Pinehurst No. 2 has emerged as a ruthless gatekeeper at the 124th U.S. Open. Legends like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had to go home early. Even stars like Max Homa and Viktor Hovland haven’t been spared, their U.S. Open dreams turning into nightmarish strings of over-par scores.

Regardless of the brutal conditions, a few golfers have risen to the challenge at Pinehurst No. 2. Even the pre-tournament favorites have struggled with the drying and unforgiving layout. With moving day concluded, the drama of the U.S. Open has intensified even further. Let’s find out what happened!

3rd round of the U.S. Open: the ups and downs of Pinehurst

1. Bryson DeChambeau’s hip issues: Bryson DeChambeau woke up for the third round of the U.S. Open with discomfort in his hips. The 1-time major winner later explained his hip issues had been there for a long time, making tackling the third round a bit difficult. As revealed in the press conference, the hip injury was the consequence of speed training and a lack of time to rest thereafter.

To aid in his sudden hip issues, the USGA official allowed DeChambeau to take short physiotherapy sessions in the middle of the woods at Pinehurst, as Todd Lewis reported. Despite suffering from slight discomfort and risking withdrawal, the 30-year-old pro came out to be the 54-hole leader at the US Open. He now enters the Sunday round three strokes ahead of the field and en route to his second major win.

2. Scottie Scheffler’s nightmarish U.S. Open: Pinehurst No. 2 has been proven to be a “frustrating” riddle that Scottie Scheffler cannot solve. After barely making the 5-over cutline of the second day, the world no. 1 had another unamusing round at the U.S. Open. And for the first time in his career, Scheffler shot four consecutive rounds over par.

The age-old putting issues returned to Pinehurst to haunt Scheffler once again. The 2-time Masters winner, expressing his plight, said, “I’m having a lot of trouble reading these greens. I had a lot of putts today where I felt like I hit it really good. I looked up, and they were not going the way I thought they were going to go.”

How did Scheffler’s third round end? The 27-year-old shot three bogeys and two birdies to be 1 over 71, dropped down to 6 over in the leaderboard and settled at T42. Later, owing to his diabolical situation, Scheffler frustratingly declared golf a ‘mental torture chamber’.

3. Collin Morikawa takes heed: On the one hand, where Scheffler struggled, his past competitor from Augusta, Collin Morikawa, rose from the dust. On Friday, the American pro made five bogeys in contrast to only one birdie that highlighted his scorecard. Going back to the drawing board, Morikawa learned that he needed to slow things down and not be as aggressive at the brutal Pinehurst No. 2.

Morikawa then charged ahead to be bogey-free on the third day of the US Open and shot the lowest round record on the moving day. With 4 under 66, the 2-time major winner now sits comfortably at T9 on the leaderboard. Impressed with the turnaround on Saturday, Morikawa said, “Look, if I play the way I did today, who knows what could happen.” With the current performance, Morikawa can make the final round end in his favor and clinch his third major win.

4. Ludvig Aberg under pressure: The third day of the US Open brought itself the challenge that Ludvig Aberg had yet to taste on Pinehurst No. 2. Aberg was the 36-hole leader at the third major of the year, however, he quickly tumbled down and lost that lead on Saturday.

The Swede pro carded his first over-par round and toppled down to T5 from T1. In between the three birdies and three bogeys, the biggest mishap occurred on the 13th par-4. The 24-year-old first shot the drive in the native drive after getting near the greens by the second shot. Aberg missed the chip and met the bunkers twice. He eventually made a triple bogey to be 3 over 73 in the third round and 2 under overall, which slightly derailed his chances of winning the US Open.

5. Old foes paired after the third round ends: The conclusion of day three has sparked huge excitement in the golf world for Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay to find themselves paired for the final round. This marks their first competitive pairing since their well-publicized Ryder Cup disagreement, adding a layer of intrigue to the already high stakes of the championship.