Rickie Fowler, who slipped out of the U.S. Open lead after making three bogeys in a row late in the second round, put himself back in the thick of the chase with a run of three birdies on Saturday at the U.S.Open.

                                                   Rickie Fowler can't repeat his opening-round heroics, still in contention 

Fowler birdied the 14th, 15th and 16th holes to lift himself to 10 under par, two strokes off the pace at a generous Erin Hills layout that has been softened by rain.

"It was a great day," said Fowler, who is still gunning for his first major title.

"Hit a lot of good shots. Felt like I had a good feel for the speed of the greens today, hit a lot of good lag putts. We're definitely in good position for tomorrow."

Fowler said he knew low scores would be attainable but was impressed by the U.S. Open record-setting round of nine-under carded by Justin Thomas, his friend and room mate this week.

"I'm looking forward to hearing about that when I get back to the house since J.T. and I are staying together," said Fowler.

"But that was cool to see. Definitely inspiring in a way to see him get off to a good start and kind of motivating to want to get myself to go out and play well.

"And to see him get the eagle at the last, pretty cool, a special round for him."

Thomas, the 29th player to shoot a 63 in a major, finished the day on 11-under-par 205 to trail leader Brian Harman by one stroke heading into Sunday's final round.