COUNTRY CLUB: Luke Donald (above) was one of three Englishmen a shot off the U.S. Open lead at the close of play yesterday. (
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ARDMORE, Pa. — Tony Jacklin was the last native of England to win a U.S. Open. That was in 1970. The drought could come to an end this weekend at Merion if Luke Donald, Justin Rose or Ian Poulter outclasses the field over the weekend.
The three Englishmen are tied with Steve Stricker at even par heading into the third round of the 113th U.S. Open today, one shot behind co-leaders Phil Mickelson and Billy Horschel.
“It’s nice to come here and feel like I’m swinging pretty well and I’ve got a chance,” said Donald, who shot a 2-over par 72 yesterday. “Hopefully, I can throw a good one in [today] and really be in the mix on Sunday.”
Rose fired a 1-under par 69, one of the few players to shoot under par on a day when Merion showed its teeth. Poulter was a 1-under through 14 holes before play was suspended because of darkness.
“The job of the first two rounds is to get yourself in striking distance,” Rose said. “[Today] is an important day to hang around and give yourself a chance on Sunday.”
Donald had to overcome a difficult stretch to stay in contention. After completing the final five holes of his first round in the morning, he started his second round on the back side and played the first nine holes in 1-under to stand 3-under and tied for the lead with Mickelson, who had yet to start.
Then Donald, who spent part of last season ranked No. 1 in the world, began to make a mess of things. A poor tee shot at the par-5 4th hole led to a bogey, followed by another bogey at the par-4 5th, where he had to take a drop after hitting his ball into a hazard. He missed short par putts at the sixth and seventh holes to complete his string of four consecutive birdies that dropped him to 1-over.
He managed to leave the course with half of a smile by draining a birdie putt at the par-3 9th.
“Those pins have been tricky to read all week,” Donald said. “They seem to be breaking a little bit more than I’m seeing — hence a couple of lip-outs.”
Rose was steady all day. He had three birdies and just two bogeys.
“This kind of golf course, you don’t know what to expect,” he said. “There’s a lot of birdies out there. I don’t think you’re safe until you’ve carded your score here. You don’t know how the round is going to pan out, so you have to stay focused.”
Rose, Donald and Poulter each could be listed among the best players never to have a won major. That may change this weekend.