GERMAN IN COMPLETE CONTROL AT UNITED STATES OPEN

• MARTIN KAYMER FIVE AHEAD WITH 

  A ROUND TO GO AFTER A 72

  • FROM THE US PGA TOUR WEBSITE
    By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
• Martin Kaymer leads by five strokes heading into the final round of the U.S. Open. (Kinnaird/Getty Images)

PINEHURST, North Carolina - Martin Kaymer likes being in control, especially when it comes to his golf game. Control his swing, control his shot, control his emotions. Clamp the vice grip on everything inside the ropes.
"It's the way I think a lot of Germans are," Kaymer said.
Well, here he is, 54 holes into the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, and Kaymer is in complete control. He leads by five strokes after shooting a 2-over 72 on the most challenging day of this week, conditions and pin placement finally meeting rugged USGA standards. 
The tournament is now his to lose -- although in fairness, it's been his to lose all week, thanks to his twin 65s in the first two rounds.
Ironically, Kaymer has reached his current state of heightened play by learning to soften his controlling inclinations. He is less focused now on the technique of his swing, relying more on the "feel" part of the game.
Just like in "The Legend of Bagger Vance."
Huh?
Kaymer was watching the golf movie on Friday and realized that the theme he was seeing on TV was the same one he was striving for on the course, that golf is just a game to be played -- and hopefully enjoyed.
"That is what we're doing," Kaymer said. "We can't control of lot of things that happen on the golf course. You just have to play the game."
That approach carried him to victory a month ago at THE PLAYERS Championship. And it carried him to a key birdie on his final hole Saturday, a birdie that may well have sucked the life out of the rest of the field.
Standing on that 18th teebox, Kaymer thought about the position he was in. The fact he was leading the U.S. Open by a healthy margin, facing a tough semi-blind tee shot and really wanting a birdie to finish off a challenging day.
He didn't want to control the moment. He just wanted to enjoy it.
So he hit a perfect tee shot, a crisp approach shot and a solid putt, then walked off the green with a big smile and a warm heart.
"A very, very nice thing," Kaymer said of the way he played the 18th. "And it's about that feel, that touch, that you play with your heart, that you can't control too many things. That's what I was trying to do the last three years.
"Now I just play."
Of course, he has 18 more holes to play Sunday. At the U.S. Open, where danger can lurk on every shot, no leads are too big. His chasers will have little choice but to play aggressively, and if someone gets the hot hand, it could make things interesting.
"Stranger things have happened," said Matt Kuchar, who'll start the final round tied for seventh, albeit eight shots off the pace. "Anything can happen on a course like this."
Added Brooks Koepka, also tied for seventh: "Put some pressure on him and we'll see what he does."
But here's where Kaymer's adjusted mindset should help him. Instead of worrying about maintaining his control over the tournament, he's curious to see how he responds if he faces adversity Sunday.
Not tightening up when things appeared to be falling apart Saturday certainly served him well. Kaymer could have unraveled on the fourth hole when his tee shot landed next to a clump of pine straw.
Asking a rules official for relief, he couldn't understand what the official was saying -- "He speaks better English than me, even though he's Scottish," joked Kaymer -- and eventually took a one-stroke penalty to drop his ball out of trouble. He buried a key putt for bogey to minimize the damage, then followed with an eagle on the next hole. 

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MORE ON THE U.S. OPEN

The Upshot: Pinehurst bites back	Compton thrilled to be in contention	Fowler hoping for another big day
Notable names lurk on leaderboard	Mickelson unable to make move	Final twosome tale of the tape
Watch: The Takeaway	Leaderboard	Round 4 tee times

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That ability to shake things off also was evident down the stretch a month ago at TPC Sawgrass when he overcame a late double bogey by making a clutch par-saving putt on the island-green 17th hole.
"It will be interesting to see how we are after nine holes," Kaymer said in looking ahead to Sunday. "At the end of the day, it comes down to the last five, six holes. So it will be nice to see how I will react, if I'm leading by five, six, seven shots, or if I'm down to maybe one or two behind. Everything is still open."
Of course, one of the things neither Kaymer -- nor his pursuers -- will be able to control Sunday are the scoring conditions. The players expect them to match, if not exceed, the difficulty level of the third round when just two players -- Rickie Fowler and Erik Compton -- shot under-par rounds.
Whether that benefits Kaymer or the field ... well, that's the interesting part.
"If you start going at flags -- the chasing pack has got that dilemma," said defending U.S. Open champ Justin Rose, who is tied for 10th. "They need to make up shots, but they know they can't get too aggressive around here.
"Martin is playing the same strategy as the guys trying to chase him. I don't know if that plays into his hands or that doesn't. If he starts making mistakes, things get a little tense out there."
One other thing Kaymer won't be able to control is the rooting interest of the gallery following him. Just like a month ago at THE PLAYERS when he played the final round with 20-year-old American star Jordan Spieth, Kaymer expects the fans at Pinehurst to be cheering harder for his playing partner Sunday.
That's because he's paired with the popular Fowler, whose 3-under 67 vaulted him into a tie for second with Compton.
Kaymer won't be fazed. He dealt with it at THE PLAYERS, he's dealt with it at Ryder Cups. He dealt with it at the 15th hole Saturday when an unruly fan made too much noise, and he'll deal with it again Sunday. No worries.
"It's more challenging than obviously if I were playing in Germany tomorrow," Kaymer said, "but I've done it before."
On Sunday night, Martin Kaymer may well be raising the U.S. Open trophy above his head. If he does, it will be his second major win, and will also cap off an unprecedented May-June stretch. No player has ever won THE PLAYERS and the U.S. Open in a single year.
Kaymer is in control of his destiny, but for now, he simply wants to enjoy what fate has in store for him Sunday.
Of course, having a five-shot lead doesn't hurt. 
THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 210 (3x70) Yardage 7,562
 

1	Martin Kaymer	65	65	72	3:35 pm	+2	F	-8	202
T2	Rickie Fowler	70	70	67	3:35 pm	-3	F	-3	207
T2	Erik Compton	72	68	67	3:24 pm	-3	F	-3	207
T4	Henrik Stenson	69	69	70	3:24 pm	E	F	-2	208
T4	Dustin Johnson	69	69	70	3:13 pm	E	F	-2	208
6	Brandt Snedeker	69	68	72	3:13 pm	+2	F	-1	209
T7	Matt Kuchar	69	70	71	3:02 pm	+1	F	E	210
T7	Brooks Koepka	70	68	72	3:02 pm	+2	F	E	210
T7	Kevin Na	68	69	73	2:51 pm	+3	F	E	210
T10	Justin Rose	72	69	70	2:51 pm	E	F	+1	211
T10	Jordan Spieth	69	70	72	2:40 pm	+2	F	+1	211
T10	Chris Kirk	71	68	72	2:40 pm	+2	F	+1	211
T10	Brendon de Jonge	68	70	73	2:29 pm	+3	F	+1	211
T14	Victor Dubuisson	70	72	70	2:29 pm	E	F	+2	212
T14	Francesco Molinari	69	71	72	2:18 pm	+2	F	+2	212
T16	Garth Mulroy	71	72	70	2:18 pm	E	F	+3	213
T16	Jimmy Walker	70	72	71	2:07 pm	+1	F	+3	213
T16	Jason Day	73	68	72	2:07 pm	+2	F	+3	213
T16	Marcel Siem	70	71	72	1:56 pm	+2	F	+3	213
T16	J.B. Holmes	70	71	72	1:56 pm	+2	F	+3	213
T16	Adam Scott	73	67	73	1:45 pm	+3	F	+3	213
T16	Rory McIlroy	71	68	74	1:45 pm	+4	F	+3	213
T23	Shiv Kapur	73	70	71	1:34 pm	+1	F	+4	214
T23	Lucas Bjerregaard	70	72	72	1:34 pm	+2	F	+4	214
T23	Aaron Baddeley	70	71	73	1:23 pm	+3	F	+4	214
T23	Steve Stricker	70	71	73	1:23 pm	+3	F	+4	214
T23	Hideki Matsuyama	69	71	74	1:12 pm	+4	F	+4	214
T23	Ian Poulter	70	70	74	1:12 pm	+4	F	+4	214
T23	Keegan Bradley	69	69	76	1:01 pm	+6	F	+4	214
T30	Ryan Moore	76	68	71	1:01 pm	+1	F	+5	215
T30	Retief Goosen	73	71	71	12:50 pm	+1	F	+5	215
T30	Bill Haas	72	72	71	12:50 pm	+1	F	+5	215
T30	Phil Mickelson	70	73	72	12:39 pm	+2	F	+5	215
T30	Brendon Todd	69	67	79	12:39 pm	+9	F	+5	215
T35	Sergio Garcia	73	71	72	12:28 pm	+2	F	+6	216
T35	Cody Gribble	72	72	72	12:28 pm	+2	F	+6	216
T35	Ernie Els	74	70	72	12:17 pm	+2	F	+6	216
T35	Billy Horschel	75	68	73	12:17 pm	+3	F	+6	216
T35	Webb Simpson	71	72	73	12:06 pm	+3	F	+6	216
T35	Patrick Reed	71	72	73	12:06 pm	+3	F	+6	216
T35	Jim Furyk	73	70	73	11:55 am	+3	F	+6	216
T42	Nicholas Lindheim	72	73	72	11:55 am	+2	F	+7	217
T42	Zach Johnson	71	74	72	11:44 am	+2	F	+7	217
T42	Kenny Perry	74	69	74	11:44 am	+4	F	+7	217
T42	Graeme McDowell	68	74	75	11:33 am	+5	F	+7	217
T46	Zac Blair	71	74	73	11:33 am	+3	F	+8	218
T46	Stewart Cink	72	72	74	11:22 am	+4	F	+8	218
T46	Scott Langley	72	71	75	11:22 am	+5	F	+8	218
T46	Gary Woodland	72	71	75	11:11 am	+5	F	+8	218
T46	Seung-yul Noh	70	72	76	11:11 am	+6	F	+8	218
T51	Paul Casey	70	75	74	11:00 am	+4	F	+9	219
T51	Bo Van Pelt	72	72	75	11:00 am	+5	F	+9	219
T51	Harris English	69	75	75	10:49 am	+5	F	+9	219
T51	Danny Willett	70	71	78	10:49 am	+8	F	+9	219
T55	Billy Hurley III	71	74	75	10:38 am	+5	F	+10	220
T55	Justin Leonard	75	70	75	10:38 am	+5	F	+10	220
T57	Clayton Rask	73	71	77	10:27 am	+7	F	+11	221
T57	Alex Cejka	73	71	77	10:27 am	+7	F	+11	221
T57	Daniel Berger	72	71	78	10:16 am	+8	F	+11	221
T57	Fran Quinn	68	74	79	10:16 am	+9	F	+11	221
T61	Matthew Fitzpatrick	71	73	78	10:05 am	+8	F	+12	222
T61	Louis Oosthuizen	71	73	78	10:05 am	+8	F	+12	222
63	Kevin Stadler	77	68	78	9:54 am	+8	F	+13	223
64	Boo Weekley	71	73	80	9:54 am	+10	F	+14	224
65	Kevin Tway	72	72	81	9:43 am	+11	F	+15	225
66	Russell Henley	70	74	82	9:43 am	+12	F	+16	226
67	Toru Taniguchi	72	73	88	9:32 am	+18	F	+  23	2