Everything you need to know for Saturday’s third round of the U.S. Open

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Keegan Bradley (68, 6 under, six off the lead of Sahith Theegala) saw a guy dressed as Santa Claus on the rowdy, par-3 16th hole at the WM Phoenix Open on Friday. It was a funny getup, Bradley said, but there’s a paradigm shift at this tournament that can be serious stuff for those who choose to embrace it. Bradley said he almost goes to another place and time, invoking Fenway Park and his Boston Red Sox. Talor Gooch (64, 8 under) mentioned Lambeau Field and the Green Bay Packers. Two-time WM Phoenix Open champion Brooks Koepka, who once posed with the Wanamaker Trophy next to NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo, was less specific but said he can feel like more than just a golfer here. And that’s a good thing. “It almost feels like a real sport,” Koepka said of the rowdy, say-anything vibe that smacks golfers in the face at the WM at TPC Scottsdale. “Like football, basketball, things like that, soccer.” As we anticipate the Super Bowl this weekend, and amid the ongoing Winter Olympics in Beijing, PGA TOUR pros are getting just what they expected at the WM Phoenix Open: a combination golf course/gladiator pit that can take them out of golf’s sometimes stuffy bubble and transport them to the goal line, free throw line, or into any other sports fantasy. It doesn’t really matter what the sports fantasy is; what matters is that they go with it. “I love it,” said Bradley, a four-time TOUR winner who is 91st in the FedExCup and 90th in the world. “The thing about this week I always tell people is, you’re ready for it, this is the week. It’s not that big of a deal when they boo you; people think it is, but I think, like Brooks says, it’s kind of nice to feel that – like I always imagine that’s what, that’s my only time I get feel like what it might be in Fenway Park for me, you know, my life-long dream. “So I try to enjoy my time in there,” he continued. “But over the years it’s not just that hole anymore, I mean the whole back side is pretty loud and pretty fun.” Is there anything like this week? Not really, Bradley said, although the legendary New York fans at their beloved muni Bethpage Black can provide a similar spice. Gooch, whose seven-birdie, no-bogey round left him four off the pace of early second-round leader Sahith Theegala (64), a sponsor’s exemption out of Pepperdine, cited the “fun energy” here. Rickie Fowler, who won here in 2019, buys into that energy. In fact, he not only pumped the crowd up, he also booed himself after missing the 16th green Thursday, turning his thumb down as the catcalls rained down around him. “I hit it a little heavy,” Fowler said before waiting to see if 1 under (71-70) would make the cut. “You kind of know what you need to do to get a positive reaction or not, and it’s all in good fun. I was hoping it was maybe going to catch the front and somehow move forward, but I messed up, so I had to give myself the thumbs down. Poor execution.” Those who like this tournament’s crazy energy, Fowler continued, tend to come back. Those who love it thrive. Patrick Cantlay (66, 9 under, three back) equated the noise at 16 to “a dull roar” that he tries to mostly ignore. Same for Theegala, 24 who is seeking his first win and said he didn’t make eye contact with anyone on the tournament’s rowdiest hole. You can hardly blame him, for Theegala was in the zone: After starting his round with four birdies on the first five holes, he birdied four of the last six on the back nine to grab the lead by himself, buy three over Cantlay. “We’ll see how it is this weekend,” Theegala said, noting he hadn’t yet played 16 late in the day, around cocktail hour. Like Fowler and others, Theegala, even as a rookie, knows the week is a one-off. So does Gooch. And that knowledge somehow makes the whole thing easier to embrace. “We all love it,” said Gooch, who won The RSM Classic last fall, “but we – I think we all love that it’s not a weekly thing because it’s draining. It’s a lot. It’s a lot of energy when you’re trying to calm your emotions, it’s just not the most conducive environment for that.” Koepka, who intimated that the feisty crowd helps him stay focused, takes a more sanguine view. “Well, first off, I think it brings a whole new group of fans to golf,” he said. “I think that’s important. I think you look at – I mean, I don’t know the numbers, I don’t want to screw it up, but, I mean, it’s pretty much the biggest tournament we have on the PGA TOUR as far as fans, people, the presence. The atmosphere is unbelievable. I love it. “Look, I love when people get rowdy,” he added. “They’re cheering you when you hit it tight and booing you when you hit it bad. If you do something wrong, you deserve to get heckled. If you do something right, they will cheer for you. That’s what makes this event so cool.”

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They lined Torrey Pines’ fairways and stood hundreds deep along its greens hours in advance of the first two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open, drawn by the one man who, for better or worse, transcends the sport of golf.

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To help fit his golf swing, Rahm prefers to have a bit more loft on his clubs. For example, his 10.5-degree Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond LS driver head has 11.2 degrees of actual measured loft, which is much higher than most of his contemporaries. When it comes to his fairway woods, Rahm uses Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond “T” prototype heads (16.5 and 18 degrees) that have slightly deeper faces and more rounded soles to help Rahm find more consistent turf interaction on his relatively steep impact conditions. The higher-lofted fairway woods help Rahm achieve the necessary height and spin to hold greens on his approach shots into par 5s. When he isn’t relying on his 5-wood, Rahm keeps a custom Callaway X Forged UT raw driving iron (22 degrees) around for different course setups and conditions. If he needs an option that flies a bit lower to penetrate the wind, the driving iron comes in handy versus a 5-wood, which flies a bit higher with more spin. Also, according to a recent WITB video with Callaway Golf, Rahm uses Apex TCB irons with relatively weak lofts. This allows Rahm to “deloft” the head through impact when he desires, and he doesn’t need to worry about hitting the ball too low, or long. Another interesting way that Rahm keeps his ball striking consistent from year-to-year is that he doesn’t often change up his golf shafts. For example, Rahm has been using the same Aldila Tour Green shafts in his driver and 3-wood since around 2013, and Project X 6.5 steel iron shafts for more than a decade. This allows Rahm to eliminate variables, so even when he switches to a new head, he already has a level of familiarity with how the club performs. As for his flatstick, Rahm has been using an Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie putter with no sightlines on the crown (although he did switch it out briefly in 2022). According to Rahm, he prefers no alignment lines or dots because he says he aligns it better that way “99 percent of the time,” per Callaway’s WITB video. Below, we take a look at all the clubs in Rahm’s bag. It should be noted that Rahm carries 15 clubs, and he decides between his custom Callaway X Forged UT driving iron and Rogue ST Triple Diamond T 5-wood, depending on course conditions and layout. Look out for Rahm in this week’s Mexico Open at Vidanta, where he’s the top-ranked player in the field. Driver: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond (10.5 degrees, 11.2 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Aldilda Tour Green 75TX (45.25 inches, tipped 1 inch) 3-wood: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond T HL (16.5 degrees, 15.2 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Aldila Tour Green 85TX (43.25 inches, tipped 1.5 inches) 5-wood: Callaway Rogue ST Triple Diamond T (18 degrees, 17.9 degrees of actual loft) Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD-DI Black 8X (42 inches, tipped 2 inches) Irons: Callaway X Forged UT 2021 (22 degrees, 20.5 degrees of actual loft), Callaway Apex TCB (4-PW) Shafts: Project X 6.5 Wedges: Callaway Jaws Forged (52, 56 and 60 degrees) Shafts: Project X 6.5 Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG Rossie S (37 inches) Ball: Callaway Chrome Soft X Jon Rahm, a six-time PGA TOUR winner and the reigning U.S. Open champion, is one of the premier ball strikers in the game. The second-ranked player in the world, Rahm leads the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Greens in Regulation (73.5%), is second in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 11th in Driving Distance (313.9 yards). What separates Rahm from the competition is his uniquely short, consistent and powerful golf swing that’s partly the result of a physical limitation. He also swings the club with a bowed left wrist, which results in a slightly lower ball flight than other PGA TOUR players.

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