Round 3 of the 2012 U.S. Open concluded with Jim Furyk tied for first place with Graeme McDowell at 1-under-par. Furyk is the current favorite to win the tournament, and his interview after Round 3 gave some insight into how he thinks he can accomplish that. Acknowledging the trouble the course at the Olympic Club has given the field so far, he stressed patience:
It is a little bit of a struggle at times. I think you have to bide your time and get through certain holes each day trying to make pars. And there will be a couple of opportunities you get. There are some‑‑ if you can drive the ball in the fairway, there are some places you can get short irons in your hand and there are some pins that you can attack. You just have to be patient and wait for those moments instead of trying to force them.
With more than 10 golfers within four strokes of the lead, Furyk is aware that it's likely to be a tight finish:
Graeme and I are tied for the lead, but there's a bunch of people piled up and close to it. Obviously I like being up front in the position I'm in. The golf course will take its effect on a bunch of people. And the guys that go out there and deal with the conditions and the situations the best and find a way to get through those difficult holes with par and limit their bogeys and take advantage of some situations where you can make birdie, those are the guys that are have some success and have an opportunity to win the last few holes.
Tiger Woods struggled in Round 3, shooting 5-over to land at 4-over for the tournament thus far. Asked about Woods, Furyk was complimentary and wouldn't count him out:
So he's 5 shots back. I think he's probably disappointed with the 18th hole. And 16, 17, 18 with the finish, being 3‑over par, if he gets it in with a birdie or so on the way in, he's only two shots back, to make two bogeys and maybe five back is probably disappointing.
He's come from farther back before. And I don't think he's really too worried about the disarray, or I forget what the other term you used, at the moment. He's probably already flipped the page and worried about what he needs to do to play well tomorrow.
It's crowded at the top of the leaderboard, but Round 4 is likely to see some men rise to the occasion and others fold. The top 10 start teeing off around 5:30 EDT, with leaders Furyk and McDowell at 6:10pm.
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