U.S. Open leaderboard 2017: Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler in the hunt at Erin Hills

After a low-energy Friday afternoon at the U.S. Open, the primary story was largely laments about all the big names missing the cut at Erin Hills. Well, one day later, things got turned up and some superstar talents looking for their first majors put on a memorable show.

Brian Harman will be your 54-hole leader at the U.S. Open, but it’s clustered at the top and loaded with world-class players. Harman posted a tidy 5-under 67 on Saturday to get to 12-under, one clear of the trio of Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and Tommy Fleetwood. Harman is a diminutive lefty, cocky and with an unrelenting game. You can find no fault in Harman’s work, and he has as good a chance as anyone on this board to bring it home on Sunday.

But the story of the day was Justin Thomas, the 24-year-old mega talent who set a new U.S. Open scoring record relative to par. Thomas torched Erin Hills on his way into the clubhouse, making a 3 on its final four holes to shoot the 31st 63 in a major championship. But it’s just the fifth at a U.S. Open, and he beat Johnny Miller’s historic 8-under round at Oakmont that had stood up as the scoring record for 43 years.

Thomas’ round featured the kind of approach that has made him a bit of a cult hero among those who follow the game closely. On the longest course in U.S. Open history, Thomas kept bombing away. It’s a not reckless rip, but how he plays his best and it’s what gives him the best advantage. That was on full display at the last hole, where Thomas launched a 3-wood from 300 yards, dropping it right on top of the flagstick in two on the longest hole on the course. It was the shot of the day, the shot of the tournament so far. He poured in the eight-foot eagle putt to get to 11-under, the clubhouse lead, and the new scoring record.

Thomas is the big story on Saturday night, but 24 hours from now, there’s plenty of star power that could supplant him. In addition to Harman, we have young American studs in Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka. Fowler was the story through the first two days and after falling down the leaderboard a bit, little Rick made three straight birdies to jump back into it on the back nine. Playing from behind might suit him just fine on Sunday.

Koepka absolutely mashes the ball and is playing a different kind of game from Harman. He’s overpowering Erin Hills and will undoubtedly take the same approach on Sunday, even if it firms up a bit more.

Our hearts are still racing from the Thomas show, but there’s so much here to chew on heading into Sunday. We’ll be fine without Rory, DJ, Day and company. Your leaderboard with 18 more to go: