Burns leads US Open by one heading into final round

US Open round three leaderboard

-4 Burns (US); -3 Spaun (US), Scott (Aus); -1 Hovland (Nor), Lawrence (SA); Level Ortiz (Mex); +1 Hatton (Eng); +2 Neergaard-Petersen (Den), +3 MacIntyre (Sco), Young (US)

Selected others: +4 Scheffler (US); +5 Wallace (Eng), Koepka (US); +6 Spieth (US); +7 Schauffele (US), Rahm (Spa); +8 Canter (Eng); +9 Fitzpatrick (Eng); +10 McIlroy

Full leaderboard

America's Sam Burns will take a one-shot lead into Sunday's final round of the US Open after a terrific finish to the third round at Oakmont.

The 28-year-old world number 22 carded three birdies and two bogeys in his one-under 69 as he maintained his overnight lead and moved to four under par.

Playing partner JJ Spaun was level with Burns for much of the round but bogeyed the final hole to end the day as he started it, one shot back.

Alongside Spaun at three under par, 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott made a decisive move on the back nine to stake his claim for a second major title at 44 years old.

The only player in the top 10 to have previously won one of golf's biggest four tournaments, the Australian birdied the 13th and 14th holes before draining a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th to briefly tie the lead.

His round of three-under 67 was joint best in the field - alongside Mexico's Carlos Ortiz who improved to level par - and earned him a spot in the final group on Sunday.

Norway's Viktor Hovland remains a threat. He hit two trees and a flagstick on his way to a level-par 70 and produced a wondrous shot out of the rough on 17 to find a bonus birdie.

England's Tyrrell Hatton and Scotland's Robert MacIntyre both impressed in their search for a first major title and are at one over and three over par respectively.

World number one Scottie Scheffler carded his best round of the week, a level-par 70, but is eight shots off the lead, while Rory McIlroy hit a 74 to fall to 10 over.

Scott puts major pressure on leader

Adam Scott's best finish at the US Open was a tie for fourth in 2015

Soggy conditions changed the dynamic of the course but not the difficulty as Burns and Spaun traded blows in the final group.

Both are winners on the PGA Tour but they also share play-off defeats this season – Spaun at The Players Championship by Rory McIlroy in March and Burns only last week on the fourth play-off hole as Ryan Fox won the Canadian Open.

The two briefly swapped places at the beginning of the round but were level for the majority of Saturday and both picked up birdies on the 17th to move clear of Scott on four under.

But Spaun, who still boasts the only bogey-free round of the week on Thursday, hit an erratic tee shot at the 18th. That led to a bogey and cost him a place in Sunday's final group.

That spot alongside Burns will be filled by Scott, who is making his 96th consecutive appearance at a major championship.

His second shot at the 14th was sublime, landing a foot from the pin, and his fist-pump celebration to raucous cheers after making birdie on 17 showed his heart – and popularity – remain undimmed.

On Friday, Scott said a second major title would "go a long way" in fulfilling himself. He is well placed to make that happen on Sunday and has the added bonus of being the only player in contention to have contested the 2007 and 2016 US Opens at Oakmont.

"I was less overwhelmed coming to Oakmont this time, and that's not a knock on the golf course, but maybe just a couple trips around the U.S. Open here, I knew what to expect," said Scott, who missed the cut in 2007 and finished joint 18th in 2016.

And do not discount Hovland, who despite coming within inches of hitting his opening drive out of bounds, retained his composure to produce a typically swashbuckling round that featured three birdies and three bogeys.

"I'm well aware that I've got a chance, and if I shoot a low round of golf then anything can happen," he said of his chances of winning a first major on Sunday.

Hatton and MacIntyre lead British challenge

Tyrrell Hatton ranked second for strokes gained on approach and second from tee to green in round three

Hatton has often demonstrated the skills required to win a major, and yet he has only one top-five finish in 40 appearances.

An excellent round of 68 on Saturday left him seventh, five shots behind Burns, and it could have been even better had a monster eagle putt not drifted inches past the 17th hole.

He dismissed suggestions not having previously won a major will affect the contenders.

"It's another golf tournament, and you're playing against a lot of the guys week in, week out," he said. "You have to trust that you can compete and beat anyone."

European Ryder Cup team-mate MacIntyre retains that belief after carding four birdies and three bogeys in his round of 69.

"I'm just delighted to be in it," he said. "If I shoot the number I know I can shoot, then why not me?"

One further back, Scheffler remains a presence but is yet to find his best form this week, summed up by an ugly missed par putt from two feet at the eighth.

At least he remains somewhat in touch.

The 2021 US Open champion Jon Rahm's challenge came unstuck after playing the back nine in four over. At seven over par he is surely too far back to threaten. Alongside the Spaniard is world number three Xander Schauffele, who has finished inside the top 15 in all eight of his previous US Open appearances.

As for Masters champion McIlroy, a bogey at the 18th capped another testing day and left him "waiting for my week to end".

Follow live text commentary of Sunday's final round from 18:00 BST on the BBC Sport website and app with radio commentary on BBC Sounds from 20:00.