hitting his chip just 7 inches from the cup for a tap in.
Barbaree makes first major cut
After second-round action was suspended Friday, June 13, with dangerous weather in the area, Philip Barbaree was one of 13 players who had to wait and finish out his round the following morning when conditions improved.
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Barbaree's wife Chloe, who is also his caddie, kept him level-headed despite being on the cut line at 7-over when play was suspended.
'I saw the cut on Instagram last night and I told her where I was at on the eighth green and how it would make things harder,' Philip Barbaree said. 'I asked her to help me deal with it and we talked through things. She tried to change my perspective telling me we are here, I have played great and whatever happens, it will still be a great week.'
With a hole to play, Barbaree was in search of par on the ninth hole to advance to the weekend rounds. He did so, sinking a 12-foot putt for par to make cut at a major for the first time in his career.
'To be able to pull off a shot like that when it matters and with her on the bag, it's a special moment,' Barbaree said.
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The Shreveport, Louisiana, native later finished the third round shooting a 75 and was 12-over with 18 holes to play.
Amateur Justin Hastings lines up his putt on the 14th green at Oakmont Country Club during 3rd Round play in the 125th US Open Championship on June 14th 2025.
Hastings the lone amateur left
When Justin Hastings entered Saturday's round, he did so as the only amateur to survive the cut coming in 6-over par, beating out Benjamin James (8-over) and 14 other amateurs for the low-am title.
The Cayman Islands native put together a solid third round, shooting even par on the front nine while picking up back-to-back birdies on the third and fourth holes.
Following the front nine, Hastings shot 3-over on the back with a pair of bogeys and a double while also carding a birdie on the par-3 13th hole.
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The 21-year-old currently sits 9-over.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen birdies four in a row
After finishing 4-over par in the second round, Neergaard-Petersen bounced back, stringing together four straight birdies to shoot 2-under on the front nine.
He becomes the second player this weekend to birdie four consecutive holes joining Chris Kirk, who birded four straight in the opening round, per Elias Sports.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: U.S. Open roundup: Sam Burns holds slim lead heading into final round
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