Like any savvy patient who gets a bad diagnosis, Sam Burns wanted a second opinion. When his drive on Oakmont’s par-4 15th hole stayed on the fairway next to the first cut, he seemed to catch a good break. But when Burns arrived at the ball, it looked and felt to him that it was sitting in standing water from the day’s earlier heavy rain storm.

Moving Day holds a different meaning at an Oakmont-hosted U.S. Open as scores could only go so low despite golfers doing their damndest to progress up the leaderboard during Saturday's third round. Instead,

Burns, statistically the world's best putter, hooped a clutch par save to shoot 65 Friday at Oakmont and enter this U.S. Open weekend at 3 under.

It just showed a clever bit of awareness and foresight. In the heat of the pressure and the pouring rain, Burns stopped himself from making a potentially very costly error. It was a small moment, but the kind of decision that wins U.S. Opens.

Adam Scott put his approach in the tall grass behind the green. Sam Burns left his on the slope of a trap. Neither got on the green from there ... and from there, things continued to derail for both players. Both had long bogey putts.

Sam Burns' wife Caroline Burns and the couple's son Bear are at the center of the PGA Tour golfer's pursuit of the U.S. Open title at Oakmont. Sam's wife has been journeying with him long before the golfer was competing at majors.

Sam Burns has a lot riding on his final round at Oakmont. A first major victory, for starters, but also a first victory of any kind since the final iteration of the WGC-Dell Match Play back in 2023. He doesn’t need any more pressure but allow us to add just a tiny bit more.