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TSN Senior Reporter

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OAKMONT, Pa. -- The odds are pretty good that tomorrow night, just before sunset and barring an 18-hole playoff there will be a new name to add to the list of Major champions.

The tangle of golfers jamming up the leaderboard include three long-time members of the "Best Player Never to Win a Major" club, an Irishman who’d also be the first bearded winner of a Major since - we think - Old Tom Morris, and a kid who's played all of 12 PGA Tour events.

And those are just the main characters. After three long days of golf, this gaggle of players will try decide something on an Oakmont course that is getting slicker and harder by the hour.

“I've never been here before, so it's obviously new,” said Shane Lowry, who leads the pack at five under. “Literally just came off the golf course. So looking forward to getting home and getting my dinner. Hopefully, getting a good night's sleep.”

It might be a good sleep, but it’s not likely to be very long. He and 24 other golfers will be back on the course at 7am et to finish up the third round. The players will be paired up and head out a few hours after that to finish up.

Of course, some of these golfers have done this before - perhaps, a few too many times. Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood and Dustin Johnson have a combined 48 top-10 finishes without a Major victory. Westwood is playing his 73rd major and Garcia his 71st, the longest non-winning streaks among active players.

“At the end of the day, the only thing I can do is give myself chances,” said Garcia, who is three off the lead. “Play well and, if it happens, it happens.”

“I've been in the position before,” said Johnson. “I know what to expect. I know how to handle it. So hopefully, the ball falls my way tomorrow.”

At the other end of the spectrum is Andrew Landry, who led after the first round and continues to surprise many by not folding up like a cheap tent.

His play and his resiliency have been impressive. Every time it looks as if he’ll fall from the leaderboard, he makes a birdie or saves a par and stays around.

You’ll excuse us if that’s not what we expected. He’s played a grand total of 12 PGA Tour events, seven of which he failed to play on the weekend, and he had to fight through both local and sectional qualifying just to get in the field. The last guy to win the U.S. Open after going through two rounds of qualifying was Orville Moody back in 1969.

On a course with 288-yard par 3s and 600-yard par 5s, Landry is realistic about his strengths.

“I'm not the player that's going to go out and shoot 28 under par,” said Landry. “I've never been that guy, so I'm always the guy that's going to kind of just dink it around right there and make pars and throw in a couple birdies.”

Also lurking are Brandon Grace, who led this tournament late on a Sunday a year ago before flying one out of bounds, the mad scientist, Bryson Dechambeau, and former Canadian Open champ and often injured, Scott Piercy. All without Majors, all with the talent to get it done.

But then there’s Jason Day, who began his third round tied for 45th and, after a 66, moved into a tie for eighth.

He’s been there. He’s won. His name on the leaderboard stands out, but even that may not be enough of an advantage on a Sunday at a major.

“Depends how they look at it,” Day said of the Major-less crowd. “If they want to go out there and they think they're ready to win a Major, then it's obviously going to be tougher because they're going to be focused and ready.”

One thing is certain: someone is going to win this tournament, either Sunday or in a playoff on Monday. Someone is going to have his name engraved on a trophy and going to become the man of the moment.

A major title awaits, an exciting afternoon to determine who claims it lays ahead.