Now comes the hard part. Sam Burns held strong on Saturday, handling the nerves of the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open and parlaying it into the 54-hole lead with a gritty third-round 69. At four under,

Sam Burns leads through three rounds of the 125th U.S. Open, following a 1-under 69 Saturday. Burns stands at 4 under, one better than Adam Scott, who shot 67, and J.J. Spaun, who had a 69.

Crowd Favorite At Oakmont In Round 3

The church pews — 13, long grassy tufts which act as islands within a seemingly endless pit of sand — were never part of the original design

Oakmont is a notoriously challenging course, a venue that has already seen big-name players like defending champion Bryson DeChambeau fail to make it through to the last two rounds. Many players have been throwing clubs, slamming them in frustration, cursing the brutal course.

After an impressive third-round 67, Scott will be part of the final pairing alongside 64-hole leader Sam Burns (-4). The duo, with 16 years separating them, will tee of at 2:15 p.m. ET while attempting to manage the nerves of being the last players out on Sunday at a major championship.

The world No. 1 shot even par Saturday, his best U.S. Open round in his last seven, and sits at 4 over with only an outside chance Sunday.

A line of storms that rolled through Oakmont between the second and third rounds hardly seemed to make an impact at the U.S. Open