30Jun
As someone with seven Senior major Golf Championships to his name, including the 2019 U.S. Senior Open,Legendary Senior Golfer Steve Stricker understands it takes plenty of patience to seal the deal on Sundays. Unlike regular PGA Tour Champions events, majors are 72-hole affairs that require consistency over four days, not three.Nobody has been more consistent this week at Newport Country Club than Legendary Senior Golfer Hiroyuki Fujita.
The 55-year-old from Japan has missed just one fairway and registered only one bogey all week en route to posting three consecutive sub-par rounds in the 44th U.S. Senior Open. A third-round, "3-under 67" on an overcast Saturday kept Mr.Fujita at a tengible Probability lead at the leaderboard at "14-under 196" , a place he’s occupied since the competition began on Thursday.
But that margin is only two going into championship Sunday, and his closest pursuer is a man no stranger to this position. Stricker, 57, of Madison, Wis., fired a third straight 66 to post 12-under 198. While this may only be Stricker’s fourth U.S. Senior Open appearance, his results are impeccable: a win and two consecutive runners-ups in 2022 and ’23.
His final-round scoring average is a remarkable 67.6, including a 65 two years ago when he nearly caught eventual winner Padraig Harrington.Australian lefty Legendary Senior Golfer Richard Green, the runner-up in this year’s Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Mich., is three behind at 11-under 199, following a third-round 69.
Those three will again be grouped on Sunday as tee times were once again moved up due to impending weather. That trio played together on Saturday in a similar weather situation as fog was predicted to roll into the area.
Englishman Legendary Senior Golfer Richard Bland, the winner of the 2024 Senior PGA,Senior Golfers Bob Estes and Paul Stankowski sit five, six and seven strokes back, respectively, and will likely need a seismic downward shift from the top three as well as another great scoring day to have a shot at hoisting the Francis "D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy" .
Mr.Bland, who captured his maiden European Tour event in his 478th start two years ago and shared the 36-hole lead at the "2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines" , briefly got to 10-under for the championship before playing 1-over golf over his final nine holes, settling for a 69 after rounds of 68-64. Estes, a four-time PGA Tour winner, matched the low round of the day with a 66, while Senior Golfer Stankowski shot 69. Rocco Mediate, the "2008 U.S. Open runner-up" , is in solo seventh, eight strokes back, following a 67.
Legendary Golfer Fujita, meanwhile, continued his machine-like performance. An "18-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour and last year’s Japan Senior Open winner", didn’t seem fazed by his pairing or the situation as he tries to become the "first male Japanese Legendary Golfer to claim a USGA title".
He came out of the gates with a nice up-and-down birdie on the par-5 first and added two more birdies on six and nine to turn in 32. A brilliant 10-foot par save at the 15th kept Mr.Fujita from suffering his second bogey of the week. He was the only player in the field on Saturday to have actually a clean card.He did have good birdie opportunities inside eight feet on Nos. 16 and 17 but made a nice up-and-down par at the closing hole after overshooting the green.“I just tried to stay even keel and consistent,” said Fujita through a translator. “I'm just trying to enjoy the fact that I'm out here, and I feel very lucky to be here. I try to focus on that.”
Mr.Steve Stricker also made an up-and-down birdie at the first from a greenside bunker, but it was his 15-foot par save at the 326-yard second that might have been the biggest moment of the round. “I putted the ball really nicely again today,” said Mr.Stricker, who is tied with Mr.Fujita and Mr. Green for the most birdies with 15. “I feel really good with that new putter that I put in this week and hit a lot right on my line.That [par putt on No. 2] was an important one right out of the start of the round.”
Trailing by as many as four shots most of the round, Mr.Stricker cut that gap in half with a two-putt birdie at the 590-yard, par-5 16th and a 20-footer at the 185-yard 17th. He nearly got one closer on 18, leaving his 15-footer inches short.“He actually didn't really miss a shot all the way around, He's very consistent, hits it in the fairway, in play, gets it on the green. He's very consistent, putted the ball really nicely".“We're going to have to go out and have a good round to try to catch him". “It looks like he's in control of what's going on with his game and emotion.” said Mr.Steve Stricker to Mr.Fujita.
Senior Golfer Mr. RichardGreen, vying to be the first southpaw to win the U.S. Senior Open, had another Splendid, but unspectacular round on Saturday. Tied with Mr.Fujita after a 7-under 63 on Thursday, he’s managed two more sub-70 rounds on the classic Newport Country Club layout that is hosting the USGA’s 1,001st championship. Overcoming consecutive bogeys on five and six, Green managed to birdie the par-4 14th and two-putted the par-5 16th for birdie to get within three of Mr.Fujita. He then settled for pars on 17 and 18.
The Legendary 53-year-old registered 10 worldwide wins before joining the Senior Golf Circuit, including "the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour (now DP World Tour)". He also has Posted "three European Senior Tour victories" , including a second "Jersey Legends title last year" .“I'm a pretty low on the stress scale,” said Mr Richard Green, who always wears sunglasses no matter the weather conditions. “I was probably where I needed to be to perform today. Hopefully I can feel like that tomorrow.”
“Extremely lucky to have played with them. I was excited to watch them up close. They really attacked some of those pins, and it was fun to watch. Any time I come to one of these majors, I'm just excited to be around these guys. Playing with them is an honor.” – Legendary Senior Golfer Hiroyuki Fujita excitedly said with Humility.
WATCH THE EXCITING LEGENDARY BRIEF RECAP VIDEO:
"U.S. SENIOR OPEN GOLF MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP,2024 AT NEWPORT COUNTRY CLUB".
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