Bryson DeChambeau will take a three-shot lead into the final round of the US Open as Rory McIlroy attempts to end his long major drought at Pinehurst.
DeChambeau carded a superb third round of 67 to reach seven-under-par, with McIlroy's 69 leaving him joint second on four-under with Patrick Cantlay and Matthieu Pavon.
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Halfway leader Ludvig Aberg ran up a costly triple-bogey seven on the 13th as he fell back to two under par alongside former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama.
DeChambeau won the US Open at Winged Foot in 2020 and has been in superb form in the majors this season, finishing sixth in the Masters and runner-up in the US PGA Championship to Xander Schauffele, who needed a record-low score of 21 under par to claim the title.
"The crowd's support has been fantastic and I will continue to feed off them if they continue to give it to me," said a relaxed DeChambeau, who signed autographs during the third round and joked with fans as he weighed up whether to attempt to drive the green on the short par-four 13th.
McIlroy will play alongside Cantlay in the final round for the first time since becoming involved in a heated exchange with Cantlay's caddie Joe LaCava in the Ryder Cup.
The four-time major winner felt LaCava's celebrations after Cantlay holed a lengthy putt on the 18th green had been out of line, with the argument later continuing in the car park as McIlroy had to be restrained by team-mate Shane Lowry.
"I love the test that Pinehurst is presenting and you've got to focus and concentrate on every single shot out there," said 2011 US Open winner McIlroy, whose last major victory came in the 2014 US PGA.
"It's what a US Open should be like. It's obviously great to be in the mix."
On Friday Lowry made the halfway cut on the mark of five-over-par and he remained on that total after carding three birdies and three bogeys in a round of 70.
"It's torture out there, honestly it’s absolute mental torture," the former Open champion said. "That’s the best level par I’ve ever shot in my life.
"Every single shot you have, even when you hit a good shot the putts you have, it’s brutally difficult.
"It's not much craic out there to be honest."
Tom McKibbin shot a second straight 71 which, after his opening 74, left him on a very respectable six-over-par overall mark. He's currently in a tie for 56th place.
"I didnt really hit a bad shot, played very nicely," said the 21-year-old. "Overall I'm pretty happy."
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