Cantlay has another steady round to stay within reach of 1st major title at US Open

PINEHURST, N.C. — Things have slowed down for Patrick Cantlay since that roaring, birdie-filled tear to start the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. You hit a lot of fairways and you play smart around here, and you can move up the leaderboard with pars and just a few birdies.” Cantlay shot an even-par 70 on Saturday in the third round, keeping him 4 under for the tournament and putting him with Rory McIlroy for what could be a juicy final-round pairing Sunday. Since opening with five birdies in the first 11 holes Thursday, Cantlay has largely avoided major mistakes — outside of a double bogey Friday — to keep himself within reach of the lead. There had been one major mistake: a double bogey on his eighth hole Friday, when his approach shot fell off the right side of the green, his ensuing chip rolled past the flagstick and off the other side of the green, and a chip attempt ended up slowly rolling back down to his side of the green. Cantlay bogeyed his first hole Saturday after buzzing the right side of the cup on a 15-footer for par, though he got the stroke back on the fifth when he chipped onto green and rolled the ball within a few feet for a birdie finish.