OAKMONT, Pa. — There have been eight previous U.S. Opens at Oakmont Country Club, but no final round figures to be more unique than the one that will take place Sunday on the historic course.
The third round needs to be finished before the final 18 holes of regulation play can begin. Call it a shootout, call it a marathon, but call it potentially thrilling theater at the 116th U.S. Open.
In the middle of it all will be Andrew Landry, the long-shot Texan who already can feel like a winner before the dramatic day begins. He has gone from unknown to unshakable, gunning for his first major in his first major amid the biggest names in golf.
By the time the third round was halted due to darkness, Landry had won over his skeptics standing at 3-under through 13 holes. He is two shots behind leader Shane Lowry, who is at 5-under with four holes to play his third round.
“It’s hard to make birdies, so I’m just trying to hit a bunch of greens and give myself some opportunities,” Landry said. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”
There was a time during the second round when it looked as though Landry might be one of those early front-runners at majors who quickly disappear from the leaderboard. The tournament’s surprise early leader at 4-under after Thursday’s rain-impacted first round began his second round Saturday with back-to-back bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes, followed by a double-bogey at the long par-3 eighth, where he drove it into one greenside bunker and chipped it across the green into another bunker.
Just that quickly, he was at even-par and reeling like much of the field on a sweltering afternoon when Oakmont became fast and furious. But a funny thing happened on his way to oblivion. Landry, ranked 624th in the world, played the back nine in 3-under to stay within a shot of Dustin Johnson (4-under) after 36 holes. And he remained among the leaders as he made the turn in a third round that will be completed today.
So much for being a one-round wonder. Landry, a 1,000-to-1 shot coming into Oakmont, has proven he can hang on golf’s biggest stage maintaining his poise and his pace on the treacherous greens.
Three birdies on the back nine of his second round kept him in the mix in the morning, and he remained atop the leaderboard in the third round, reclaiming the lead at 4-under at one point when he drained a 10-footer for birdie at the seventh hole. He had a good bogey at the ninth after his second shot went into the deep green-side rough, and he made par routine through four holes on the back.
The 28-year-old, who stands all of 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds soaking wet, is the surprise story in this 116th U.S. Open. He has earned just $69,000 so far during his rookie year on the PGA Tour where he has missed the cut six times in 11 events. Landry turned pro in 2009 and bounced around the mini-tours after playing collegiately at Arkansas. He shot 68-67 in Memphis last week to qualify for his first major.
“I feel like this golf course suits me very well,” Landry said. “I can just go out there and play my game. I’m not the player that’s going to go out and shoot 28-under par. I’m always the guy that’s going to kind of just dink it around, make pars and throw in a couple of birdies.”
He admitted to being “anxious” when he got to the first tee early Saturday morning after hitting just one putt Friday — a 10-footer for birdie on his final hole.
“I was ready to get out here and play some golf,” he said.
He still has 22 more holes of golf to play today. But long-shot Landry already is a winner, no matter how things turn out on what figures to be a memorable Sunday at Oakmont.