STEVENS POINT, WI. — Jerry Kelly called it a fairytale. Steve Stricker couldn’t believe how special the moment was.
The two were paired together Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld, homegrown favorites for a national championship in their own backyard – and they did not disappoint as they will head to Sunday with a chance to chase down leader Bernhard Langer.
“I think there’s a score out there,” Kelly said. “If you can get to that front side and just keep going on the back, I think it’s there. But the front side is tough to get under par. It really is. Just see if I can turn at under and try to step on the gas a little bit.”
Kelly shot a 3-under 68 on Saturday to move to 4 under for the tournament and will be paired with Langer in the final group at 12:34 p.m. ET Sunday.
Langer, who has won 11 senior majors, also shot a 68 and is 6 under for the tournament.
“It’s going to be difficult,” Langer said of playing with Kelly. “I remember playing against Fred Couples in Seattle, actually in this championship, and if there were 30,000 people, there were every one of them cheering for Fred, and the only one for me was my caddie, who was my son at the time. It was like a Ryder Cup match in America.
“It’s going to be similar (Sunday) I take it. Hopefully, the crowd will be somewhat fair and still appreciate good golf shots. I understand. They want their hometown boy to win. I’ve been there myself. It’s going to be an interesting day.”
Kelly got into the final group after he drained a long birdie from off the back of the green on No. 18 to pull within a shot of Langer. Then Stricker buried a long birdie of his own on top of it to keep pace. The two shared smiles, a hug and some back slaps on the green after an unforgettable day.
Meanwhile, Langer just continued at his pace. He birdied No. 17, his first after recording 11 consecutive pars, to give himself a two-shot cushion over Kelly and three over Stricker.
Chasing down Langer will be difficult, as the 65-year-old needs just one more victory to pass Hale Irwin for most senior tour wins with 46.
“You know he’s going to be tough,” Kelly said. “He’s smelling 46 right now. I think he’s over that ‘I’m tied and I’m getting my next one.’ Now he’s looking at a USGA championship, I think he’s past that focus. I really do. I think he’s going to come on strong. I don’t see him letting up.”
Langer was stone-faced walking up the 18th fairway when Stricker was speaking after his round, and Stricker caught a glance of the leader on the television.
“He looks determined, just looking at him,” Stricker said of Langer. “It’s going to be a challenge. Somebody is going to have to go out and try to catch him tomorrow and put some pressure on him, and hopefully, I can do that.”
The matching birdies and hug on the 18th green was a fitting close for Kelly and Stricker, as the day began with a hug on the first tee before they were introduced. Fans were building for hours ahead of their 1:29 p.m. ET tee time and ringed not just the first tee box, but the fairways and around the greens.
A grandfather lifted his grandson onto his shoulders to see.
“To walk up there on No. 1, to have all those people there is pretty special for us,” Stricker said.
Standard bearers from the following two groups arrived early and peered to get a look. And after their formal introductions by the starter, cheers echoed off the trees.
“It was pretty amazing lined that early in the day,” Kelly said.
Off the tee, Kelly found the fairway, Stricker the left rough. Kelly missed the green long, Stricker managed to move it forward to the edge of a greenside bunker. It looked like trouble.
Yet pars were saved, nerves cooled.
They were off.
As the star duo grinded for pars at the outset, Langer strolled behind them and coolly sank birdies on No. 1 and No. 2 to increase his lead. The Wisconsin pair began rolling birdies at No. 4 while Langer bogeyed that hole, and the race was truly on.
Stricker made the turn with an impressive 3-under performance on the front nine, while Kelly was even par with two birdies and two bogeys.
It was clear the friends were having fun, despite the pressure and tough setup of the course.
“We’ve played so much golf together over the years, all the way back to junior days right here at SentryWorld and team competitions together,” Stricker said. “He’s a special guy to us and our family, so we’re always rooting for each other, and we’re driving each other, too.”
As Kelly jabbed his putter forward to encourage his long birdie putt on 10 to keep rolling to the hole, Stricker raised his in triumph as it trickled in – and then gave his buddy a congratulatory fist bump. Stricker then poured in his own birdie and the pair shared a laugh on their way to the 11th tee box. It was an uncommon bit of camaraderie among competitors in such a setting, but it was the natural reaction between friends enjoying the moment.
“I think we’ve gotten even more comfortable, as many times as we’ve played in last groups and played to win and things like that,” Kelly said. “We’re doing better at not; you want the guy to do well. You don’t want to see him make bogeys and things like that, but you can’t get caught up in it, too.”
And it helped propel each of them along, through missed putts or slightly off-centered shots.
Langer, meanwhile, had no such energy to draft off.
Two groups behind the Stricker-Kelly pairing, Langer had only handfuls of people to watch him. Along with that, playing partner Rod Pampling fell off the leaderboard entirely with a 7-over 42 on the front. Though Langer missed some makeable birdie putts on the back nine, he didn’t give any strokes to the field, whereas Stricker finished his last six holes at 1 over.
Despite trailing Langer by three shots and having to overtake Kelly as well on Sunday, Stricker is in position to join Jack Nicklaus in an exclusive club.
Nicklaus is the only player to win the senior tour’s first three majors in a single year, doing so in 1991 before Jim Albus stopped him at the Senior Players Championship. Stricker has opened this season by winning the Regions Tradition and Senior PGA Championship.
Langer (2017) and Alex Čejka (2021) were the last players before Stricker to claim the year’s first two majors, but their bids to match Nicklaus ended at the U.S. Senior Open.
Elsewhere on the leaderboard, Yang shot up into contention with a 2-under 69, moving him to 1 under and in fourth place with Retief Goosen. Stricker will be paired with Yang and tee off at 12:24 p.m. ET.
Rob Labritz vaulted into a tie for sixth with a bogey-free round of 66. He’ll be paired with Goosen at 12:14 p.m. ET. Čejka shot a 3-under 68 to tie Labritz at even par for the tourney. He’ll go off with Dicky Pride (1-over) at 12:04 p.m. ET.