U.S Open: Gary Woodland takes one shot lead over Justin Rose in to final round

Gary Woodland holds a one shot leading over Justin Rose heading in to the final round of the 2019 U.S. Open

Gary Woodland maintained his position at the top of the leaderboard heading in to the final round of the 119th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach with a third round 69 (-2) to sit one shot clear of Justin Rose on 11-under-par. 

The 54-hole leader put on a solid display with three birdies, one bogey, and three huge par saves to keep out in front of his playing partner, while defending champion Brooks Koepka sits just four shots back.

“I feel very comfortable on this golf course,” Woodland said after his third round. “I’ve played well on Pebble during the AT&T the last couple of times I’ve been here. It’s one of those, too, where my game is coming to — I have a lot more shots. I’ve been a cutter of the golf ball a long time. Pete Cowen has got me comfortable working the ball both ways if I need to. And that just frees me up a little bit.

“I have a short game now I can rely on. I don’t have to focus on the ball-striking. This is a golf course I don’t have to pound a lot of drivers, I can play a little more conservatively, stick to my game plan. And like I said, it’s nice to be where I’m at right now. But looking forward to going out and doing it one more day.”

Asked what gave him confidence heading in to tomorrow, Woodland replied ‘everything’.

“I worked for this my whole life,” he said. “I’ve trained since I started walking, I started — I’ve played sports, I’ve competed. I’ve learned how to win, even if I haven’t done it as much as I’d like. I know what it takes to win. And my game is in a great spot. I’m at a beautiful golf course. I came here to win, and that’s what we’re going out to do tomorrow.”

After starting the day with a two shot advantage Woodland quickly extended his lead to four with birdies on the fourth and sixth holes, making an impresssive up and down from the sand for par in between. 

But a two shot swing occurred on the eighth as Woodland made his first bogey in more than 34 holes with a missed par save from five feet, and Justin Rose rolled in his second birdie of the day to get to -8. 

With the lead at two strokes, Woodland soon recovered with a birdie on the 11th, and compounded his position with a huge par save putt on 12 while Rose closed the gap back to two shots with a birdie.

A costly error from the former U.S Open champion saw him miss a four-footer for par on the 13th to drop back to eight-under, but a birdie from 13 feet at the next edged him closer to Woodland once more. 

From there, Woodland parred his way in for a 69, but not before making another huge par saving putt on the 14th from 45-feet, while Rose rolled in a final 10 foot putt of the day on the 18th to move just one shot behind heading in to round four. 

As for Justin Rose, the key to gaining his second major championship will just be going out and playing his own game.

“I’m not chasing, really, I’m so close to Gary that I have to go out and play my game tomorrow,” Rose said. “And I think it’s going to be dictated by the pin placements and the weather tomorrow as to how aggressive you can be and what it will take to win. I make no predictions tonight on what tomorrow is going to feel like tomorrow.”

Defending champion Brooks Koepka will tee off in the penultimate group following a third round 68 that has him four shots behind with Louis Oosthuizen and Chez Reavie, while Rory McIlroy sits a shot further back on -6. 

Koepka, who is hoping to make history this week with his third U.S Open victory in a row, said he feels confident. 

“I feel good,” said Koepka. “I feel like if I can just make a few putts, I feel like I could be right there, right next to Gary. And it’s been very close. I’m pleased how I’m playing. I’m pleased how I’m striking the ball.

“And I feel as confident as ever right now. It’s probably the best ball-striking week I’ve had. Pebble’s greens are so small. I think I only missed one green today, maybe two, I don’t know, if I was in the fringe or something. But to hit as many greens as I have the last two days, the ball-striking is right where I want it.”

Matt Kuchar, who briefly got to eight-under-par, sits tied for seventh place with Chesson Hadley on -5 after dropping back-to-back shots on 16 and 17. 

Behind them, 2010 U.S Open winner Graeme McDowell is tied for ninth with Jon Rahm, Matt Wallace, Henrik Stenson and Danny Willet, who posted a round of the day 67 on day three.