The 125th U.S. Open has already been an exciting week of golf as the best golfers in the world struggle their way around Oakmont Country Club just outside of Pittsburgh. The players are chasing the third major championship of the year and the biggest payday of any major. DraftKings SportsBook gave bettors an extra way to get in on the action at this year’s U.S. Open through the King of the Course promotion. In this post, we’ll be tracking the live results in the chase for the $1,000,000 in bonus bets.
Nick Friar broke down all the details of how the King of the Course promo works earlier this week. The short version is that the King of the Course crown is earned by whichever golfer finishes with the most birdies or better across Rounds 3 and 4 combined. The bettors who placed a bet on that player to win the tournament using the available token from the promo page will split $1 million in bonus bets.
Below the graphic, you can find the latest updates throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday as we track both the top of the leaderboard and the players who are going to earn their backers a share of $1 million in bonus bets.
Here’s the latest:
Round 4 – Sunday, June 15, 2025
Tom Kim is the King of the Course (8:56 p.m. ET)
Kim finished Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2025 U.S. Open with nine birdies or better. It was the most of any other golfer in the field, so he gets the King of the Course crown.
Tom Kim holds the lead for King of the Course (8 p.m. ET)
Tom Kim had five birdies on Saturday and four birdies on Sunday to top the leaderboard in the King of the Course contest. Based on our unofficial splits and pick distribution, that means that the 76 players who placed their token on Kim will each win a bonus bet of $13,157.89. That number could be impacted by bettors cashing out and becoming ineligible, but it should be an absolutely huge bonus bet for those that backed Kim to be King of the Course at Oakmont this weekend.
Spaun back on top (7:52 p.m. ET)
With the pressure on J.J. Spuan hit one of the best shots of his career on the 17th hole of Oakmont.
He didn’t make the eagle putt, but did convert the birdie to pull one shot ahead of Robert MacIntyre.
Spaun started the day with five bogeys in his first six holes, but he caught fire after the break and made three birdies on the back nine.
A par on hole No. 18 will win him the U.S. Open.
Robert MacIntyre takes the lead in the clubhouse (7:40 p.m. ET)
MacIntyre is in the four-way tie for first place, but he has a huge advantage–he’s done for the day. The way that Oakmont is playing, that could be exactly what he needs while the rest of the leaders fall back past him.
MacIntyre is at +1 for the tournament after a -2 on Sunday. He had one eagle and three birdies and played his final 12 holes in three-under.
Tyrell Hatton bogeyed No. 17 and Sam Burns double-bogeyed No. 15 to tumble out of the tie, while J.J. Spaun is on No. 17 with a shot to take the lead.
Spaun drops back into another tie (7:33 p.m. ET)
Spaun apparently felt bad for spoiling our last tie so quickly and gave it back to us with a bogey on No. 15.
With three holes to play Spaun and Sam Burns are tied at +1 along with Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre. Adam Scott is one stroke behind while Cameron Young, Carlos Ortiz and Viktor Hovland are one stroke further back, two shots off the lead.
J.J. Spaun unties it (7:10 p.m. ET)
Welp, that tie didn’t last long at all.
Spaun has a one-stroke lead with four holes remaining. Can he bring it home?
FIVE WAY TIE (6:57 p.m. ET)
And things just got even more interesting…
The five players tied for the lead are Tyrrell Hatton, Carlos Ortiz, J.J. Spaun, Adam Scott and Sam Burns. Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland are just one stroke off the pace and just behind them is World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler made his eighth birdie of the last two days and is just a single birdie behind Tom Kim now for the King of the Course lead. He has one hole remaining to try and catch Kim.
Birdies are still available (6:55 p.m. ET)
Even though the course is playing extremely difficult and no players are left under par for the tournament, there are still a few birdies in the air at Oakmont Country Club.
Tyrell Hatton got one on No. 13 with this exquisite tee shot:
He converted the putt and is at +1 just one shot off the lead of Sam Burns. J.J. Spaun birdied the par-5 No. 12 to get back to +1 as well, and Robert Macintyre climbed to +2 with a birdie on No. 14.
There are still birdies out there, so we should have plenty of drama in the last few holes.
And then there were none… (6:40 p.m. ET)
Sam Burns birdied No. 10 to expand his lead back to two strokes, but he ran into more trouble on No. 11.
Burns ended up with a double bogey to fall back to even par, leaving no players under par for the tournament. He would have lost the lead except that Adam Scott also bogeyed to fall to +1.
Burns has the lead by one over Scott and Carlos Ortiz and two over Tyrell Hatton Viktor Hovland, and J.J. Span who are tied for fourth.
Ben Griffin did not birdie his final hole, so Tom Kim remains the sole leader in the King of the Course promotion.
Burns bogeys No. 9; lead shriks to one (6:18 p.m. ET)
Sam Burns managed a par on the difficult No. 8 after the weather delay, but he ran into trouble on No. 9. A wayward drive resulted in a bogey and he’s just -1 for the tournament, one stroke ahead of Adam Scott.
Behind Scott, Carlos Ortiz moved into solo third place with a birdie on No. 11 while Tyrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland and J.J. Spaun are tied for fourth at +2.
On the King of the Course leaderboard, Ben Griffin birdied 16 and 17 and is now just one off the lead of nine birdies or better held by Tom Kim. If Griffin can birdie the final hole, he’ll move into a tie for the top spot in that promo (full splits and pick distribution here).
Only one player under par at Oakmont (5:55 p.m. ET)
Adam Scott bogeyed the long par-3 No. 8 after the restart, leaving only Sam Burns under par for the tournament.
Burns has a two-stroke lead over Scott with Tyrrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland one stroke further back at +1.
Play restarts; Can anyone chase down Tom Kim? (5:40 p.m. ET)
The U.S. Open is back underway at Oakmont Country Club, and the leaders have at least 11 holes left before the third major championship of 2025 is decided.
Also still up for grabs is $1 million in bonus bets in the King of the Course promo. You can check out the full splits and pick distribution to see the size of the bonus bets up for grabs.
Right now, Tom Kim has the lead with nine birdies or better in the last two rounds. As play resumes, who still has a shot to track him down? Here’s a look at a few possibilities:
- Tyrell Hatton — 6 birdies, 10 holes left
- Adam Scott — 5 birdies, 11 holes left
- Scottie Scheffler — 7 birdies, 6 holes left
- Cameron Young –6 birdies, 8 holes left
We’ll keep an eye on any player that makes a run, but at this point, those look to be the players with the best shot at tracking down Kim and earning King of the Course honors. Conincidentally, Sam Burns, who leads the tournament, only has three birdies over the last two rounds.
USGA targeting a 5:40 p.m. ET restart (5:10 p.m. ET)
Just over an hour after play was stopped, the USGA announced they are looking to restart at 5:40 after a delay of just over 90 minutes.
The leaders were on the eighth hole when play was halted, and Sam Burns had a one-stroke lead about to tee off on the long par-3 No. 8.
In the King of the Course promo, Tom Kim is alone at the top with nine birdies or better (see how he got there below), and it will be interesting to see if the soggy conditions let someone put together a string of birdies to challenge Kim for the top spot when play resumes.
Oakmont Country Club gets Drenched; play stopped (4:00 p.m. ET)
As the leaders were reaching the long par-3 No. 8, the skies opened above Oakmont Country Club and hard rain began to fall. There was no electricity in the system, but the course was having a hard time holding the water and conditions required a delay due to the driving rain.
While the players catch their breath and hope it clears out quickly, let’s do a quick reset. Sam Burns has a one-stroke lead through seven holes with Adam Scott just behind him. Tyrell Hatton and Viktor Hovland are three strokes behind Burns at +1 for the tournament, tied for third.
Jon Rahm is the leader in the clubhouse at +4 after he shot an impressive -3 in his Final Round.
Stay tuned for updates on when play will resume when as soon as they become available.
Tied at the top (3:40 p.m. ET)
Sam Burns bogeyed the fifth, but Adam Scott saved par and is now tied atop the leaderboard. He’s looking to become the second-oldest U.S. Open champion ever and also set a new record for the most days between major championships since it has been 4,445 days since he claimed his memorable win at Augusta National in 2013.
Chasing Burns (3:33 p.m. ET)
Sam Burns still holds the one-stroke lead he started the day with, but the pressure is coming from some proven veterans just behind him.
Adam Scott close to within one with his first birdie of the day on No. 4.
Behind Scott, Viktor Hovland also just made his first birdie of the day and is alon in third place, three shots behind Burns, who is +1 through his first four holes.
J.J. Spaun trailing off (3:15 p.m. ET)
Spaun had some bad luck on hole No. 2 as his approach shot ricocheted off the flag stick and ended up well off the green. He bogeyed each of his first three holes of the day and is back to even par for the tournament.
Sam Burns bogeyed the second hole but still has a two-stroke lead over Adam Scott, and a three-stroke lead over Spaun. Four strokes off the lead, Tyrrell Hatton, Carlos Ortiz and Viktor Hovland are all at +1 for the tournament.
On the King of the Course leaderboard, Tom Kim still holds the lead with nine birdies or better, one better than Rory. Marc Leishman, who held the overnight lead with six birdies or better has yet to make a birdie in his Final Round.
Tom Kim takes the lead in style (2:55 p.m. ET)
While he’s still only T36 for the tournament, Tom Kim has claimed the top spot in the King of the Course promo contest by making his ninth birdie of the last two rounds.
He took over the top spot in style by smashing his tee shot on the drivable, par-4 No. 17 to within five feet. Even though he couldn’t drop the first eagle of the day, he converted his birdie to move to +2 on the day and +9 for the tournament.
Kim leads the whole week in birdies with 16, but he has given away too many strokes to stay in contention with four double-bogeys or worse this week, including a triple-bogey in Round 3 and two double-bogeys in Round 4.
However, all he needs to stay at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard is all those birdies, and if he holds on, he could earn the bettors who picked him with their token a bonus bet estimated to be $13,157.89 based on our full splits and pick distribution.
The leaders are on the course! (2:35 p.m. ET)
With the final group off the tee, it’s time to keep track of both leaderboard–the U.S. Open and the King of the Course. Right now, Rory and Tom Kim are still tied on the King of the Course leaderboard with eight birdies or better.
After completing the first hole with a par, Burns has expanded his lead to two strokes since both J.J. Spaun and Adam Scott bogeyed their opening holes and are at -2. Viktor Hovland made his par to stay three shots off Burns’ pace.
Can Cam? (2:30 p.m. ET)
Cameron Young is widely regarded as the most accomplished player on the PGA TOUR still in search of his first career win. Could he get his breakthrough victory and also claim a major championship today?
He started the day at +3, six shots off the leader, but he birdied two of his first three holes to move into the top five.
He had four birdies or better in Round 3, so he is now up to six in the King of the Course competition as well. He’s not too far off the leaders and could make some noise if he stays so hot.
Rory keeps pace with Tom Kim at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard (1:35 p.m. ET)
After missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open last week, Rory had another rough week at the U.S. Open. He’s finishing up with his best round of the week. He had seven birdies combined over his first three rounds but on Sunday, he dropped a birdie on No. 17 to get to six birdies on the day with one hole remaining.
His eight birdies over the last two days give him a share of the lead in the King of the Course standings. Tom Kim also has eight birdies over the last two days with seven holes remaining.
Ryan Fox is one shot back at seven birdies or better while Marc Leishman, who led yesterday with six birdies or better, is underway with his final round, although he started the day with a bogey.
Rory is the king of cool (1:24 p.m. ET)
Rory made his fifth birdie of the day on No. 14, moving him to seven birdies or better over the last two rounds. He ties Tom Kim at the top of the King of th Course leaderboard, but Marc Leishman, the overnight leader, is still just teeing off.
While we can’t confirm Rory was celebrating his climb to the top of the King of the Course promo with this golf club toss, it’s cool enough to include anyway.
He’s the King of the Course right now, and he’s also the king of the cool golf club flip after that impressive effort!
Pre-marquee check-in (12:45 p.m. ET)
Let’s go ahead and round up the early portion of the day before the featured in-contention groups tee off. Viktor Hovland just arrived at the course, and I’m about to hand over coverage to the man himself, Zach Thompson. So we’ll do one last level-set before the 1:00 p.m. ET hour here on the east coast.
New King of the Course leader:
Tom Kim (seven birdies-or-better between R3+R4)
Tied for second, all with six birdies-or-better:
Taylor Pendrith
Rory McIlroy
Marc Leishman (who, to be fair, has only seen his lead disappear because he’s T11 and has yet to begin his final round)
Johnny Keefer
Ryan Fox
Here’s that link once more to check out the splits of all the bonus bet breakdowns for these golfers.
If you’re wondering who I’m rooting for this afternoon? Give me Adam Scott. I’d love to see him get his first Major victory in 12 years.
But, before I hand this off, I just want to commend the folks at Oakmont for getting the course into such sterling condition for this final round. It’s absolutely going to make it so that there are fireworks at the top of the leaderboard.
And, most gloriously? It’s sure to make this stampede of golfers vying for the King of the Course crown absolute must-track television.
That’ll do it for me from Allegheny! Thanks for following along, and enjoy the remainder of this fantastic event with Zach.
Rory making noise! (12:36 p.m. ET)
There’s a solid handful of guys taking advantage of the soft conditions on the course out there today, and Rory McIlroy—after telling the media yesterday that his lack of availability is more a frustration with them than his current form—is sure one of them. Same with Taylor Pendrith, as he rounds out his final 18 at Oakmont.
Both golfers just drained their fourth birdie of the day, tying Cam Davis for the most of the round, and has now joined Marc Leishman at six birdies-or-better for R3+R4.
We have a new leader! (12:18 p.m. ET)
Tom Kim just birdied his fifth hole of the day, which makes two birdies for Round 4. He had five birdies in Round 3.
He is your new official King of the Course leader for the 2025 U.S. Open with seven total birdies-or-better!
Pendrith joins the fray at T2! (12:01 p.m. ET)
The Canadian just banged home his third birdie on this Sunday—*checks watch*—afternoon, now, and is now among the hungry chorus of golfers with five birdies-or-better.
Here he was earlier with a great shot on the par-3 13th hole today.
We have our first T1 of the day! (11:54 a.m. ET)
Tom Kim just buried his first birdie of the day, which ties him for the lead with six birdies-or-better with Mark Leishman! Ryan Fox also just buried his third birdie of the final round, which makes it a three-way tie at the top!
It’s fast and furious out here. Low scores today.
Ryan McCormick and Johnny Keefer join the T2 fray with 5 birdies-or-better for the final two rounds! (11:40 a.m. ET)
Headline speaks for itself. Who’s going to be the first to tie Leishman? With McCormick’s last birdie, that makes seven players on the cusp of matching Leishman for the lead of DraftKings’ King of the Course for the 2025 U.S. Open.
And, don’t forget, Rory McIlroy is still lurking just one birdie behind the platoon tied for second! Here’s him pilling a blister over a brave gallery today, on his way to more low scores:
Cam Davis and Ryan Fox both get to T2! (11:36 a.m. ET)
Ryan Fox just drained his third birdie of the day. Meanwhile, Cam Davis is, apparently, going for the course record at Oakmont today. He’s increased is R3+4 birdies-or-better total to five, now tied with that Tyrrell Hatton trio, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Same goes for Fox.
It’s anyone’s game right now on KOTC, and birdies are absolutely wild in western Pennsylvania right now.
The sharks are circling the perimeter! (The leaderboard is getting tight.) [11:16 a.m. ET]
It’s getting electric out there. Marquee names who got slapped with early tee times because of horrific 54-hole scores are at it, and several have just tied Cam Davis and Ryan McCormick for T3 on the King of the Course leaderboard with four birdies:
- Rory McIlroy (!)
- Ryan Fox
- Jordan Smith
- Johnny Keefer
That makes it a six-way tie at the third position for the U.S. Open’s King of the Course presented by DraftKings. Players seem to be a bit more carefree here on Sunday, knowing likely where they stand in on the larger contention spectrum.
Here’s that link to the bonus-bet-by-golfer split breakdown here at DKN, in case you bold Johnny Keefer backers want to see just how many digits you’ll be raking in should he spear his way past Leishman!
But hey, let’s just take a second. We might not be getting any Rory McIlroy excitement with regards to the overall leaderboard, but it’s absolutely fantastic we’ve got some for our special markets wagers this weekend. Let’s have a Sunday!
Cam Davis watch—no question-mark this time! (10:49 a.m. ET)
Oh yeah. It’s absolutely on before the marquee groups have even begun to put their socks on. King of the Course is absolutely rolling.
Cam Davis, who just scored his second birdie in a row, is now tied with Ryan McCormick for fourth on the leaderboard for King of the Course with four birdies.
A reminder that they trail a trio of golfers at five birdies, and, namely, Mark Leishmann
Cam Davis watch? (10:30 a.m. ET)
The Australian is having the best morning so far of anyone out there, with two birdies so far on his final round. That brings him to three total for the King of the Course tournament, so he’s not quite at risk of threatening our unyielding leaderboard just yet.
I actually buried the lede a little bit: the American, currently at T57, Ryan McCormick, just added a birdie to his final round card, which puts him at four for the King of the Course contest. He’s the closest to our leaderboard today.
An early-morning withdrawal (10:22 a.m. ET)
After suffering a wrist injury yesterday (about which playing partner Michael S. Kim tweeted about during Round 3), Corey Conners (T39) has withdrawn from the U.S. Open prior to his final round tee time.
Here’s Michael Kim’s breakdown, which valorizes Conners for playing through the injury yesterday.
With good reason. Conners had a great round yesterday, and looked like he was headed into possible top-20 contention for the final round.
Good morning from the final round of the 2025 U.S. Open! Let’s have some coffee and a leaderboard reset, shall we? (6/15 10:03 a.m. ET)
Your friendly neighborhood Xander Schauffele fanatic, Dan Johnson, here this morning covering for the absolutely electric Zach Thompson. Fear not. He’ll be back on when the big boys tee off, which will be the theater of it all. The conquest of it all, however, still belongs to the gentlemen Zach last mentioned:
- Mark Leishman (6 birdies or better between Rounds 3 & 4 combined)
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (5)
- Tyrrell Hatton (5)
- Tom Kim (5)
And, just because we all like to dream—and who’s to say he couldn’t do it?—take a look at the full bonus bet breakdown for King of the Course for the field this week here at DKN. We dare to dream, here, and Leishman’s payout is about as devilish as it is delicious.
Meanwhile, at the top, Sam Burns, Adam Scott (!), J.J. Spaun, Viktor Hovland, and Carlos Ortiz comprise your top-five on the leaderboard this morning. Only four players under par for the tournament.
I’ll say it once more: hello from Sunday at the U.S. Open! Let’s have a ride. More soon.
Leishman holds narrow lead heading into final round (7:30 p.m. ET)
Marc Leishman holds the total birdie + eagles lead after Saturday’s third round with six. Three are tied right behind him with five, and they are Tyrrell Hatton, Tom Kim and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen. Sam Burns closed his round by making three birdies, and he currently leads the U.S. Open by one stroke over J.J. Spaun and Adam Scott, the latter of which made four birdies on Saturday.
Right now it is anybody’s ball game. Stay tuned for more updates once the final round begins on Sunday morning.
Hatton gets to within one of the lead (6:27 p.m. ET)
After hitting a gorgeous shot on the drivable par-4 17th, Tyrrell Hatton had a 29-foot eagle look. He would ultimately settle for a birdie — his fourth on the back-nine alone, and fifth for the day — which puts him just one back of current leader Marc Leishman. Hatton opened his second nine by birdieing holes 10, 12 and 13, and now sits in solo eighth currently.
He sits in a three-way tie for second right now on the King of the Course leaderboard, joining Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Tom Kim, who both ended Round 3 with five par-breakers.
Neergaard-Petersen nears both leads (5:00 p.m. ET)
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen added a fifth birdie or better with six holes remaining. He is just one back of Marc Leishman on the King of the Course leaderboard, and he’s also moved into the top five on the leaderboard for the tournament as well.
At the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard, Sam Burns made his first birdie of the day on No. 5 and moved back into a tie with J.J. Spaun. The two of those players are three shots clear of Carlos Ortiz and Adam Scott, who sit at even par for the tournament, with Neergaard-Petersen, Thriston Lawrence, Ben Griffin and Viktor Hovland at +1 and four strokes off the lead.
That’s the end of my shift for the day, but I’ll be hanging around on X @ZT_Sports if you have any questions or anything I can help you with. I’m passing the controls of this leaderboard tracking to my colleague Landon Silinsky, who will pilot you through the rest of Saturday’s Round 3.
Be sure to check out our full betting splits for the King of the Course promo to see how big your bonus bet can be, and I’ll re-join you tomorrow afternoon to wrap up what should be a thrilling finish at Oakmont Country Club and an exciting conclusion to our King of the Course promo as well–with huge bonus bets most likely in play!
Rasmus on a run! (4:44 p.m. ET)
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen bogeyed two of his first three holes but then caught a heater, dropping four straight birdies between hole No. 4 and hole No. 7. He hasn’t picked up another birdie since that run but did bogey No. 10. Even after that bogey, the 25-year-old from Denmark is in the top-10.
He has also moved to within striking distance of Marc Leishman on the King of the Course leaderboard. Leishman still holds the top spot with six birdies or better, but Neergaard-Petersen still has seven holes to close the gap.
Looking at the full betting splits for the King of the Course promo, Neergaard-Petersen was picked by 50 bettors with their King of the Course token, meaning he would earn an estimated bonus bet of $20,000.00 for the bettors who picked him if he can claim the crown as King of the Course at the end of the day on Sunday.
Leader flip-flop complete (4:21 p.m. ET)
Sam Burns started the round with a one-shot lead over J.J. Spaun. Fast-forward two holes, and the situation has totally reversed–J.J. Spaun has a one-shot lead over Sam Burns. Spaun birdied hole No. 1 and Burns bogeyed No. 2.
On hole No. 3 , though, Spaun had to get creative after hitting it too close to the Church Pews:
Spaun grabs a share of the lead (4:10p.m. ET)
No one birdied No. 1 all day long until J.J. Spaun arrived in the final group of the round.
The birdie moved him into a share of the lead with Sam Burns after one hole.
At the other end of the course, Tom Kim birdied No. 17 for his fifth birdie of the round. He closes to within one of Marc Leishman for the lead in the King of the Course promo.
Kim was picked by 76 bettors for their token this weekend, as you can see on our page with the full betting splits for the King of the Course promo. If Kim were to win the King of the Course, he would earn an estimated bonus bet of $13,157.89 for the bettors who picked him.
Leaders teeing off (3:35 p.m. ET)
Since all the qualifying bets for the King of the Course promo are bets to win the tournament, we’ll keep a close eye on the top of the leaderboard for the tournament as well as the leader for most birdies or better.
The leader coming into the day is Sam Burns, who will play alongside J.J. Spaun. Burns starts the day with a one-shot lead over Spaun and two shots ahead of Viktor Hovland. Those three are the only golfers who begin the day under par. According to DataGolf, Burns has a 28.1% chance to win the tournament as he tees off with Spaun at 14.0% and Hovland at 11.0%.
On the King of the Course leaderboard, Marc Leishman is in the clubhouse as the leader with six birdies or better in his round. Tom Kim and Justin Hastings are the only other golfers with at least four birdies on the day.
Remember the bonus bets for King of the Course combines the birdies or better from Round 3 and Round 4, so Leishman will have another round to add to his total on Sunday.
To check on how much bettors can win depending on the outcome, check out our full betting splits for the King of the Course promo.
Leishman stays the Lead Man (3:15 p.m. ET)
Marc Leishman continues to dominate the first day of the King of the Course leaderboard. He made his sixth birdie of the day on Hole No. 17, which was a nice bounceback after three straight bogeys.
The LIV Golf star finished the day -2 for the day and dropped to +4 on the tournament, which was good for a climb to T23.
As we close the book on Leishman for the day with six birdies or better, just a reminder to check the full betting splits for the King of the Course promo. There you’ll see that only 15 tokens are on him for this contest, which would lead to an estimated bonus bet of $66,666.67.
No one else in the field has made five birdies, so Leishman has a two-stroke cushion for now, but he is done for the day. Amateur Justin Hastings and Tom Kim each have four birdies on the day. Kim has four holes remaining, while Hastings is also done for the day.
Amateur hour (2:15 p.m. ET)
Justin Hastings, a 21-year-old from the Cayman Islands and San Diego State, was the only one of the 15 amateurs playing this week to make the cut this week at Oakmont.
Hastings has joined the group of players with three birdies or better, but the chase pack is now two behind Marc Leishman, who made his fifth birdie of the day and is -4 for the day and is now into the top 10.
Chase pack grows (1:45 p.m. ET)
As more golfers get deeper into their rounds, it makes sense that the number of birdies starts to swell, even at Oakmont. The course is playing more than three strokes over par so far in Round 3, with the front nine at +1.8 for the field. After 43 players have played the first hole, we’re still looking for our first birdie at that location.
While no one has caught Marc Leishman with four birdies or better yet, the group with three at least three birdies is growing. Corey Conners is still at that number just one shot off Leishman’s lead, but he has been joined by Ryan Fox, Ryan McCormick, Andrew Novack, Xander Schauffele, Trevor Cone and Ryan Gerard.
Fox made his birdies on consecutive holes after a double-bogey on No. 3. Fox was picked by 85 bettors with their King of the Course token. Those 85 would earn a bonus bet of $11,764.71 if he is crowned King of the Course, according to our full betting splits for the King of the Course promo.
Leishman back in the Lead (12:55 p.m. ET)
After bogeying No. 7, Marc Leishman found the beach on the par-3 eighth hole. No worries for the Aussie, though! He became the first player to birdie the hole all day with this chip-in:
Leishman is back on top of the early leaderboard for the King of the Course contest with four birdies now, one more than Corey Conners.
As you can see from our full betting splits for the King of the Course promo, Leishman would deliver a massive bonus bet payout if he ends up claiming the crown.
We’re still over two hours from the last groups teeing off, but he’s definitely the early mover on moving day at Oakmont, which is a great thing for my GPP picks from before the tournament.
Leishman and Conners continue to charge (12:40 p.m. ET)
Marc Leishman and Corey Conners each made their third birdie of the day and continue to sit at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard. Behind them with two birdies on the day are Niklas Norgaard, Andrew Novak and Xander Schauffele.
Conners is playing one hole behind Leishman, but since Leishman dropped a shot on No. 7, Conners currently has the low round of the day at -3 for the day and +3 for the tournament, good enough for T-12 through six holes.
Put an eagle on the board! (12:35 p.m. ET)
Philip Barbaree Jr. is the only player who made the cut but does not have a single King of the Course token on him. He had to make a put after Round 2 resumed to qualify for the weekend, and moved under the cut with his putt.
He is T-60 through 14 holes, but he made the highlight reel with the first eagle of Round 3.
For King of the Course, an eagle counts as one birdie or better, so Barbaree is now officially on the board for this competition as well!
Corey Conners catches Leishman (12:14 p.m. ET)
Corey Conners made a birdie on his fourth hole of the day, which is the 600-yard par-5. It was the Canadian’s second birdie or better of the day and ties him with Marc Leishman at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard.
On the actual U.S. Open leaderboard, the two international players are up to T-23 at -2 for the day and +4 for the tournament.
Marc on the Mark (11:43 a.m. ET)
Leishman converted his short putt to be the first player on the board with multiple birdies!
Nine Birdies on the board! (11:24 a.m. ET)
Well, no one said it was going to be easy!
Oakmont Country Club continued to play very difficult in the early part of Round 3. The course is playing +2.67 strokes over par in the early going, with only a total of nine birdies.
Harman and Novak have been joined by Matt Fitzpatrick, Cam Davis, Patrick Reed, James Nicholas, Niklas Norgaard, Corey Conners and Marc Leishman as each having one birdie on the day, but no one has made a second yet. Leishman became the first player to birdie hole No. 2, and he has a good look for a second straight birdie at No. 3.
Leishman wasn’t a very popular pick with only 15 tokens on him for this contest, as you can see in our full splits. If he pulls it off, his backers would get an estimated bonus bet of $66,666.67.
First Birdies on the board! (10:38 a.m. ET)
Brian Harman and Andrew Novak are the first two players on the leaderboard for the King of the Course contest. Novak birdied hole No. 3 to get back to even par for the day, while Harman birdied the par-5 No. 4 to get to one-under for his round.
We’re excited to have the full unofficial splits from this contest also available on DraftKings Network, and you can check out how many people share your pick and how large of a bonus bet you are in line to claim if your player wins King of the Course!
Be sure to check out the full splits to find your pick!
According to these unofficial splits, if Harman wins, his 85 backers would each get bonus bets of $11,764.71, while Novak could grab bonus bets of $24,390.24 for the 41 people that picked him to be King of the Course.
Two quick reminders: obviously, there’s still forever to go in this contest, so lots has to happen before we have winners! Secondly, the number of bets will change due to early cashouts since those bets will no longer be eligible for the King of the Course bonus bets. This does give a good idea of how large some of the lower distribution payouts could be.
Stay tuned to keep up with the latest throughout the next few days!
Let’s get it started (10:00 a.m. ET)
There was a little bit of business from Round 2 to finish up early on Saturday morning, after a weather delay late on Friday left a few players to finish up their second round on Saturday. After those players completed their rounds, the cut line landed at +7 with 67 players qualifying for the weekend. Those 67 players are the players eligible to claim King of the Course this week.
Round 3 officially began at 9:12 a.m. ET, with players teeing off in pairs from hole No. 1 until the leaders begin just after 3:30 p.m. ET. We’ll have updates on the King of the Course contest throughout Saturday and Sunday, so drop a bookmark here and check back for updates, highlights and a breakdown of how much bettors can win in this contest.
Here’s a look at the pin position players will face as they look to rack up birdies or better in Round 3:
