U.S Open: Final round predictions and course conditions

This U.S. Open hasn’t been lacking for drama and controversy. However, come Sunday morning, that will all be put to the side as a host of contenders vie for the year’s second major title. Who will triumph over Shinnecock Hills on Father’s Day?

“We’re not on the edge,“ Zach Johnson said to Sky Sports about the condition of Shinnecock Hills after finishing his third round at the U.S. Open. “We’ve surpassed it. It’s pretty much gone.”

So, if you like car crash golf, that should make the final round really interesting. Players can’t hold approach shots on the greens even when hitting from the fairways.

Make no mistake, that’s exactly what the USGA prefers at the national championship. It’s what they got on Saturday when Dustin Johnson lost his four-stroke advantage to blustery winds, hard greens, missed fairways and putts that did not behave.

Daniel Berger, who started five hours before the leaders, somehow posted a 66 and was gone from the course but continued to move up the leaderboard, as did Tony Finau.

"“I don’t even know if the wind is going to be as much of a factor as it is going to be the firmness of the greens,” Berger said to media about the upcoming Sunday round. “Some of these pins are three off the edges, where you hit one by, three feet past the hole, and it’s going 40 yards away from the green. I think to get out there early and play a good round really was to my benefit.”"

Sunday though, he will be playing at the end, not the beginning.

Jim Furyk, the 2003 U.S. Open champ, pulled to within three shots of the lead by posting a 2-over par 72.

“The golf course transformed today from hole one to hole 18. It was a different golf course on the back nine and really just became kind of a who could survive and get through the day,” Furyk said after his round. He noted that the 15^th was a particular problem. “I watched a group in front of me putt the ball off the green, and I’m sure that’s not what they’re (the USGA) looking for.”

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The leaderboard is clogged with major champions. In addition to Dustin Johnson, there’s Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Furyk, all within four shots of each other. Johnson had a horrible round, for him, on Saturday, shooting 7-over par to make the final round even closer.

Others in the mix include Berger, Tony Finau, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Charley Hoffman and Scott Piercy. Even Ian Poulter, despite a 6-over par round, is only four back.

"“Some of these putts, there’s no grass around the hole,” Brooks Koepka explained after his round. “There’s nobody more confident. I won this thing last year. I feel really good. My game’s in a good spot. I feel like you got to kind of take it from me, to be honest with you.”"

Berger and Finau are unknowns under these circumstances. Reed and Furyk are still within shouting distance. Rose, Stenson and Furyk have the experience and the fighting disposition. Koepka may want the chance to prove last year’s title wasn’t an accident of a wide open course. They all have a great chance to win. But the one who is most likely to, despite his worrisome third round, is Dustin Johnson. He’s world number one for a reason.

Next: Phil Mickelson's wild play, near DQ at the U.S. Open

Greens that don’t hold. Fairways that slope into bunkers. Wind that blows the ball off line. The final round will be brutal. But no matter what, we will have a winner sooner or later, and that victory will have been hard fought – and well-earned.

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