Ortiz, Hatton each within striking distance of a first major win at Oakmont

OAKMONT, Pa. – Carlos Ortiz finds himself in contention for the first time in a final round at a major. Tyrrell Hatton has never been in better position entering Sunday.

Oakmont, to no one’s surprise, has been a beast this week, but the two LIV Golf players produced superb under-par rounds during Saturday’s moving day. Consequently, each one now has a shot to become a major champion.

Ortiz, the Torque GC veteran, shot a 3-under 67 and is solo fifth at even par. Legion XIII’s Hatton shot a 68 and is tied for sixth at 1 over. They’ll both be chasing American Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader at 4 under who is also seeking his first major win.

Making up that deficit on what promises to be a pressured-packed final round on one of golf’s most difficult courses certainly will be a big challenge, but for Ortiz, history may be on his side. In each of the last two U.S. Opens played at Oakmont – and three of the last five – the winner was four strokes back at the start of the final round.

“Winning any kind of tournament is awesome,” Ortiz said. “But I always said I'm just going to do my best and hopefully that's enough.”

Added Hatton: “At the end of the day, I just have to go out there and try my best.”

Australian Marc Leishman of Ripper GC also had an impressive Saturday, matching Hatton’s 68 to move into a tie for 11th at 4 over. Leishman led the field in putting on Saturday and ranks second for the week. He’s eight shots back and also seeking his first major.

But for all three players, there is plenty to play for in addition to the winner’s trophy. A top 10 finish automatically guarantees a spot into next year’s U.S. Open; Ortiz and Leishman had to go through final qualifying recently to earn their spots in this week’s field.

A top-4 finish also includes exemption into next year’s Masters. Ortiz hasn’t played at Augusta National since 2021, Leishman since 2022.

“You wonder, of course, if you're going to get into them again,” said Leishman, who joined LIV Golf in the middle of the inaugural 2022 season, “but there is certainly no regret because my life is as good as it's ever been right now. I'm as happy as I've ever been.”

And of course, world ranking points are available, which is especially important to Hatton as he seeks to secure a spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team later this year.

“I knew at the start of the year and certainly last year when I signed with LIV that the majors were going to be very important for me,” Hatton said. “I'd love to go out there tomorrow and have another day like today and finish off a strong week. … There's a lot to play for.”

Including national pride. For Ortiz, the 34-year-old from Mexico, he could become his country’s first major male golf champion. For Hatton, the 33-year-old from England, a win would make him the 21st different major champion from his country.

Ortiz was a bogey-free 4 under through his first 17 holes thanks to his crisp iron play; he ranks first in greens in regulation this week, hitting 80%. That took the pressure off his putter Saturday, as he made two birdies from within 6 feet each, and birdied the two par 5s with two putts.

“It was a great round,” Ortiz said. “I played good. I think I drove it pretty decent. I hit good shots, I putted OK. Honestly, I think I did everything pretty good.”

He shrugged off the bogey on his final hole. “It just happens here,” he said. “I didn't hit the best drive. I had a good lie and it just closed the face. All in all it was a good round; it doesn't really matter if I bogey 18 or not.”

Hatton was 3 under on his round through 14 holes before suffering a double bogey at the 15th. But he bounced back with a birdie on the short par-4 17th and then saved par at the 18th after knocking his third shot from 126 yards to 3 feet.

“A shame to make double there,” he said. “I feel like I played so nice up to that point. Following on from that, I'm proud of how I played the last three holes.”

Hatton ranked eighth in strokes gained off the tee Saturday, gaining 1.43 strokes. It’s the latest sign that his efficiency has returned after spending most of the season trying to solve his driving issues.

“I've struggled this year really off the tee since the LIV season started, to be honest,” he said. “So yeah, I had a great week at Desert Classic and whatever, but since then I feel like I've struggled, and that's been one thing that's probably held me back from finishing higher up in the tournaments I've played so far.

“Last week I feel like I started to drive the ball a bit better and see the usual shape of the ball moving left to right, and just taking that into this week and trying to keep doing the same things, and so far I feel like I've driven the ball pretty well. Certainly today was great, and I'm happy with that.”

Ortiz, meanwhile, said he’s just a different – and better – player than he was the last time he played a major. His results the last 18 months reflect that improvement in form – three wins, including LIV Golf Houston last season; four top 10s this year; and ranked No. 7 in the season-long points race.

“I have a completely different game than I had in my last major,” Ortiz said. “I feel that I've done a lot of good work with my coach to get the swing to be more consistent and hit the shots when I need to.

“I was just excited to be able to start playing majors again, because I feel like I'm playing good enough to compete on these things and it's just been hard for me to get into this, but now I have this and The Open Championship next, so I'm excited about that.”

Three other LIV Golf players, each with major credentials, did not fare as well on Saturday. Two-time U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka of Smash GC shot 73 and is tied for 21st at 5 over. Past U.S. Open champ Jon Rahm of Legion XIII also shot 73 and is tied for 35th at 7 over. Past Masters champ Patrick Reed of 4Aces GC shot a 71 and is tied for 39th at 8 over.