PINEHURST, N.C. -- The leaders were just beginning to limber up on the driving range. Only a couple of twosomes had even finished the third round.
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| Steve Stricker is all smiles after his eagle 2. |
But the key moment Saturday at the U.S. Open was about to send a jolt of electricity surging through cloud-covered Pinehurst No. 2.
Steve Stricker stood in one of the two bunkers on the left side of the third fairway. He had driven his ball on the 335-yard par 4 into what he called a "great lie" in the sand. He was feeling good after having just hit a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 2, moving up a stroke to 2-over par in the tournament.
The two-time PGA Tour winner was about to feel better.
Stricker's 8-iron from 136 yards out knifed into the wind and sailed toward the middle of the green. The ball bit near the middle of the putting surface and started rolling toward the flag stick, located just six paces from the left edge and a little short of center. As the crowd around the green kept cheering louder and louder, the ball kept getting closer and closer.
Finally, the ball nudged gently up against the stick and fell into the cup for an eagle 2.
"I could tell it was getting closer," said Stricker, who couldn't see the ball rolling on the green. "You can tell how the people (around the green) are reacting when it's getting closer. That felt great."
Stricker, who had started the day tied for 20th place, six strokes behind the leaders, was suddenly at even par on a day that was proving to be incredibly difficult for the best golfers in the world. He was within three shots of the lead.
"Getting off to that kind of start really got me going and gave me a little bit of confidence," said Stricker. "That really got me into the round. I mean, 3-under through three, you don't expect to start off that way.
That really put me in position to score well."
Stricker later dropped back to 2-over, then moved up to even again, then back to 2-over with bogeys on two of the final three holes.
But finishing there was no problem for the 32-year-old from Edgerton, Wis., not when his 69 was the only sub-par round of the day and moved him to just three strokes behind leader Payne Stewart.
On Sunday, Stricker will be in the third-to-last group to tee off, after being in the 13th-to-last group Saturday. Ironically, he will play with Vijay Singh, whom he played with in the final round of the PGA Championship last August. Singh won and Stricker finished second in that pairing.
Another point of interest is that he played with Lee Janzen last year in the final round of the U.S. Open. That was the round in which Janzen rallied to take the championship from Stewart.
"I think I've learned a lot from (that)," Stricker said of his pairings with Singh and Janzen. "I was able to see how they won. It's hard to put into words. They stayed real patient, and I could tell they were battling nerves, too.
"They got a couple of good breaks, but I think mainly they remained calm on the outside."
If Stricker can get a similar break or two like his Saturday eagle, he'll have the chance to try to remain calm on the outside as he competes for a major title, too.
Steve Stricker scores the eagle on No. 3.