Phil Mickelson will continue to anchor the field on the final day at the 2013 U.S. Open. The rarest of birdies at No. 17 pushed him into sole possession of the lead at the end of three rounds, and Phil will go to sleep Saturday night with at least a share of the clubhouse lead for the third consecutive day at Merion. He’ll start the final pairing once again Sunday, holding a one-shot lead as the only player in the field under par.
U.S. Open 2013 pairings for Sunday: Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan anchor tee times at Merion
For the second straight day, it will be Phil Mickelson in the final group as he attempts to capture the white whale of his career on Sunday.
Saturday's Leaderboard: Mickelson comes on late to clear the field
For the first time this week, the USGA will send the field off in twosomes, with all pairings teeing off at No. 1 and playing Merion as it was intended. They opted to send the field off in split tees and in threesomes one more time on Saturday to ensure that they would finish the round and be set for Sunday primetime twosomes. The pace of play was crawling in the third round, with the final group of Mickelson, Luke Donald and Billy Horschel finishing after 8 p.m. ET with the sunlight fading.
It appeared Donald and Mickelson would be back out together again in the final group, but the Englishman played the final two holes at 3-over to squander his lead. A double-bogey at the last hole ensured that Mickelson would be the only player under par. Instead of Donald, Phil will be paired with fellow American Hunter Mahan, who was the first player to get into the clubhouse at even-par for the championship.
Tiger Woods disappeared from the NBC broadcast on Saturday after an ugly start removed the world’s No. 1 from contention. Woods finished with third round 77 and is now 10 shots back, resulting in a 12:02 p.m. tee time and another round out of the NBC spotlight.
For the first time this week, the U.S. Open is on schedule. Here’s the complete tee sheet for what should be a memorable Father’s Day Sunday at Merion (all times ET):
| Tee Time | Pairing | |
| 8:44a | KARLSSON, R. | |
| 8:55a | SUTHERLAND, K. | KHAN, S. |
| 9:06a | STANLEY, K. | STEFANI, S. |
| 9:17a | HEDBLOM, P. | PHELAN, K. (a) |
| 9:28a | PETERSON, J. | WEAVER, M. (a) |
| 9:39a | KAYMER, M. | HOWELL, D. |
| 9:50a | WEIBRING, M. | HERMAN, J. |
| 10:01a | PRESNELL, A. | WEIR, M. |
| 10:12a | JOHNSON, D. | ALKER, S. |
| 10:23a | STALLINGS, S. | LAIRD, M. |
| 10:34a | THOMPSON, N. | TEATER, J. |
| 10:45a | CHAPPELL, K. | OGILVY, G. |
| 10:56a | KNOX, R. | COETZEE, G. |
| 11:07a | SIEM, M. | PETTERSSON, C. |
| 11:18a | GARCIA, S. | SIMPSON, W. |
| 11:29a | CHOI, K. | HEARN, D. |
| 11:40a | KIM, B. | SCOTT, A. |
| 11:51a | LANGLEY, S. | MATSUYAMA, H. |
| 12:02p | WOODS, T. | BETTENCOURT, M. |
| 12:13p | HARRINGTON, P. | PARRY, J. |
| 12:24p | KUCHAR, M. | HUH, J. |
| 12:35p | PAN, C. (a) | DONALDSON, J. |
| 12:46p | SNEDEKER, B. | GOGGIN, M. |
| 12:57p | MADSEN, M. | MCILROY, R. |
| 1:08p | KELLY, J. | DUFNER, J. |
| 1:19p | LOAR, E. | WATSON, B. |
| 1:30p | ELS, E. | VAN PELT, B. |
| 1:41p | HOFFMAN, C. | WESTWOOD, L. |
| 1:52p | LAWRIE, P. | CASEY, P. |
| 2:03p | LINGMERTH, D. | SENDEN, J. |
| 2:14p | COLSAERTS, N. | POULTER, I. |
| 2:25p | STENSON, H. | FDEZ-CASTANO, G. |
| 2:36p | KIM, M. (a) | FOWLER, R. |
| 2:47p | DAY, J. | HORSCHEL, B. |
| 2:58p | DONALD, L. | ROSE, J. |
| 3:09p | STRICKER, S. | SCHWARTZEL, C. |
| 3:20p | MAHAN, H. | MICKELSON, P. |
More golf from SB Nation:
See More:
