Rickie Fowler, chasing a first major title after battling through a two-year slump, opened with a birdie in the third round of the US Open that kept him atop the leaderboard at Los Angeles Country Club.
Fowler, who missed the last two US Opens, launched his return to the tournament with a breathtaking, record-setting eight-under par 62 on Thursday.
He followed up with a two-under 68 for a tournament record-equalling 36-hole total of 130, finding eight birdies amid six bogeys as the course finally began to firm up.
"It's not that easy out there," Fowler said. "Yes, I've made a lot of birdies, and that is doable out there.
"It's still a very hard test. You hit fairways and hit greens, yes, you can score well, but you get out of position and it's going to eat you up."
In hot, sunny conditions, the LA Country Club North Course, hosting the US Open for the first time, was proving capable of providing the test of patience and nerve typical of the tournament.
Fowler came up short of the green at the par-five first, putted up to five feet and made the putt for a birdie that moved him to 11-under par while playing partner Wyndham Clark also birdied to stay one shot behind.
Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy remained in third after his opening birdie, but 2021 Olympic champion Xander Schauffele, who started the day tied with McIlroy, bogeyed the first, needing three shots to get out of the left fairway bunker.
By the time the leaders teed off, South Korea Tom Kim had shown that plenty of birdies were possible on the par-70 layout, firing seven birdies in 10 holes to reach six-under for the tournament.
His front-nine 29 tied the US Open nine-hole scoring mark
But the sun-baked course struck back and he bogeyed 13, 15 and 16 on the way to a four-under par 66 that put him at three-under for the tournament.
Harris English, who started the day three off the lead, opened birdie-bogey-birdie while two-time major winner Dustin Johnson -- who was four off the pace through two rounds -- was five back after opening with a birdie followed by a bogey.
In an expected twist, the 15th was set up to play at 81 yards -- making it the shortest par-three in US Open history.
The hole played at 124 yards and 115 in the first and second rounds and yielded three holes in one, but birdies were proving hard to come by there on Saturday.
Fowler is aiming to cement his return to the form he showed in 2014, when he tied for second at the US Open and finished in the top five in every major.
- Heating up -
He would add another half-dozen top-five major finishes to his resume, but never lifted a trophy. As he struggled in 2021 and 2022, it looked as if his window to claim one had slammed shut.
But Fowler has six top-10 PGA Tour finishes this season, including a runner-up at the Zozo Championship last October, a tie for sixth at Colonial and a tie for ninth at the Memorial in recent weeks.
Even so, Fowler was well aware that the halfway lead was no guarantee on a course set to play tougher every day.
"Having a lead right now doesn't really mean much," Fowler said on Friday. "A little different once you get to after 54 holes because that's when things really heat up."
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