Like a crafty fighter lulling an opponent into complacency, The Country Club punched back hard on Saturday, rocking the game's best and setting up a Sunday at the U.S. Open with no clear favorite.
Winds picked up into the high teens. Greens dried out and thumped. The rough, allowed to grow, swallowed wayward shots and held on. The field as a whole shot nearly a stroke and a half worse than Friday's average of 71.99, and the Friday night lead of -5 fell a stroke, to -4. At the beginning of the day, 23 players were under par; by Saturday evening, only nine were.