LAS VEGAS -- Thousands of Golden Knights fans lined the Strip on Saturday for a Stanley Cup victory parade and rally in front of the team's home arena to mark the city's first NHL championship.

For the team that played its first game as an expansion franchise in October 2017 and for tourists in hotel rooms with windows overlooking the parade route in 2023, the event bore echoes of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history five years ago. Guests in high-rises with views of the Strip were awakened by security guards asking to check around windows for guns or other weapons.

The motorcade route proceeded from an area near Flamingo Road about a mile (1.6 kilometers) to Tropicana Avenue before a fan rally at Toshiba Plaza and the Park District in front of T-Mobile Arena.

Las Vegas police said they prepared for upward of 100,000 people to cram street-level viewing areas along Las Vegas Boulevard for the celebration that planners compared to annual New Year's Eve fireworks shows that sometimes drew an estimated 400,000 people.

At one point, people separated barricades and climbed fences but the crowd otherwise remained orderly.

Above the arena stage where the hockey players gathered with the trophy, a banner displayed the names of victims of the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.

A lone gunman rained bullets from 32nd floor windows of the Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of 20,000 people at an outdoor country music festival across the street. Fifty-eight people died that night and two died later of their injuries and more than 850 were injured. The gunman killed himself before police reached him. His motive for the attack was never firmly established.

People in the crowd Saturday recalled the shooting and the role the Golden Knights played in helping to rebuild the spirit of the community.

Players who dubbed themselves the Golden Misfits after being drafted from other NHL teams embraced survivors, first responders and volunteers, and the team has over the years become a key part of "Vegas Strong" events aimed at healing community trauma.

That first year, team owner Bill Foley famously predicted the Golden Knights would make the playoffs in three years and win the Stanley Cup in six years. The franchise surprised many by making the playoffs the first year and advancing to the championship before losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.

This year, the Golden Knights cruised through the playoffs, never facing an elimination game, and routed the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 on Tuesday. Team captain Mark Stone recorded a hat trick. Jonathan Marchessault received the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Marchessault is one of the six original members of the Golden Knights. He and the others -- Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb and William Carrier -- were among the first to hold the Stanley Cup during postgame celebrations.

All week, players have been spotted celebrating at some of the same glittery resorts the procession passed. The casinos have familiar names: Caesars Palace, Flamingo, Bellagio, Horseshoe, Paris Las Vegas, Cosmopolitan, Planet Hollywood, New York-New York, Aria and MGM Grand.

The parade route, arena and plaza also hosted a championship victory celebration last September, after the Las Vegas Aces defeated the Connecticut Sun to win the WNBA championship. The women's basketball team also plays at T-Mobile Arena.

LOS ANGELES -- Rickie Fowler was ready to walk off the final green at the U.S. Open with the solo lead heading into Sunday's final 18 holes. But as the marine layer rolled into Los Angeles Country Club and evaporated every bit of sunlight Saturday night, Fowler stepped up to a short par putt on the 18th hole and missed it.

The lip-out prompted a gasp through the surrounding gallery and left Fowler befuddled.

"I'm not sure why it didn't move," Fowler said of the putt. "It should have. I hit a good putt, so really can't go back on it, obviously. Just a bummer."

Fowler's bogey left the door ajar for his playing partner, Wyndham Clark, who was sitting at 9-under and had hit his best shot of the day -- a 9-iron that nearly hit the cup and prompted a vicious club twirl -- into the 18th. Clark sank the short birdie putt to card a 69 that put him at 10-under, giving him a share of the lead with Fowler and a spot in the final group.

Rory McIlroy was one shot back in third, and Scottie Scheffler, the No. 1 player in the world, was three back.

"I'm not a huge scoreboard watcher, but walking up there I kind of knew where we were at," Clark said. "I really wanted to be in that final group."

Clark said both his bogey putt on 17 and his birdie putt on 18 were hard to read given the sudden darkness that fell over the course. He also said he felt Fowler's putt was missed, in part, because of how dark it was, too, and added that he felt it had to do with the pairing's late 3:40 p.m. tee time.

"It's a little ridiculous that we teed off that late," Clark said, adding that he and Fowler could have called the round off on the 18th green. "We played twilight golf. I'm not trying to make an excuse, but it definitely was a challenge. It's kind of tough and it's crazy to think that we're doing that on the last two holes of a major when we could have teed off two hours earlier."

The final grouping of Fowler and Clark will tee off at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

Fowler and Clark are connected by more than their score or the fact they played golf at Oklahoma State and are searching for their first major victory. As they made and missed putts off that 18th green Saturday, they also shared something else that was going to keep them together for another round: a putter.

Much like Fowler had tried his caddie Rickie Romano's putter and fell in love with it enough to play a similar version, Clark had done the same. After seeing how many putts Fowler was making, trying the putter while they played at Medalist Golf Club in Florida, Clark tried the Odyssey Versa Jailbird himself and was sold.

"I texted the Odyssey guy, and I said, 'Hey, can you make me Rickie's putter?'" Clark said after Saturday's round. "And he's like, 'Well, what specs?' I said, 'The exact same.' So literally had the exact same putter. And I joked with Rickie today, he changed the grip. He changed the grip and cut it an inch, so I was like, 'All right, I got to change the grip and cut it an inch.'"

Putting has been key for Clark and Fowler this week. Both are averaging the fewest putts per hole in the field, and Fowler led the field in strokes gained putting Saturday. Both have also made long-range putts in key moments. On the 13th hole Saturday, Fowler made a 70-foot birdie putt that Clark followed with a 12-foot birdie putt to stay close. The two went back and forth all day and were never separated by more than two shots.

"I handled all the adversity," Clark said. He had back-to-back bogeys at one point and said after the round he was nervous throughout most of the day. "I feel like my best round is still out there."

Clark is five years younger than Fowler and remembers not just looking up to the Oklahoma State alum when he was in college and Fowler was blowing up the golf world, but also how willing Fowler was to return to Stillwater and spend time with the golf team.

"Even when I came out [to the PGA Tour], he's always sent me notes of good playing," Clark said. "Or even at some tournaments he would tell me, 'Hey, I think this is a better play to play off the tee.'"

It's safe to say Fowler won't be giving Clark any tips come Sunday, but regardless, the final grouping will probably feel less like a duel and more like a competitive round between friends. This time though, it'll be with the U.S. Open on the line.

"Everyone's pulling for Rickie," Clark said. "I'm the underdog."

Fowler didn't quite see it that way, but it's easy to see why the crowds at LACC have been chanting his name and cheering more loudly for him since Thursday. His career has seen him rise, fall and now rise again to have a chance to add a coveted major to his resume.

Clark and Fowler will have to contend with more than just each other on Sunday, though. The penultimate group will feature two of the top three players in the world in McIlroy, who grinded out a 69 to finish at 9-under, and Scheffler, who finished with an eagle and a birdie to stay in the mix at 7-under heading into the final day.

As the two major winners chase the first-time hopefuls, there will no doubt be plenty of pressure to go around Sunday. For Fowler, that pressure could have, at one point in his career, been overwhelming, even debilitating. But according to him, things are different now.

"This is the best I've felt, let alone in a normal tournament but especially a major, and I would say really ever in my career," Fowler said. "After going through the last few years, I'm not scared to fail."

LOS ANGELES -- World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler closed with a flurry in the third round of the 123rd U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club on Saturday.

Rickie Fowler? Not so much.

Fowler set a U.S. Open record with an 8-under 62 in the first round (as did Xander Schauffele) and gained only 2 strokes over the next 36 holes. Fowler is tied with Wyndham Clark for the 54-hole lead at 10 under. He would have held the outright lead overnight if he hadn't inexplicably three-putted for bogey on the 18th, including a 3½-footer for par that lipped out.

Still, Fowler is in one of the best positions of his career to win an elusive first major. He'll try to do it in his 48th start in one.

"We all feel nerves at times, depending on certain shots or circumstances, but I mentioned it yesterday and then still stand by it," Fowler said. "This is the best I've felt, let alone in a normal tournament but especially a major, and I would say really ever in my career."

Clark, the 32nd-ranked player in the world, picked up his first PGA Tour victory at last month's Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina. That was a designated event, in which he beat most of the PGA Tour's best players in a 4-stroke victory. The Denver native seems confident that he can do it again.

"Obviously, it's just Saturday, but it's a little surreal to be in this situation," Clark said. "Honestly, I'm really looking forward to tomorrow and the challenge it's going to bring, and hopefully it's my day."

Rory McIlroy, the No. 3 player in the world, is only 1 stroke back. He carded a 1-under 69 on Saturday, his third straight subpar round, and is in a prime position to end a nearly nine-year drought without a major championship victory. McIlroy's last win in one came at the 2014 PGA Championship.

McIlroy has been frustratingly close to ending the major drought. He tied for second at the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland. Last year, he finished in the top 10 in each of the four majors, including second at the Masters and third at the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews in Scotland.

It has been a dozen years since McIlroy won his only U.S. Open title at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland, in June 2011. It would be the longest gap between U.S. Open victories in history and fifth longest for any major, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

"It's been such a long time since I've done it," McIlroy said. "I'm going out there to try to execute a game plan, and I feel like over the last three days I've executed that game plan really, really well. I just need to do that for one more day."

Fowler will have to hold off not only Clark and McIlroy but also Scheffler, who seemed too far back until the final two holes of the third round. After dropping to 4 under following a bogey on the 16th, Scheffler holed out from 196 yards for an eagle on the 17th. Then his balky putter came to life when he sank a 22-footer for a birdie on the 18th, which moved him to 7 under.

Just like that, the 2022 Masters champion was in the hunt for his second major championship victory. He'll have to try to win this one from behind.

"You're nervous whether or not you're leading or chasing," Scheffler said. "I want to win the golf tournament. It doesn't matter what tournament it is. I'm showing up and I want to play good and I want to win. Going into tomorrow I'm going to be chasing, but it's not going to feel any different."

Each of the last 24 U.S. Open champions were within four shots of the lead entering the final round. All but seven of the past 49 were within 3 strokes heading into the last 18 holes, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

Harris English is four strokes back. Dustin Johnson and Schauffele are five behind. "Obviously, it would be huge," Fowler said. "It would be great. Especially being here in Southern California, having a lot of people, family and friends that are out here this week. We have a chance tomorrow. After going through the last few years, I'm not scared to fail. I've dealt with that. We're just going to go have fun, continue to try to execute, leave it all out there, see where we stand on 18."

Hello, darkness, my old friend

Clark and Fowler weren't happy about starting so late and having to finish in the near-dark. They didn't tee off until 6:40 p.m. ET and finished more than four hours later. By then, the marine layer had returned and there wasn't much sunlight.

"I mean, it's a little ridiculous that we teed off that late," Clark said. "I would say right around hole 15 or 16 it started getting to where you couldn't see that well. We played twilight golf."

Clark said his bogey on the 17th was "100 percent" because he couldn't see, and he said Fowler's on No. 18 was "because he couldn't see." Clark said he couldn't see his putts on the last two holes, and that he and Fowler "just played off of feel."

"I'd like to see us go off an hour and a half, two hours earlier," Clark said. "If we had a playoff tomorrow we wouldn't even be able to play the playoff tomorrow because it was so dark. With that, I'm not trying to make an excuse, but it definitely was a challenge.

"It's kind of tough and it's crazy to think that we're doing that on the last two holes of a major when we could have teed off two hours earlier. Hopefully tomorrow we don't have that issue."

Clark got his wish. The co-leaders will tee off at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday, 70 minutes earlier than Saturday.

Treacherous back nine

The back nine of the North Course has been grossly harder than the front all week. South Korean Tom Kim's third round might be evidence A of the difference in difficulty.

On Saturday, Kim tied a U.S. Open record for the lowest nine-hole score with a 29 on the front. He made birdies on Nos. 1, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 9 and didn't card a bogey. Kim made an 18-foot birdie putt on No. 4 and a 10-footer on No. 6.

Kim made the turn and added another birdie on the par-4 10th to move to 6 under and into the top 10, after starting his round tied for 107th at 1 over.

At that point, Kim started thinking about the possibilities.

"It did catch my mind once when I was 7 under, where, man, if I can keep this going, have a good finish, and if the leaders kind of stumble, I might have a chance to be really close up there on Sunday," Kim said. "But it was a really short thought because I still had the hardest part of the golf course right in front of me."

After Kim posted consecutive pars on Nos. 11 and 12, things fell apart. He missed the green on the par-4 13th and made a bogey. His tee shot on the par-3 15th was short and landed in the front bunker, resulting in another bogey.

On the par-4 16th, Kim's tee shot settled in the native area, and he punched out into the rough. Another bogey dropped him to 3 under. He made par on the last two holes to finish 4-under 66. He is 3 under after 54 holes.

"To be honest, that back nine is really hard," Kim said. "You just don't really have any bail-outs. Those three bogeys really don't feel like bogeys because I barely missed it by a yard or two. But major championship golf, U.S. Open really brings it out of you."

On Saturday, the front-nine scoring average was 34.970. It was 36.880 on the back. According to Justin Ray of Twenty First Group, players were a combined 86 over par on the front nine through the first three rounds, 595 over on the back.

Changing it up

Golf fans got what they wanted Saturday, as the par-3 15th hole was playing only 81 yards, making it the shortest par-3 in U.S. Open history. The previous shortest hole was the 92-yard seventh hole at Pebble Beach Links in California in 2010.

Just because it wasn't very long doesn't necessarily mean it was easy. There were 11 birdies, 49 pars, four bogeys and one double bogey.

"I mean, it was 76 yards, 80-something to the hole," Kim said. "You have four yards of green to work with. You're long, you're dead; you're short, you're dead. It's a really simple wedge shot, but with the wind kind of going down to left, you've got to really hit it at the right time."

Kim said you couldn't bail out to the left side of the green, or you'd be left with a 40-foot putt down the hill. He wasn't the only player who walked away with a bogey.

"It's a wedge," Kim said. "I think a bogey from 80 yards stats-wise isn't great, but definitely double [bogey] is in play there."

Padraig Harrington had one of the birdies.

"There's a lovely upslope just left of the pin," Harrington said. "As long as you go about four or five yards left of the pin, there's a nice upslope."

Bryson DeChambeau, who hits his golf ball further than just about everybody, was happy to walk away with a par. He hit a 60-degree wedge and teed his ball up higher than usual.

"I'm the happiest man alive that I hit that green," DeChambeau said. "With my wedge game and how fast I can move a golf club, I'm super happy that I was able to control the distance there and get it on the green."

On Sunday, the pin will probably be on the back right of the green. It will play about 135 to 140 yards. Players should be able to fade their tee shots into the green.

Less than five-star reviews

Brooks Koepka isn't the only golfer who isn't too fond of LACC. Defending U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and world No. 5 golfer Viktor Hovland didn't give it rave reviews Saturday, either.

Fitzpatrick, who is ranked No. 8 in the Official World Golf Ranking, tried to be polite. Hovland was a little more critical after carding a 1-under 69. He is 2 under after 54 holes.

LACC's North Course is hosting its first U.S. Open. The tournament is scheduled to return here in 2039.

"You know what, I'm not a big fan of this golf course, to be honest," Hovland said. "I think there's some good holes. I don't think there's any great holes. I think there's a few bad holes. I think No. 9 is probably the best hole out here in my opinion."

Fitzgerald had some of the same complaints that Koepka had Friday: Too many blind shots and too much slope in the fairways, which causes balls to funnel to the same spots, regardless of the line.

"I just think the golf course is interesting, to be polite, I think," Fitzpatrick said. "There's just too many holes for me where you've got blind tee shots and then you've got fairways that don't hold the ball. There's too much slope.

"Some of the tee shots, I think they're a little bit unfair. You hit a good tee shot and end up in the rough by a foot and then you're hacking it out. Meanwhile, someone has hit it miles offline the other way and they've got a shot. Yeah, not my cup of tea."

LACC members can take solace in that Scheffler likes their course.

"I definitely like the golf course a lot," Scheffler said. "I think it's a very interesting place to play golf. I think some of the setup stuff has been also a little bit interesting. It can be frustrating at times with how firm the greens are and how much softer the fairways are."

It's only a number

Ireland's Harrington, a three-time major champion, is 1 under after 54 holes, becoming only the fourth player at 50 years or older to be under par through three rounds of the U.S. Open, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Harrington carded a 3-under 67 in the third round, including an eagle on the par-5 eighth and two birdies on the back.

"Most of my golf now, which is the way it should always be, is about managing me," Harrington said. "I'm not really trying to worry too much about everybody else. I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing, mainly mentally. ... Physically I'm capable and I know what to do mentally, just sometimes it's a bit of a stumbling block to get myself to do the good stuff mentally."

Harrington, who is playing on PGA Tour Champions, would become the fifth player to finish under par in a U.S. Open after 72 holes. The others were Steve Stricker in 2017 (5 under), Julius Boros in 1973 (1 under), Raymond Floyd in 1993 (1 under) and Dutch Harrison in 1960 (1 under).

Unfamiliar name on the leaderboard

There's a name you probably don't recognize on the leaderboard: Japan's Ryutaro Nagano, who is solo eighth at 4 under. After posting a 1-over 71 in the first round, he's a combined 5 under in the past 36.

Nagano, 35, has never won on the Japan Golf Tour. The closest he came was a playoff loss in the 2021 Panasonic Open Golf Championship. He's ranked 522nd in the world. He has played in one other major championship, missing the cut at the 2021 Open Championship. He tied for 39th in his only PGA Tour start at the 2021 Zozo Championship.

For whatever reason, Nagano's game came together this week.

"I'm grateful that I've been able to play well for the last three days, and to be here is amazing," Nagano said.

Nagano's favorite memory of the U.S. Open was watching Tiger Woods win at Torrey Pines in San Diego in 2008. Nagano was in high school.

If Nagano finishes in the top 10 Sunday, he'll earn a spot in the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in North Carolina.

In his rookie NBA season, Wilt Chamberlain didn't just smash the league's then-regular-season points record of Bob Pettit with his total of 2,707... he did so 56 games into his career. Chamberlain finished 1959-60 as the NBA MVP and Rookie of the Year, one of only two players (Wes Unseld is the other) to win both NBA MVP and ROY honors in the same season.

It was arguably the most dominant debut season in American sports history. Late Saturday night, a Chamberlain uniform from that season broke another record: Most expensive game-worn vintage (pre-1980) NBA item ever sold.

The uniform Chamberlain wore at every Philadelphia Warriors home game -- as well as some neutral contests and "even five playoff games, according to the included photo-matching analysis" -- sold with SCP Auctions for $1.792 million.

? This historic Wilt Chamberlain rookie game worn uniform set a new record for any vintage basketball game worn item in tonight's special auction! ?#thehobby #whodoyoucollect pic.twitter.com/vr7RK1ZkYa

— SCP Auctions (@SCPAuctions) June 18, 2023

Chamberlain, who played with the Harlem Globetrotters for $50,000 in 1958-59 (more than $500,000 in 2023) after leaving the University of Kansas a year early, announced his arrival into the NBA in a way arguably no one has since. Because of the novelty of Chamberlain leaving Kansas early - unheard of in those days - Philadelphia's Eddie Gottlieb convinced the NBA that Chamberlain, a Philly product, should be a territorial draft choice.

The rest is history; such was Chamberlain's dominance that his 31,419 career points stood as the NBA record for 38 years before Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke it in 1984 -- which took another 19 years to be broken by LeBron James, with 38,652 and counting.

The Chamberlain uniform was photo-matched and authenticated by the MeiGray Group, Resoluation Photomatching (ResMatch) and Sports Investors Authentication (SIA); an additional letter from Mears Authentication grades the Chamberlain uniform a perfect A10. Multiple authenticators verified that stains on the jersey are, in fact, Chamberlain's playing-days blood.

Per SCP Auctions, "the matching jersey and shorts set was originally procured director from Wilt Chamberlain decades ago by his close friend who would become a trusted collector in the hobby." The man isn't identified, but "a letter of provenance from this gentleman" was included in the auction lot.

Boston right-hander Tanner Houck sustained a facial fracture after being struck just under his right eye by a line drive from the New York Yankees' Kyle Higashioka on Friday night.

The Red Sox said Saturday that Houck received stitches at Fenway Park and was taken to Mass General Hospital for evaluation. Houck was resting at home Saturday in stable condition and is slated for follow-up appointments next week to determine further treatment.

Houck went down to his knees after being struck in the fifth inning, and his right cheek had blood on it as the ball ricocheted toward third base for a single. Red Sox manager Alex Cora and team trainers came to the mound and escorted Houck to the dugout. Houck walked off under his own power.

"He was conscious the whole time, so that's good," Cora said after his team defeated the visiting Yankees 15-5.

Higashioka said Saturday before the diagnosis was announced that Boston players told him Friday night that Houck was "doing all right."

"To be honest, at first I was hoping he got a glove on it," Higashioka said. "I wasn't sure exactly if it squared him up. Once I was able to turn around, it definitely looked like it was pretty bad."

The Yankees catcher said he had never before hit an opposing pitcher with a batted ball, and he "definitely was a little bit" shaken to have injured Houck.

"We all want to compete on the field," he said. "You want to knock him out of the game by getting hits and whatever. You don't want to see him go down with an injury.

"So it's just not something I enjoy seeing. ... As I'm running down the line, I'm hoping that he at least got something on it before it hit him. It's just not something that you want to see."

Houck threw four-plus innings, allowing one run on four hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Had he lasted three more outs, he would have been in line for a win with the Red Sox leading 13-1 at the time that he left. Left-hander Joe Jacques took over on the mound and picked up the win.

On the year, Houck, 26, is 3-6 with a 5.05 ERA through 13 starts. In four major league seasons, all with Boston, he has a 12-15 record with nine saves and a 3.66 ERA in 66 games (33 starts).

LOS ANGELES -- J.D. Davis took batting practice five hours ahead of game time, landing balls in the center field net. He did it again when it counted.

LaMonte Wade Jr. hit a three-run homer, Davis added a pinch-hit grand slam and the San Francisco Giants routed the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers 15-0 on Saturday night for their season-high sixth straight victory.

It was the Giants' largest margin of victory over their NL West rival since a 19-3 win on Sept. 14, 2013. It also matches the worst home shutout loss in Dodgers history, which came in 1898 against Pittsburgh when the team was based in Brooklyn.

Saturday's loss marked the second time the Dodgers have been shut out by 10 or more runs this season, following a 13-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs on April 21. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, it's the first time since 2012 they've had multiple 10-run shutout losses in a season.

With the loss, the Dodgers dropped a home series to the Giants for the first time since losing three of four in July 2021.

"It's huge to get a series win versus L.A. and get a chance for a sweep," winning pitcher and former Dodger Alex Wood said.

Wade and Davis drove in five runs apiece, while Brandon Crawford had four of the Giants' 17 hits.

San Francisco did most of its damage in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Luis Matos drew a leadoff walk in the fifth, stole second and took third on Bobby Miller's errant pickoff throw. Matos scored on Crawford's RBI single, snapping Miller's streak of scoreless innings at 20⅓.

"The offense was rolling, just putting balls in play against a really good pitcher," Davis said. "A lot of guys coming back in the dugout were complimenting him on how great of stuff he was and how we needed to make the adjustments."

Miller (3-1) then hit Casey Schmitt and Wade followed with his fifth homer of the season for a 4-0 lead.

"Not really many guys swing first-pitch curveball off of me," Miller said. "Hats off to him, it was a really good hit."

Crawford's RBI single extended the lead to 5-0 in the sixth. Davis blasted the first pitch from Alex Vesia 441 feet to center with two outs for a 9-0 lead.

"It was 5-0, it was just an opportunity for me to ambush him," Davis said. "He left a fastball middle away and I didn't try to pull it, I didn't try to fillet it to right field, I stayed through it."

Wood said, "That was a dagger. For sure, it changed the whole game."

Davis is dealing with a Grade 1 right ankle sprain, so the grand slam gave him a little more time to get around the basepaths.

"Definitely made it easier just to go 30, 40 percent around the bases and jog around than to have to sprint around," he said.

The Giants tacked on three more in the seventh, with Patrick Bailey's two-run double and Wade's RBI single off Nick Robertson. They added three more in the ninth.

Wood (2-1) allowed three hits in five innings, struck out four and walked none. The right-hander came off the injured list earlier in the day after dealing with a back strain.

"Just glad to be back," Wood said. "I feel really good."

Tristan Beck earned a four-inning save.

Miller gave up seven runs and seven hits in 5⅔ innings. The right-hander struck out five and walked three in his fifth career start.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

BELMONT, Mich. — Amy Yang birdied all five par 5s at Blythefield and shot her third straight 5-under 67 to take the third-round lead Saturday in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Yang rebounded from bogeys on the par-3 11th and 13th to birdie the par-5 14th, par-4 17th and par-5 18th to reach 15-under 201 on the tree-lined course.

“All week my ball-striking has been really good,” Yang said. “I was giving myself good chances out there. I was a little bit off with putting speed during the round, made a couple mistakes, but I tried to stay patient and just keep trying throughout the round.”

The 33-year-old Yang has won all four of her LPGA titles in Asia — the LPGA KEB-HanaBank in 2013 in her native South Korea and the Honda LPGA Thailand in 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The Grand Rapids-area event is the final tournament before the major KPMG Women’s PGA next week at Baltusrol and the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach on July 6-9.

“I know KPMG is coming and another two weeks after that U.S. Open is coming,” Yang said. “Always doing my best to win my first major out there. If I play well this week it’ll definitely give me good confidence going into a major.”

Ashleigh Buhai, the 34-year-old South African who won the ShopRite LPGA Classic last week in New Jersey, was a stroke back with second-round leader Ayaka Furue of Japan and Xiyu Lin of China.

Buhai followed a bogey on 17 with an eagle at 18 for a 66.

“Mindset is exactly the same as the last few months,” Buhai said. “Just trying to do my job well when I get to the ball. Only focus on one thing that I’m trying to focus on, particularly when I’m swinging, chipping, just do that one thing well. When I’m putting, try to do that one thing well.”

Lin also shot 66, and Furue had a 69.

Ariya Jutanugarn (66), Hyo Joo Kim (69) and Leona Maguire (69) were 13 under. Defending champion Jennifer Kupcho (69) was 12 under with Manon De Roey (69) and Lindsey Weaver-Wright (69).

Kupcho had an eagle and four birdies, but made three bogeys for the second day in a row.

“Definitely didn’t play as well as I thought I would,” Kupcho said. “Certainly, moving day, did not take full advantage of it. I still kept it together with what I had today and just want to go recover and come out, hopefully, and play well tomorrow.”

LOS ANGELES – One of the signature moments of this year’s U.S. Open came Friday morning when Matt Fitzpatrick made an ace on the short par-3 15th.

The defending champion couldn’t see his ball go into the hole. Only roars from the crowd alerted Fitzpatrick he’d be writing a 1 on the scorecard.

One day later, Fitzpatrick launched some criticism toward the Los Angeles faithful – or lack, thereof – in attendance.

“Very poor ... It’s disappointing on the USGA side," Fitzpatrick told Barstool and Sports Illustrated about the U.S. Open atmosphere.

"They want a great tournament—from what I’ve heard a lot of members bought tickets and that’s why there’s so many less people. Hopefully, it’s not the same for other U.S. Opens going forward.”

Fitzpatrick also had some choice words for the course itself, calling LACC "interesting, to be polite."

“There's just too many holes for me where you've got blind tee shots and then you've got fairways that don't hold the ball. There's too much slope,” he said. “Some of the tee shots are just — I think they're a little bit unfair. You hit a good tee shot and end up in the rough by a foot and then you're hacking it out.”

Fitzpatrick’s comments come in the aftermath of Brooks Koepka saying Friday, "I’m not a big fan of this place." Koepka held similar reservations as Fitzpatrick, citing blind tee shots and fairways that push shots of different trajectories into similar end results.

Viktor Hovland joined the two major champions with similar resentment Saturday.

“I'm not a big fan of this golf course, to be honest. I think there's some good holes. I don't think there's any great holes. I think there's a few bad holes,” Hovland said.

Meanwhile, Hovland and Fitzpatrick both had solid rounds Saturday. Hovland shot a 69 to bring his tournament score to 2 under, while Fitzpatrick’s 68 puts the defending champion at 1 under.

LOS ANGELES – For the second consecutive major Bryson DeChambeau will begin the final round with an outside chance at winning. He hopes that opportunity translates into an outside chance of making this year’s U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Following a third-round 68 at the U.S. Open that was marred by a bogey at No. 18, DeChambeau was asked about this year’s Ryder Cup and if last week’s announcement that the PGA Tour had reached a “framework” agreement with the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, which owns 93 percent of LIV Golf, had improved his chances of making this year’s U.S. team.

“I think [the door] is open a lot more,” said DeChambeau, who was tied for 10^th place when he finished his round. “I hope that [U.S. captain Zach Johnson] picks the best players from the country. That’s the most important thing is playing for the country.”

DeChambeau said he spoke with Johnson briefly on Sunday at last month’s PGA Championship, where he tied for fourth, and he was optimistic the U.S. captain would do what’s best for the team.

“I think Brooks [Koepka] is already qualified and I think he’s already on the team,” DeChambeau said. “If my game continues to improve and I play well in another major and play well in some LIV events I hope [Johnson] considers some of those guys. It’d be nice to consider me.”

The top 6 off the U.S. points list through Aug. 20 automatically qualify for the team and Johnson will announce his six captain’s picks on Aug. 28. DeChambeau is 47^th on the U.S. points list.

LOS ANGELES – Si Woo Kim was preparing to hit one of the toughest 81-yard shots a player could have when he heard an echo across Los Angeles Country Club.

“I was just waiting and Keith [Mitchell] started yelling at us, ‘Fore!’” Kim laughed. “The ball dropped right in front of me. His ball was going to go in the rough but it hit me so I told him, ‘I saved you one stroke.’”

Mitchell was hitting his second shot from 284 yards into the par-5 14^th hole when the effort sailed wildly left, landing just a few feet from where Kim and Bryson DeChambeau were standing on the 15^th tee box, grazing Kim on his back.

“I guess that’s payback for me hitting Kenny Pigman at the PGA,” laughed DeChambeau, who hit Pigman, a club professional, last month in a similar scene at Oak Hill.

Kim playful laid on the ground when Mitchell found his golf ball but the incident didn’t seem to bother the 27-year-old from South Korea, who birdied the short par-3 hole.