What to Watch in Round 4: Key Pairings, the Fan Favorite and a Winning Course

A pair of pros who have yet to win on the PGA Tour are in the final group Sunday at the U.S. Open. So will the winner come from elsewhere? Might that winner be a beloved New Englander?

Gary Van Sickle of Morning Read/SI.com offers a preview before each round of the 122nd U.S. Open. Here's what he's watching:

The Tee Sheet

Did Jon Rahm’s closing double bogey Saturday just help determine the U.S. Open winner? It dropped Rahm out of the lead into third place and out of Sunday’s final twosome.

It put Matthew Fitzpatrick and Will Zalatoris into the pressure-packed final pairing and neither has won on the PGA Tour, although Fitzpatrick has seven titles in Europe. They’re going to feel it Sunday. Meanwhile, Rahm came from behind to win last year, starting the final round in sixth place. Justin Thomas came from seven shots back to win last month’s PGA Championship.

Holding the Open lead can weigh on a player. Exhibit A: Saturday, Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen, co-leaders after 36 holes, shot 77 and 73, respectively. Keep an eye on Rahm because in a weird, counterintuitive way, that double bogey might have put him in a better position to successfully defend his Open title Sunday.

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The Boston Crowd Factor

Since Tiger Woods isn’t playing, there is no one in the field that The Country Club galleries are pulling for more than native New Englander Keegan Bradley, who finished two shots out of the lead with a great third round. Bradley grew up in Vermont and New Hampshire and moved to Hopkinton, Massachusetts, for his senior year of high school. He’s a die-hard Red Sox fan, his wife’s uncle is baseball Hall of Famer and Red Sox legend Carlton Fisk, he threw out the first pitch Tuesday night at Fenway Park and yes, he’s got a full-on New England accent. Every birdie Bradley makes Sunday will be heard throughout the grounds. For one day, Bradley will be the Open’s “Tig-uh.”

And the winner is…

... The Country Club. Sure, some player is going to host the U.S. Open trophy as the champion. It feels like Rahm or Masters champ Scottie Scheffler or maybe Fitzpatrick, whose 2013 U.S. Amateur win at The Country Club has given him an edge in local knowledge and confidence. But given Saturday’s wild and wonderful third round, it could be anybody.

The champion will be the survivor. The Country Club will be the real winner, having imposed its will on a 21st-century field of the longest hitters golf has ever seen. Gusty winds Saturday made a difference, as did firmer greens and tougher pin positions. The course played a shot and a half harder in the third round than in the second round, and about three-fourths of a stroke harder than the opening round. But it was realistically a bigger difference than that because the first two rounds featured a lot of chaff playing with the wheat (players such as Phil Mickelson, who shot 11 over) and skewed the scoring average higher. Saturday’s round featured only the players who made the cut and played the best golf the first two days, the players who were on their games.

Look for TCC to continue to step on the players’ necks. Only nine players were still under par for the week after Saturday. That number could be cut in half by the finish. 

More U.S. Open Coverage From Morning Read:

> With Boston Crowds Behind Him, Keegan Bradley Ready for U.S. Open Sunday
> Scottie Scheffler Survived a Saturday Swoon at the U.S. Open, Now Sunday Beckons
> Will Zalatoris is in Another Final Pairing Thanks to Patience – And a Slight Vision Adjustment
> Matt Fitzpatrick Looks Ready For Major Breakthrough
> Jordan Spieth Persevering Through Illness That Came at Just the Wrong Time

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