Phil Mickelson, bidding for his third straight major title fired a one-under 69 on Saturday to join newcomer Kenneth Ferrie atop the leaderboard after three rounds of the US Open.
Mickelson's was one of only two sub-par rounds on the day, while Ferrie settled for a one-over 71, both finishing with a 54-hole total of two-over 212.
Ferrie's outward run included an eagle at the 515-yard, par-five fifth hole that moved him to one-under - tied at that point with overnight leader Steve Stricker. A bogey at the ninth put him even for the tournament, and he also dropped shots at the 13th and 18th as the 7,264-yard, par-70 Winged Foot West course continued to assert itself. Mickelson who started the day four shots off the lead at three-over par, had three bogeys and two birdies on his outward run, and added two birdies coming home.
"The only place I'd rather be is leading by a few shots," Mickelson said. "But I fought hard on the back nine to give myself a chance.
"The front nine I didn't drive it well," he said. "I hit two good tee shots at four and six and made two birdies. The back nine it kind of came together."
Ferrie, came to the 18th with a one-shot lead, but finished with a three-putt bogey after his approach left him in a poor position on the green.
He said he was satisfied with his first putt, "but the second one kind of bounced and bobbled away. It was a sad way to end the round."
Even so, Ferrie gave himself the opportunity to become the first European since Tony Jacklin in 1970 to win the US Open.
However, the last player to win the US Open on his first appearance was Francis Ouimet in 1913.
"It's something I haven't done before, contend in a major," he said. "It's going to be an experience - hopefully a good one."
Australia's Geoff Ogilvy had sole possession of third place after a 72 for 213.
It was two shots back to a group of four players sharing fourth place on five-over 215.
They included overnight leader Steve Stricker, who opened steadily but struggled from the turn. His six-over 76 included five bogeys and a double-bogey at the 458-yard par-four 14th.
Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, who started the day one shot behind Stricker, also finished on 215, with his greatest troubles coming right at the start.
Montgomery was five-over through his first four holes after three bogeys and a double-bogey at the 216-yard par-three third.
England's Ian Poulter and Fiji's Vijay Singh carded even par 70s to join the group on 215.
They were followed by 2003 US Open champion Jim Furyk (74), former Masters champion Mike Weir of Canada and Ireland's Padriag Harrington.
Both Weir and Harrington fell afoul of the 450-yard par-four 18th.
Weir's double-bogey there derailed a potential sub-par round, and he finished with a one-over 71. Harrington took a triple-bogey seven to complete a 74.
Five more players shared 11th place on 217.
They included Sweden's Peter Hedblom, whose 71 included a hole-in-one at the third.
England's Luke Donald, followed up a superb second-round 69 with an even-par 70 for 217.
He said a few of the greens were more receptive on Saturday, but it was still too dangerous to attack with abandon. "You can't really challenge the pins," he said. "You try and hit fairways, try and hit greens, and hopefully putts go in," he said. "Hopefully at the end of the day you shoot something in the 60s." Also at seven-over were South African Trevor Immelman, Bart Bryant and Arron Oberholser.
COLLATED THIRD-ROUND SCORES (USA unless noted):
212 - Phil Mickelson 70-73-69, Kenneth Ferrie (ENG) 71-70-71
213 - Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 71-70-72
215 - Vijay Singh (FIJ) 71-74-70, Ian Poulter (ENG) 74-71-70, Steve Stricker 70-69-76, Colin Montgomerie (SCO) 69-71-75
216 - Mike Weir (CAN) 71-74-71, Jim Furyk 70-72-74, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 73-69-74
217 - Trevor Immelman (RSA) 76-71-70, Luke Donald (ENG) 78-69-70, Peter Hedblom (SWE) 72-74-71, Bart Bryant 72-72-73, Arron Oberholser 75-68-74
218 - Ryuji Imada (JPN) 76-73-69, Adam Scott (AUS) 72-76-70, Fred Couples 73-74-71, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 71-72-75
219 Steve Jones 74-74-71, Craig Barlow 72-75-72, Jeff Sluman 74-73-72, Robert Allenby (AUS) 73-74-72, Chad Collins 76-71-72, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 75-71-73, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 72-74-73, Fred Funk 71-75-73, Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 70-75-74, Nick O'Hern (AUS) 75-70-74, Phillip Archer (ENG) 72-72-75, Scott Hend (AUS) 72-72-75
220 - Ted Purdy 78-71-71, Woody Austin 72-76-72, Kent Jones 73-74-73, Bo Van Pelt 72-75-73, David Duval 77-68-75
221 - Paul Casey (ENG) 77-72-72, Tom Pernice 79-70-72, Jose Maria Olazabal (ESP) 75-73-73, Lee Williams 75-73-73, Charles Howell 77-71-73, Angel Cabrera (ARG) 74-73-74, Ernie Els (RSA) 74-73-74, Jay Haas 75-72-74, Jason Dufner 72-71-78
222 - David Howell (ENG) 70-78-74, Sean O'Hair 76-72-74, J.B. Holmes 74-73-75, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 74-72-76
223 - John Cook 71-78-74, Ben Crane 77-72-74, Tommy Armour 79-70-74, Rod Pampling (AUS) 73-75-75, Stewart Cink 75-71-77
224 - Skip Kendall 73-75-76, Charley Hoffman 76-70-78, Darren Clarke (NIR) 73-72-79
225 - Camilo Villegas (COL) 74-72-79
226 - Stephen Gangluff 76-73-77, Ben Curtis 78-71-77, Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 73-76-77
227 - Kenny Perry 77-71-79
228 - Tim Herron 73-76-79.
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