Martin Kaymer has opted for a more sober outfit on the final day. The German was wearing a salmon pink shirt and ice white slacks yesterday, which was all fine and dandy, but perhaps he thinks the colours of a champion are grey and white.

Paul Draper, external: Stenson could be the one if his putter gets hot, still think Kaymer will get it done with par or better

Justin Rose in a spot of bother and the defending champion drops to +2 for the tournament after a bogey on the second. The Englishman was well placed to putt in two, but his short game seemingly unravelled.

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"Please welcome from Nashville, Tennessee, Braaaaaandt Sneeeeeedeker," is the instruction to the crowd from the announcer and the gallery obliges with a friendly cheer. Snedeker's partner is Dustin Johnson who I now know is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which sounds like a lovely place to live.

A birdie for Ian Poulter on the ninth and the Englishman is out in 32.

Justin Rose has found the fairway on the 502-yard second and plays it safe on the approach shot, with the ball dropping on the edge of the dancefloor.

Adam Scott's belly putter does a job for him on the par-three sixth and the world number one comes away with a birdie to return to the red. Justin Rose recovers from an iffy tee shot and negotiates the first hole in a regulation four shots.

John McEnerney, external: The players within 6-8 shots of MK, IMO only Stenson has the game to catch him & he'll hope MK drops a few shots. RK will be close

Andrew Priestley, external: A couple of bogeys in the first 4 or 5 holes for would certainly put the frighteners up Kaymer and give him real food for thought

Image source, Getty Images

LPGA Tour player Natalie Gulbis is already at Pinehurst ahead of the women's US Open, which begins on Thursday on the same track. The women have been allowed to practise their hitting, chipping and putting beside the men today.

"It's awesome, we're super excited," said the 31-year-old American, who intends to follow Richie Fowler.

"I think it's fun for us to be in the same spot at the same time. I've watched more golf this week than I ever had, taking lots of notes, and I'm excited to get out there and play it."

Justin Rose starts his final round and the 2013 champion fails to find the fairway from the first tee, though he doesn't seem to be in too much trouble. Sergio Garcia, in glacier white pantaloons, sees his approach shot roll off the turtle backed green. Three bogeys so far and the Spaniard has had better days.

Ian Poulter is in the red for the day, with birdies on the first and fifth easing him to -2. The Englishman is currently a shot behind defending champion Justin Rose on +2 for the tournament.

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Tournament leader Martin Kaymer is certainly not giving the impression of a man wracked with nerves and tension.

Asked if he'd take a 71 for a seven-under total, the phlegmatic German said: "Yeah, I would. It's a good score."

He added: "It's going to be a very difficult day, probably the toughest in my career. It's on a different continent and I'm in America playing their national Open. But it's about believing and being brave."

Ten players are in the red for the third round and the man who has posted the best score so far is Daniel Berger, carding a four-under-par 66 to end the tournament seven over. A bogey on the 14th was the only blemish in a round which included five birdies.

The day promised so much for Graeme McDowell when he opened with two birdies on the first three holes, but the Northern Irishman has bogeyed the 12th and 13th and is level par for the round and +7 for the tournament.

Rickie Fowler seems to be the man most observers consider the most likely to break clear from the squabble for places and clamber towards Kaymer but the young American seems less convinced about his chances.

The orange-clad 25-year-old said: "Martin is in control of the tournament. All I can do is play my game and, if he comes back to the other tournament that's going on, we'll see what can happen. If I can get off to a good start, I can hopefully feed off the fans and put up a good round."

Backward she rolls! Phil Mickelson, in the sand, watches his effort agonisingly saunter down the hill and off the green, leaving him with a tricky wedge for par. Lefty - three birdies on the front nine - does well to come away with a bogey on the ninth and he's out in 34.

Chris Jones
BBC Radio 5 live commentator at Pinehurst

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"A number of early starters today are in the red, and Matt Fitzpatrick was delighted with his 69 in his last round as an amateur. "A nice way to end my amateur career," he told me. "I played really well and holed some putts which was the difference."

"The 19-year-old Fitzpatrick, who received an ovation on the last as his caddie held his arms aloft, became the first amateur since Bobby Jones in 1930 to hold the amateur lowest score at the Open and the US Open. "I was shocked when I saw. To achieve it is very special."

"On turning pro in time for the Irish Open this week, he added: "It should be different, but exciting at the same time. I've just got to look forward to it and enjoy it really, it's all a learning curve."

Chris Jones
BBC Radio 5 live commentator at Pinehurst

"Perhaps for the first time in this US Open, the course is set up for a bit of a charge, on a gorgeous sunny day in North Carolina. Two of the par fours - the 3rd and the 13th - are reachable off the tee, while the pin positions at the two par fives will provide eagle opportunities."

Phil Mickelson takes a swing with his iron on the ninth and the crowd sense something special could happen after Zach Johnson's hole in one earlier. But. Oops. Plonk. There's a collective groan as Lefy finds the sand. He'll need to produce some wizardry from the bunker.

The chasing pack all seem to be acknowledging that they need to go low to best Martin Kaymer, but Brandt Snedeker is more forthright on the matter than others.

The American, who starts seven strokes back at one under, said: "You have to get something done early to put pressure on him. You've got to make putts. You can be aggressive to a certain extent [with your approach shots] but you've got to make a lot of 15-20 footers."

Image source, Getty Images

If Henrik Stenson's putter is hot, hot, hot today he could put pressure on leader Kaymer. As has already been noted, the man from Sweden is way ahead when it comes to finding the greens, reaching 77.8% in regulation.

After three rounds, Germany's Marcel Siem is second with 70.4% and Kaymer is ninth with 66.7%.

World number two Stenson has the added carrot of closing the gap on the world's number one golfer, Adam Scott, who is currently +2 for the tournament and -1 for the round.