On Friday, one of the announcers remarked that Brendon Todd was an ideal pick to win, because he never misses a fairway. Todd missed plenty on his way to 75, but so did everyone else. Not to knock Todd by any stretch of the imagination; the 2020 US Open, the 120th of its kind, doesn’t favor anyone. On Sunday, it will select someone as its champion. The decision might come grudgingly from the golfing gods, or it might be the anointment of a favored son or a new darling. It won’t come early, either. The realization of the winner’s identity will come in the final 40 minutes, over the closing, three-hole stretch. That’s the way these things work. We didn’t learn this on Saturday, but we did learn five things that we cannot wait to share with you.

And so, dear reader, welcome to five things we learned on Saturday at the 120th US Open championship.

1. Bryson dodged a bullet

Bryson DeChambeau is a really good golfer and a really smart fellow. He reminds me, in a lot of ways, of a guy who came through and changed the game in the late 1990s. People loved that cat from the start, but for some reason, are loathe to warm to #BigBangTheory. People need to check their egos and recognize that Bryson is good for the game. He’s honest, a little haughty, freaking smart, and jacked like Lalanne. He also might be this year’s US Open champion, this time tomorrow.

BDC had every reason to go away on Saturday. He made bogey at the first two holes, at the same time that playing partner Patrick Reed was making a birdie. Three shots gone in the first two holes. Yet BDC persevered. Reed, well, we’ll save what he did. Bryson made three birdies over his next 15 holes, and only a final-hole bogey kept him from a third consecutive round in the 60s. DeChambeau will have an advantage over his playing partner on Sunday, in that he has already felt the pressure of a final-group pairing in the Open.

2. Matthew Wolff wants his stature back

Last summer, when things were normal, Matthew Wolff jumped from college to tour winner in an instant. Later, Collin Morikawa joined him as a titleist, and Viktor Hovland, soon after. Thing was, Hovland and Morikawa had classic moves at the ball while Wolff, well, you know. Jump ahead to the ratchet year of 2020, and there was Morikawa, winning the PGA Championship while Wolff came 4th. Both finishes were impressive, but you can’t tell me that Wolff didn’t feel a bit chuffed as Morikawa became the new darling, major champion and some such.

September came, and Morikawa fueled his jet after missing the cut on Friday at Winged Foot. As for Wolff, he went out on day three and lit the flying five toes’ gettable front nine in 30 strokes. No, there was never a 59 watch, because this is the US Open, and that doesn’t happen. Wolff did manage to survive the inward side with one bogey, and then he ripped home one more birdie at the difficult closing hole to take the lead.

Logic says he won’t repeat that 65 on Sunday. If he does, he wins. He also might win with 70. Par will be his friend on day four, but can his putter remain ablaze? Good question.

3. St. Patrick of the worthless nine

Not since Retief Goosen absolutely lost it on day four of the 2005 US Open, have we seen a rock-solid performance fall off the planet in such spontaneous and dramatic gore. Actually, Gore was Goosen’s partner that day, but I digress. Patrick Reed was grinding through the third round, giving Bryson what four, when the wheels, well, they didn’t fall off. They exploded, and every bit of rubber disintegrated into anti-matter, which then disappeared into a black hole.

Reed had a pair of pars on the inward half, and those were the high points. He made bogey at six holes, including three straight mid-meltdown. As if that weren’t enough, the golfing gods hid the 11th fairway from site, and the Texan found the rough with three consecutive shots, on the way to a double bogey.

If this were a Greek tragedy or an epic poem, Reed might be dead, but he is not. His hubris gone, some kind of comeback on Sunday, into the top eight, would be seen as a fine performance. Patrick Reed is some kind of golfing talent, but the vagaries of a US Open setup make even the most precocious question their execution.

4. Quiet Louis lurks

Remember the 2012 Masters, the one where Charl Schwartzel was the defending champion, and was all set to drape the jacket on good friend Louis Oosthuizen’s shoulders? Yeah, then Bubba hit that hooking wedge from Tarzan’s front porch, and the bromantic ending was scuttled. Over the years, Louis has had opps to add to his major championship total of one, but has yet to sign the check. He had 2nd-place finishes in all four major championships, and tonight, he finds himself the last golfer under par through 54 holes. He sits 4 back of Wolff, really a pittance when an Open is on the line. If Louis brings the repeater that won him the 2010 Open at St. Andrews, he’ll double his majors total on Sunday. Anything less, and another top-five ending awaits.

5. Wherefore art thou, Roryo?

‘Tis the east, and Winged Foot is the sun, right, Bill? On Thursday and Saturday, Rory had two bogeys total. On Friday, ick. Dad Rory is battling to regain the confidence and the ability to close that young Rory possessed in spades, early last decade. McIlroy needs this win more than any other player in the field, or else it will be another chapter in the story of his life, Nice first half of your career. Sure, that’s harsh, but McIlroy is a once-a-decade talent, maybe better. He should win more majors than the six guys ahead of him, but he hasn’t claimed one since 2014, when he won the Open and the PGA. in consecutive months.

Six years is a long time between major titles. Ask Jack. Ask Tiger. Mac won the 2011 US Open at Congressional, but that one didn’t feel like any other Open. Soaked course where players threw darts all week, and he won by a large amount. McIlroy currently sits at +1. If he can get to 3 or 4 under on Sunday, which requires a mid-60s round, he should win the tournament. It’s time to orient the career as you move through your 30s, Roars. The bard has spoken.