Saturday was moving day at the U.S. Open and there was quite a bit of moving on the leader board!

Here is what we started with:

To finish the day, the score board looked like this:

The scores in general look familiar, but the number of guys who played themselves into contention with their rounds on Saturday was increased.

Ernie Els:

The Big Easy started the day at T18, +4. He bogeyed 3 of the first 5 holes to put himself at +7 before going birdie, birdie on 7 and 8 to shoot a 1 over par, 35 on the front 9. Another birdie on 12 and then a chip in eagle on the par 5 17^th hole left him in a tie for fourth place and plenty of chance on Sunday to claim another U.S. Open Championship.

“Moving day at the US Open you shoot even par and you’re moving,” Els said laughing in an interview. “I felt there was a bit more moisture in that golf course. It was set up really well.”

Beau Hossler:

The 17 year old is playing in his second U.S. Open, having made the cut for the first time. He had four bogeys on Saturday and bounced back on every single bogey with a birdie on the next hole. To play like that on a regular day is impressive, but to do so at a U.S. Open when the conditions are nearly unbearable for the best golfers (#1 and #2 in the world Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy didn’t even make the cut) is so impressive that I can’t even put words to it. Huge high five for this kid!

“To bounce back is huge. You can easily get on the bogey train here but getting a birdie after salvages your round,” he said.

John Peterson:

The former NCAA National Champion from LSU was paired with his mentor and fellow LSU alum David Toms. Toms shot a 6 over 76 while Peterson played his way back from 4 over on his round to 2 over par for the round after a hole in one on the par 3, 13^th.

Fredrik Jacobson:

Started the day 3 over par for the tournament and had a string of three birdies in a row to boost his confidence and game. He also birdied 17 to get himself alone in third place heading into Sunday.

Graeme McDowell:

By far the best round of the day. Graeme was calm and collected on the golf course and usual. He started the day off with 8 straight birdies before a bogey at 9 when he flew his tee shot right. He bounced back with a birdie on 10, 13, and another on 18 to give himself the lead in the tournament at -1 and was -2 for the day. He’s playing outstanding golf right now.

“I actually enjoyed myself…I’m proud of myself for the way I played today.”

Jim Furyk:

The other co-leader spent Thursday and Friday playing with Graeme. This guys also played outstanding, making several key putts to keep his momentum going.

He played the first 6 holes, 2 over par before birdying 7 and 11 and shooting an even par 70.

Tiger Woods:

It’s been difficult to watch Tiger play over the past couple of years because he had once been invincible on the golf course. Today he left a lot of shots on the course and confused the heck out of me. He chose irons off the tee for the first several holes including the long par 4’s that are 480 and 490 yards long. When he came around to the 420 yard par 4, he took out his driver. Needless to say, he left it in the rough, US Open rough at that.

He played the first 6 holes, 3 over par and added a bogey/birdie combination to complete the front 9. He shot 2 over on the back on his way to a 5 over par, 75 on the day. He either wasn’t hitting the ball well or not clubbing himself correctly. His chipping and putting left something to be desired as well. He’s not out of the tournament by any means, but has a big hill to climb on Sunday after bogeying the 18^th.

Twenty-four hours from now we will have our 112^th U.S. Open Champion.

Who do you think it’s going to be?