Sunday dawned bright and hot at the Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago where the 103rd US Open is Jim Furyk's to win or lose in the final round.
The 33-year-old American, yet to win a major championship, displayed an ice-cool nerve in yesterday's third round, carding a three-under-par 67 to move three strokes clear of the field.
He holed a curling 25-foot birdie putt at the last to finish at 10-under 200, shattering the championship's previous 54-hole record of 203.
"I don't think I've sat on a three-shot lead on a Saturday night, but I'll try to draw from some experiences in the past and times I've been in contention," said the American, who has produced 12 top-10 finishes in major championships.
"I've put myself in a great position playing the golf course with a certain strategy and I'm going to do the same tomorrow."
Several of Furyk's most likely challengers lost ground in the third round. Twice major winner Vijay Singh, co-leader on Friday night after becoming the fourth player in US Open history to card a 63, bogeyed the last three holes for a 72, slipping back to five under.
Defending champion Tiger Woods, bidding this week for a third US Open crown in four years, dropped out of contention with a five-over-par 75.
It was his worst score as a professional in eight US Open starts, and Woods now faces the near-impossible task of coming back from 11 behind to avoid being without a major title to defend for the first time in four years.
Furyk has been paired with Australia's Stephen Leaney for the final round, with the pair scheduled to tee off at 8 p.m. Irish time.
Leaney, who moved into second place at seven under with a gutsy round of 68, seemed reasonably unfazed about playing in the final group at a major.
"I've been in last groups before and I've won tournaments before," said the 34-year-old Australian. "Obviously, it's a major championship and it's a major thing, but I have to draw on my experience from the past.
"I've got great confidence in my golf game at the moment."
Irish hopes had rested with Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington but faded on a disappointing afternoon yesterday. Clarke, who carded a third round 72, is eleven strokes off the pace after a mixed day. The Ulsterman had no problem scoring birdies, the problem was keeping bogeys off the card at the same time.
Two shots further back on three over is where Padraig Harrington finds himself after the Dubliner also carded a two over 72.