Ewan Murray has filed his report from Oak Hill, have a read here:
Another best-of-day 66 for Brooks Koepka … and so the two-time champion goes into the final day looking for a victory that would make him only the third player in the PGA Championship’s stroke-play era to win the title three times. He’d be up there with Jack and Tiger, no biggie. Viktor Hovland, Corey Conners, his old pal Bryson DeChambeau and a host of other big names may have something to say about that. It should be a great day of golf. See you tomorrow!
-6: Koepka
-5: Hovland, Conners
-3: DeChambeau
-2: Rose, Scheffler
-1: McIlroy
E: Block, Suh
+1: Fleetwood, Perez, Jaeger, Cole, Lowry, Lee
+2: Reed, Kitayama, Fox, Davis
Two putts for Scottie Scheffler, who came back in 34, repairing a little of the damage of that front-nine 39. A 73 and he enjoys a self-deprecating chuckle. He’s still in this! Two putts as well for Corey Conners; a level-par 70, and he’ll play in the penultimate group tomorrow with Bryson DeChambeau.
Conners sends his iron from 176 yards pin high, 15 feet to the left of the flag. Scheffler, a little closer in, pops his a similar distance to the right. Both will have decent looks at birdie.
Scheffler and Conners crack their closing drives down 18. For differing reasons, both will be eager to get to the clubhouse: Conners to settle himself after the drama of 16, Scheffler because he’s just not been on it all day. One last push!
Pars for Corey Conners and Scottie Scheffler on 17. That’s particularly precious for Conners, who looks totally calm despite what went down on 16. Meanwhile up on 18, Viktor Hovland can’t get close with his splash out of the bunker – he was on a downslope – and though he nearly drains his 25-footer for par, that’s a closing bogey. He signs for a level-par 70. Bogey to finish for Justin Suh, who signs for a 73.
-6: Koepka (F)
-5: Hovland (F), Conners (17)
-3: DeChambeau (F)
-2: Rose (F), Scheffler (17)
-1: McIlroy (F)
E: Block (F), Suh (F)
Brooks Koepka gives his verdict to Sky. “I missed in the correct spots … I made a few more putts today … I’m just looking forward to tomorrow … I’ve honestly gotten tired of leaving putts short … I have to just keep doing what I’m doing … I’ve got to play one more round and see where it puts me.”
Viktor Hovland’s tee shot at 18 finds the rough down the left. His second finds the bunker guarding the front right of the green. He’ll be short-sided. Meanwhile back on 17, Corey Conners, who should be reeling from that double, calmly fires two shots down the track to find the green in regulation. Scottie Scheffler on in two as well.
Michael Block speaks to Sky. “It was all by having a great attitude … the Rochester fans were in full force … it felt like hitting a home run … I’m a huge golf fan and I remember watching Justin Rose winning the US Open at Merion … I thought I was going to lose my mind! … I have this game, but it’s never transferred over to the PGA Tour … I have the confidence to shoot another 70 tomorrow and see where it finishes!”
Corey Conners can’t make his bogey putt – a five after all that would have been outrageous, tell the truth – and his first move backwards of the day is a double bogey. He drops out of the lead, which is now jointly held by …
-6: Koepka (F), Hovland (17)
-5: Conners (16)
-3: DeChambeau (F)
-2: Rose (F), Scheffler (16)
-1: McIlroy (F), Suh (17)
E: Block (F)
Another 66 for Koepka
Bryson DeChambeau’s 40-foot birdie effort never looks like dropping. Brooks Koepka’s 25-foot go nearly does! But both will have to settle for pars. They depart the scene to warm applause, a world away from the booing they suffered on the 1st tee. The pair shake hands in a friendly fashion. See, love will prevail. A second 66 in a row for Brooks, a level-par 70 for Bryson. They’re -6 and -3 respectively.
Conners, now under all sorts of pressure, 40 yards from the green, short-sided behind a bunker, whips deliciously high, landing his ball softly on the green. He’ll have a look at bogey from 15 feet. If he gets out of here just dropping one stroke, it’ll be some escape! Meanwhile DeChambeau and Koepka are both on 18 in regulation. Neither are particularly close, though.
Conners has been given relief, the ball having plugged on the bank. A free drop. No penalty. But he can only drop in the thick filth on the bank into which he hit his second. An awkward stance, and so his third baseball-style shot disappears into more thick nonsense further down the hole. He’s not put a foot wrong until now, but this could prove costly. Major-championship golf, everyone!
The PGA referee is going through the options. Corey Conners works out how and where he can take a drop. While they faff and fuss, Scottie Scheffler knocks his approach into the heart of 16.
Updated
Serious bother for Corey Conners on 16. He drives into a bunker down the right of the hole, then slams his second into the bank inches above the face of the trap. His ball plugs, and he’s going to need a ruling. Here comes the judge!
What was that about Brooks Koepka’s putter letting him down? Well, it’s made up for any previous misdemeanours now! He sends a 45-foot tramliner into the cup on 17 and joins Hovland in second spot! DeChambeau’s fairly content, too, punching the air in delight as he rolls in a 15-footer to complete an up-and-down from the greenside filth.
-7: Conners (15)
-6: Koepka (17), Hovland (16)
-3: DeChambeau (17)
-2: Rose (F), Suh (15), Scheffler (15)
-1: McIlroy (F)
E: Block (F)
Club pro Michael Block shoots 70!
Block nearly pours in his birdie putt, but it dies to the right on its last turn. No matter! He taps in for his third sensational 70 of the week and soaks up the love pouring down from the gallery. This is quite the story. Meanwhile a two-putt par for Justin Rose, who signs for a 69. Back on 16, Viktor Hovland pars, a most acceptable outcome having lashed his tee shot towards the trees down the left.
-7: Conners (15)
-6: Hovland (16)
-5: Koepka (16)
-3: DeChambeau (16)
-2: Rose (F), Suh (15), Scheffler (15)
-1: McIlroy (F)
E: Block (F)
Scottie Scheffler scoops his ball elegantly out of the bunker and leaves a three-footer that salvages his par. Corey Conners strokes in his birdie putt to claim the lead for himself. Meanwhile up on 18, Michael Block hammers a hybrid that just about gets over the shoulder of the bunker guarding the front of the green … and he’ll have a look at a closing birdie from 15 feet!
-7: Conners (15)
-6: Hovland (15)
-5: Koepka (16)
A birdie at last for Scottie Scheffler! He makes it on the accessible short par-four 14th, but they all count, and he needed that. He moves back to -2 … but it’s just not working out for him today, as he thuds his tee shot at 15 into a bunker at the front. His playing partner Corey Conners turns up the heat by sending his 9-iron to eight feet.
Hovland can’t make his birdie putt on 15. Conners carefully settles for par on 14. Rose can’t get up and down from a greenside bunker at 17 and drops a stroke. DeChambeau pars 16, a decent result since he’d pulled his drive into the trees. Then Koepka leaves his short birdie putt high on the left. The flat stick’s let the big man down a bit today. Had it been a little warmer, you’d think he’d be leading this tournament now.
-6: Hovland (15), Conners (14)
-5: Koepka (16)
-3: DeChambeau (16)
-2: Rose (17), Suh (15)
-1: McIlroy (F), Scheffler (13)
E: Block (17)
It’s raining again. Victor Hovland misses a straight uphill eight-footer on 14 for birdie, but doesn’t let things get to him. He sends his tee shot at 15 over the flag and will have another look from a similar distance. Meanwhile up on 16, Koepka takes a brave line with his approach over a bunker guarding the pin, and is rewarded when his ball lands six feet from the cup.
Rory McIlroy speaks to Sky. “As comfortable as the pairing was [with Shane Lowry] the conditions were uncomfortable … starting off was tough … I did well to be a couple under but gave a few back … I held it together on the way back … overall anything in the red is a good score … I went out there and free-wheeled it … whatever happens, happens … conditions were tough … you just have to embrace it … I’m going to need to have that same attitude tomorrow.”
McIlroy shoots 69
Bryson DeChambeau makes like Michael Block and lands his tee shot at 15 three feet from the flag. Brooks Koepka sends his pin high, but a good 30 feet to the right of the cup. He nearly makes the birdie putt, but the ball stops one turn short. Par. DeChambeau steers his right-to-left slider in, though, and back-to-back birdies is some reaction to that careless dropped shot at 13. Pars for Conners and Scheffler at 13. Meanwhile up on 18, Rory McIlroy has a route to the green from the trees, but only finds the front fringe. No matter: he nearly bundles in the chip, then tidies up for a second 69 in a row. And it’s a 71 for Shane Lowry, who remains in the mix at +1.
-6: Hovland (13), Conners (13)
-5: Koepka (15)
-3: Rose (16), DeChambeau (15)
-1: McIlroy (F), Suh (13), Scheffler (13)
E: Block (16)
Updated
Having driven their balls into the bank at 14, Koepka and DeChambeau take turns to flip delicate chips to three feet. A shock, however, as Koepka allows his downhill putt to squirt wide right of the cup. A huge chance for a birdie that would have given him a share of the lead spurned! DeChambeau cleans up for his birdie and returns to -2.
McIlroy sprays his drive at 18 into the trees down the left. Back on 14, Koepka and DeChambeau take turns to fire their drives into the face of the thickly covered banks guarding the front of the green. And on 13, Hovland clips his approach pin high to 12 feet, but then fails to hit a makeable straight birdie putt with confidence. Just a par five.
Bryson DeChambeau nearly makes his 25-footer for par, but it stops just short of the cup. He slips back to -1. It’s a double whammy for him, too, because he’s given Brooks Koepka a read for his birdie putt, and the two-time champion makes no mistake. In it goes, and the gallery erupts. They’re not booing Brooks now! Meanwhile Rory McIlroy chips up the swale gamely to three feet, then does his best to miss the bogey putt, but it drops after a quick look-see around the rim. And how about the 46-year-old club professional Michael Block?!
-6: Hovland (12), Conners (12)
-5: Koepka (13)
-3: Rose (15)
-1: McIlroy (17), DeChambeau (13), Suh (12), Scheffler (12)
E: Block (15)
Another birdie for Michael Block! This is a sensational story! He arrows his tee shot at 15 straight at the flag, leaving himself an uphill four-footer for birdie. He’s not missing it, and as the gallery holler, he wears the look of a man who doesn’t quite know how he’s managing to walk on air, but enjoying every second nonetheless. Just a par for his partner Justin Rose, who remains at -3.
Trouble for Rory at 17. He sends his drive into thick rough down the left, then his second into a fairway bunker. His third flies over the green and down a swale at the back. That’s not where you ever want to find yourself on a Donald Ross course. Some bother for Bryson DeChambeau at 13, too: over the back in three, he nudges out of the filth but the slope of the green takes his ball off on a journey, a good 25 feet past the hole. Both players with serious work to save par, or more realistically limit the damage to bogey.
In it goes! We have a tie at the top. The rain has stopped again, and Moving Day is coming to a boil!
-6: Hovland (12), Conners (11)
-4: Koepka (12)
-3: Rose (14)
-2: McIlroy (16), DeChambeau (12)
-1: Suh (11), Scheffler (11)
Updated
Birdie for Michael Block at 14! That’s perfectly timed, since the cameras were on him all the way down the fairway for a CBS walk ‘n’ talk. He earns a fist-bump of congratulations from his partner Justin Rose. He’s +1. Meanwhile the leader Corey Conners leaves himself some work at 11, leaving his first putt five feet short, but he’s showing no signs of buckling under the weight of leading a major championship, and rolls in his par putt calmly. Mind you, Viktor Hovland has the opportunity to join him, having nearly slam-dunked his second at 12. He’s left with a three-footer for birdie.
Having failed to birdie the relatively easy 14th and 15th, Rory McIlroy makes one on 16. That’s the result of a 330-yard drive down the middle followed by a wedge from 117 yards to seven feet. He’s -2. Meanwhile up on 12, Brooks Koepka fires his second straight at the flag and tidies up for a birdie that moves him to -4.
Viktor Hovland sends a gentle draw into the heart of the par-three 11th. He rolls in the 20-footer that remains for a birdie that brings him back to level par for his round … and takes him to within a shot off the lead.
-6: Conners (10)
-5: Hovland (11)
-3: Rose (13), Koepka (11)
-2: DeChambeau (11)
-1: McIlroy (15), Suh (10), Scheffler (10)
A couple of costly mistakes for Justin Rose at the par-five 13th. He sends his approach wide right, then flubs his chip from the cabbage. His second attempt works out well, though, and restricts the loss to a single shot. He’s -3. That could have been worse.
Rory McIlroy pours in the 15-foot par putt! On the face of it, nothing to celebrate. But had he dropped a stroke, he’d have played 13, 14 and 15 in level par, and they’re the easiest holes on the course. He’ll certainly be feeling better than his compatriot, though: Shane Lowry, having sent his tee shot to three feet, pulls the birdie putt wide left, and that’s an appalling miss. Lowry had parred 13 and bogeyed 14, so it’s been a very deflating stretch for him. McIlroy is -1; Lowry +1.
Viktor Hovland sends his approach at 10 to eight feet. He thinks he’s got the birdie putt, but it loops out and he wanders off with a wry smile on his face, still two behind Corey Conners. Meanwhile up on the par-three 15th, Rory McIlroy shoves his tee shot down the swale to the right, and only just manages to get his chip up to stay on the green. Some work to do for his par.
Rory McIlroy manages to scramble his par at 14, but that wild drive cost him the opportunity to make another precious birdie. He remains at -1. Meanwhile the rain has suddenly started coming down again. Hard. It’s not expected to last too long, however.
Scottie Scheffler comes up short of 9 but manages to get up and down to scramble a par. He’s out in 39, though, not on his game at all. That par putt from six feet only just grabbed the left-hand edge of the cup, too. Meanwhile his playing partner Corey Conners, the tournament leader, salvages a par of his own with a delicate punch out of the thick rough to the side of the green, where he was short-sided. He remains two clear of Hovland and Rose.
Viktor Hovland isn’t too far away from draining a 45-footer on 9. He’ll take par and hits the turn in 36. His playing partner Justin Suh makes a 30-footer for par, though, and that avoids three bogeys in succession. He turns in 37. They’re -4 and -1 respectively. Meanwhile Rory McIlroy sends a wild tee shot at the risk-and-reward 14th towards the trees on the right. That may have lost quite a few yards coming back down a nearby cart path. Rory looks suitably concerned.
Another birdie for Justin Rose! He sends his tee shot at 11 over the flag, and rolls the dead-straight 12-footer he leaves himself into the centre of the cup, dead weight. He saunters off with the air of a man who doesn’t have a care in the world. He’s on it right now, he really is. As is his playing partner Michael Block, who rattles in a 20-footer to move to -1. What a week the club pro is having! But just as Rose closes in on Conners, so the Canadian eases further clear, wedging his second at 8 from 130 yards to four feet, and making his first birdie of the day! And it’s back-to-back birdies for Rory McIlroy, who screws his wedge into 13 back to kick-in distance. The rain having stopped, the scoring is hotting up!
-6: Conners (8)
-4: Rose (11), Hovland (8)
-3: Koepka (9)
-2: DeChambeau (9)
-1: McIlroy (13), Lee (12), Suh (8), Scheffler (8)
Justin Suh drives into the trees down the right of 8. The inevitable result: a bogey that drops the 25-year-old Californian to -1. But his playing partner Viktor Hovland whips his second from the rough 140 yards out to 10 feet, and makes a birdie that brings him back to -4. Meanwhile a couple of players join Tommy Fleetwood in the clubhouse lead at +1: Stephen Jaeger and Victor Perez, who both card 69s today.
Despite the big break, it’s a fourth bogey of the day for the world number two Scottie Scheffler. His wedge into 7 nearly spins back off the green, and though he almost drains the par putt from distance, he’s tapping in for bogey. Meanwhile another par for the leader Corey Conners, who is making like Nick Faldo at Muirfield in 1987 right now. And finally a putt fails to drop for Justin Rose, who fires his approach at 10 straight at the flag, only for his eight-foot birdie effort to unluckily horseshoe out. So close to narrowing Conners’ lead to a single stroke, yet so far.
-5: Conners (7)
-3: Rose (10), Koepka (8), Hovland (7)
-2: DeChambeau (8), Suh (7)
-1: Lee (12), Scheffler (7)
E: Lowry (12), McIlroy (12), Svensson (11)
Birdie for Rory McIlroy at 12. That’s the reward for a booming drive followed by a wedge clipped to five feet. In goes the putt and he moves back to level par. Fours for Brooks and Bryson at 8; you’d take pars there any day.
BREAKING NEWS: Justin Rose finds a fairway! He does so at 10. That’s only the ninth time he’s hit one this week, in 35 attempts. To be fair, at -3, it’s not been doing him too much harm. Meanwhile a massive break for Scottie Scheffler on 7. He sends his tee shot under a tree, and attempts to send his second low over the creek running across the fairway. His ball clips a tree, bounces into the water, and then out the other side. Lucky Scottie.
Min Woo Lee hasn’t featured on much of the coverage yet. He might now, though. The up-and-coming Aussie had traversed the front nine in 35 shots. Level par for his round, level par for the tournament. But now he rakes in a 60-footer across 11 for a birdie that takes him into the red at -1. The crowd get behind him, and he gifts the ball as a souvenir to a lucky punter. Can he match his older sister Minjee in becoming a major champion? He’s got the game all right.
The good news for the players: the rain has stopped. Off come the waterproofs, down go the umbrellas, and up go the chances of making some birdies on a soft, more receptive course.
Scheffler whips out from the grassy bank at 6 with his lob wedge. He can only send his ball 15 feet past the hole. His curler coming back is always missing high on the right. Bogey. A careful two-putt par for Conners. Up on 7, Koepka takes two putts for bogey. A little succour for Brooks: DeChambeau can’t make his birdie putt. All of a sudden, Corey Conners has a two-stroke lead.
-5: Conners (6)
-3: Rose (8), Koepka (7), Hovland (6), Suh (6)
-2: Scheffler (6)
Scottie Scheffler pulls his tee shot at 6 wide left. Then he pulls his second shot. He’s fortunate not to dunk into Allens Creek, but his ball sits down in thick oomska on the bank and there’s not much green to work with over there. Also out of position: Brooks Koepka at 7. He pulls his drive towards the trees on the left, and is forced to take his medicine, punching out. He advances his third to the apron of the green, but he’ll need to drain a long one if he’s to save par. A good birdie chance for Bryson, though, who clips his second pin high to eight feet.
Justin Rose holes his third monster putt in a row! He trundles in a 35-footer on 8, and when you’re hot, you’re hot! He’s -3. Viktor Hovland meanwhile stops the rot with an up and down from a bunker at 6. Par. That would have been a third consecutive bogey otherwise. He remains at -3.
Michael Block, club-pro hero, looks in a spot of bother as he follows up a double-bogey at the 6th by hacking his way up the 7th. But he curls in a big left-to-right par saver, and the gallery explodes in delight. He points and smiles at a supporter in the crowd. He’s got plenty of them. They’ve got his back. Tommy Fleetwood is a popular man as well, and he soaks up some love on 18 as he pars to seal a fine round of 68. He’s +1 and positioned well for a nothing-to-lose shy at the title tomorrow. Justin Thomas won from seven behind last year, after all.
-5: Conners (5)
-4: Koepka (6)
-3: Hovland (5), Suh (5), Scheffler (5)
-2: Rose (7), DeChambeau (6)
E: Lowry (10), Lee (9), Svensson (9), Pendrith (7)
+1: Fleetwood (F), Perez (16), Kitayama (15), Cole (13), McIlroy (10)
Corey Conners plays the par-three 5th conservatively, finding the safe heart of the green, a good distance from the flag. He rolls his long birdie putt six feet past, but holds his nerve to knock in the one coming back. He remains in the lead at -5. Meanwhile on 6, DeChambeau splashes out from the bunker to six feet, but leaves the bogey putt high on the right and will crash back to -2. Two safe putts for Brooks, though, and he remains at -4.
Bryson DeChambeau drops, then sends his third shot into the bunker to the right of the green. Brooks Koepka meanwhile is on in regulation. Miles from the pin, but he’ll take that on a hole that’s seen 40 double-bogeys already this week. Meanwhile up on 7, Justin Rose rattles in another long putt, this time for birdie, and he rises to -2. If he can just get his mojo working from the tee, the 2013 US Open champ could be onto something here!
Bryson sends his tee shot into the drink down the right of 6. A three-putt bogey for Viktor Hovland at 5. Meanwhile up on 9, McIlroy makes it three bogeys in four holes, failing to get up and down from the thick stuff at the side of the green. He’s +1 and all that early momentum has been spirited away.
-5: Conners (4)
-4: DeChambeau (5), Koepka (5)
-3: Hovland (5), Suh (5), Scheffler (4)
-1: Svensson (8), Rose (6)
Justin Rose has scrambled an above-average number of pars this week, on account of driving like a comedian. But none better than this. He flays his tee shot at the treacherous 6th miles wide left, and can only advance his second further up the rough. But from 100 yards he muscles his third onto the green, then drains the 30-footer he leaves himself. He remains at -1, and if he ends up winning this PGA, having hit a risibly low number of fairways, it’ll be one of the most astonishing sporting stories in a wee while. Come on Justin, make it so!
It’s back-to-back birdies for Brooks Koepka! He sends his tee shot at the par-three 5th to 12 feet, and pours in the putt. He’s now one off the lead … which is now solely held by Corey Conners, because Viktor Hovland has hacked his way up the 4th, ending up with bogey. He didn’t bother a single blade of grass on the fairway. Some going on a 622-yard hole. Par for DeChambeau at 5, incidentally, no mean feat since he flied the green with his tee shot. A delicate lob wedge out of the rough saved his skin.
-5: Conners (3)
-4: Koepka (5), DeChambeau (5), Hovland (4)
-3: Suh (4), Scheffler (3)
-1: Svensson (7), Rose (5), Pendrith (5)
Rory McIlroy can’t get up and down from a greenside bunker at 8. He misses an eight-footer for par on the high side. The cost of finding heavy rough from the tee, and he’s given both of his early birdies back to the field. He’s level par again. The one consolation: he’s made his two bogeys along the hardest stretch of the course. If you’ve got to do it somewhere, do it there. We’re all about positive thinking round here.
Unlike his playing partner, Brooks Koepka plays the long par-five 4th in the fuss-free fashion. Two big cracks down the middle, then a wedge from 100 yards to eight feet. In goes the straight putt, and that’s the 2018 and 2019 champion’s first birdie of the day. It’s the sort of day you need to grind it out; is there a better grinder in world golf thank Koepka? He’s -3.
It’s all unravelling quickly for poor Callum Tarren. He sends his tee shot at 4 out of bounds down the right, then his reload into deep rough on the other side. He ends up with a second consecutive double bogey, and crashes down the standings to +2. But this is easy to do. In the match behind, Bryson DeChambeau sends his drive into the cabbage down the left, and can’t escape from it with his second. He ends up wedging four into the green from 75 yards … but unlike Tarren, pulls a rabbit out of a hat, screwing it dead to kick-in distance. He’ll tidy up for an unlikely par that’ll keep him one off the lead at -5.
The 2008 champion Padraig Harrington signs for a third-round 75. His last shot raises the roof, a bunker shot sent trundling across the green, clattering into the flagstick, and then the cup. He’s +8.
The rain is now forecast to ease off in about an hour, perhaps stopping altogether by 6pm to 7pm local time. That may give the last few groups some respite on the closing holes, and allow them to really attack the softened course. A small margin that might make all the difference.
Rory McIlroy makes his six footer to limit the damage at 6 to bogey. A dropped shot, though it’s statistically the hardest hole of the week, so he’s giving up less than one stroke to the field. Sort of. That’s the way to think about it anyway. Much better news for his partner Shane Lowry, who rolls a 50-foot monster up the green and into the cup for only the fourth birdie of the day on this hellish hole! But Scottie Scheffler can’t make his par saver on 2, and it’s a polar opposite to yesterday’s birdie-birdie start.
-5: Hovland (2), Conners (2)
-4: DeChambeau (3)
-3: Suh (3), Scheffler (2)
-2: Svensson (5), Koepka (3)
-1: Lowry (6), McIlroy (6), Rose (3), Pendrith (3)
Scheffler’s uncertain start continues as he pulls his approach at 2 towards the bunker on the left-hand side of the green. He smacks it out, but gets too much sand and leaves his ball 12 feet short. Work to do to save par. Problems too for McIlroy on 6, as he sends his second onto a steep bank to the right of the green. He gets down on one knee to wedge, but duffs it, and doesn’t get his second effort particularly close either. Work to do to limit the damage to bogey. But up on 3, DeChambeau rakes a 35-foot birdie putt in to rise to -4.
Bryson DeChambeau nearly drains a 25-footer for birdie on 2, but has to settle for par. Brooks Koepka leaves his 30-foot effort four feet short but tidies up for his par too. Back on 1, Corey Conners, who was only able to hack his second up towards the hole, leaves a weak chip eight feet short, but rams in the par saver. That’s a big putt to make, and he retains a share of the lead with Viktor Hovland … but not Scottie Scheffler, who overhits his first putt and horseshoes his second from three feet. Meanwhile a double bogey for Callum Tarren on the par-three 3rd, as he pulls his tee shot, then flies the green with his chip. The 32-year-old from Darlo tumbles back to level par.
-5: Hovland (2), Conners (1)
-4: Scheffler (1)
-3: DeChambeau (2)
-2: McIlroy (5), Svensson (5), Koepka (2), Suh (1)
Another par three, another birdie for Rory McIlroy! It’s another delightful iron, whip-cracked to five feet from 184 yards. He tickles in the putt and moves closer to the top. He’s being tracked up the leaderboard by Adam Svensson: the 29-year-old Canadian, on championship debut, birdies 3 and 4. But it’s an opening bogey for Justin Suh.
-5: Hovland (1), Scheffler, Conners
-3: DeChambeau (1)
-2: McIlroy (5), Svensson (4), Tarren (2), Koepka (1), Suh (1)
The final match takes to the course. Scottie Scheffler enjoys a raucous ovation, then sends his opening drive into the first cut down the left of the fairway. Corey Conners follows, but sends his tee shot into the thick stuff further left. Conners gets a very decent reception as well, Canada only being up the road there.
Koepka can only punch his second on 1 short of the green. But he bumps a delicate chip up to kick-in distance and salvages his par. A four for DeChambeau as well. Some subdued applause but no booing. Koepka remains at -2, DeChambeau -3.
Has that opening bogey given 46-year-old club pro Michael Block the jitters? No it has not! He arrows his second into the heart of 2, then rolls a 16-footer straight into the cup. A bounce-back birdie that brings him back to level par! But it’s a bogey for his playing partner Justin Rose, who is punished for yet another errant drive. He’s been spraying it around like a wild animal all week, somehow getting away with it. But not here. Rose slips back to level par.
Loud booing greets Bryson and Brooks
Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka take to the 1st tee. DeChambeau’s name is announced, and he’s booed, loudly and aggressively, for some time, before he takes his tee shot. That’s some clear and unequivocal abuse, presumably a result of the pair’s defection to the LIV tour. Bryson bashes his drive down the track. Then Koepka is called to the tee, and his name is drowned out by booing as well. “That’s not good, guys,” mutters a sole voice of reason. Koepka waits for the hubbub to subside, then sends his drive into the rough down the right. Both players look a bit shocked at the level of grief they’re copping. It’ll be interesting to see how they react to that, and whether it’ll affect their game.
Birdie for Rory McIlroy at the 206-yard par-three 3rd. Richly deserved after going straight for a pin tucked front left behind a bunker, and landing his ball five feet away. He moves into red figures for the first time this week. Now that’s moving.
-5: Scheffler, Conners, Hovland
-3: Suh, DeChambeau
-2: Koepka, Tarren
-1: McIlroy (3), Rose (1), Pendrith
E: Lowry (3), Svensson (2), Mitchell (1)
Par at the last for Jon Rahm. The world number one followed up his aforementioned birdie at 13 with two more, at 14 and 17, and comes home in 33. That’s a fine effort after going out in 39, and he signs for a 72. He’s +6, and while he won’t be winning the PGA this year, he walks off looking fairly pleased with life. Thinking about his green jacket, perhaps, or the restorative hot shower he’s about to have.
There’s no route to the green for Block, so he lays up short. Then his chip comes up short. He can’t quite make the 15-footer he leaves himself, and it’s a bogey for the last member of the PGA Team of 20 standing. He’s +1. Block’s going round with Justin Rose, who nearly drains a 30-footer for birdie, but settles for an opening par to remain at -1.
A two-putt par for Rory at 2 and the two-time champion remains at level par. Meanwhile back on 1, Michael Block, the 46-year-old club pro from California, takes to the tee and lashes a nervous one wide left into Shane Lowry Country. Speaking of the Golden State, Phil Mickelson’s precipitation patter (7.02pm) has caused Tom Wahl to raise a droplet-strewn eyebrow: “Phil grew up in San Diego so he must have had 10 minutes of rain at the most and in 79 degree weather. Not quite the same as the Midwest.”
Glory's last shot: lost
While we wait for the third round to start heating up, our man at Oak Hill, Ewan Murray, has something he wants to say. Here’s his take on the effect a rejigged calendar has had on golf’s fourth major.
Tyrrell Hatton is in with a 69 to go alongside yesterday’s excellent 68. How the 31-year-old from High Wycombe must be ruing his front nine on Thursday afternoon: five bogeys and a double en route to 42 strokes, +7 in a flash. He’s now +4 overall; had he not started cold, he’d be right in the mix. But golf is a game of what-ifs, and that brings us to Thomas Pieters. The Belgian flew out of the traps this morning with four birdies in his first five holes, but he couldn’t keep it going. Four subsequent bogeys meant he ended the day with a level-par round of 70, a number that belies the story. He’s +5 overall.
Lefty (+10) drifts away in nostalgic reverie after his drenched 75. “I love this weather,” he tells Sky Sports. “It’s so fun! When I was a kid in this weather nobody would be at the course and I’d go out and hit balls under this palm tree. So this reminds me of those moments. I didn’t score great but I had a lot of fun. The course is playing very fair. I had a lot of fun battling and challenging myself on such a great course. This first 100 cuts [his career total made in majors] has been interesting, I think the second hundred is going to be the most interesting part! I didn’t know about that, and it’s a lot of golf, a lot of years. I didn’t know it had been that many. It shows my age. It also shows a lot of great experiences I’ve had and I’m very appreciative of that.”
Stephan Jaeger becomes another player to lose his early momentum. Those birdies at 1 and 4 have been cancelled out by back-to-back bogeys at 6 and 7. The Korn Ferry Tour regular drops back into the pack at +2.
Lowry gets up and down from the bunker at 1, as you always knew he would. McIlroy’s chip from the side isn’t the best, his blade getting caught up in the thick rough. He leaves himself knee-knockingly short, but rams home the putt and both Irishmen walk off with their pars. They remain at level par for the tournament.
Lowry has a route to the green from his position wide left of the 1st fairway. But he can only find the bunker at the front right. Rory, from the middle of the fairway, pushes his second into the rough to the right of the green. Pin high, but he’s not left with too much green to work with. Lowry is probably in the better position now.
Phil Mickelson, having survived the cut at the PGA for the 27th time, a record he now shares with Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd, smiles broadly when shaking hands on a third round of 75. He’s +10. Meanwhile Kazuki Higa, who led on Thursday for a while, after flying out of the blocks with four birdies in his first five holes, is back in the hutch with a 77. He’s +12, and the heady heights of -4 seem a lot further back in the rear-view mirror than Thursday morning.
Rory McIlroy takes to the 1st tee. A warm ovation on a distinctly cool day. The 2012 and 2014 champion has been wild with the driver this week, so he’s glad to find the fairway, albeit with the help of a slightly fortunate kick off a grassy knoll to its left. He’s going round today in an all-Ireland pairing with the 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry, who hooks into the trees down the left. They both start the day at level par for the tournament, well within striking distance of the leaders.
Tommy Fleetwood’s early momentum has been checked by bogey at 7. He drops back to +2 for the tournament. Collin Morikawa’s bogey at 5 takes him back to +1. Scoring isn’t getting any easier. Let’s hope the rain does indeed ease off in a couple of hours as forecast.
A couple of big names (and good mates) already back in the warm sanctuary of the clubhouse. Justin Thomas won’t be keeping hold of the Wanamaker Trophy: the defending champion shot 75 today and is well down the leaderboard at +10 overall. His buddy Jordan Spieth had a better day, shooting 71, but at +6 overall won’t be completing his career slam this year. Spieth speaks to Sky Sports: “We were prepared, we knew it was coming … it’s when you’re really leaning on your caddy … you have to keep your driver face dry … to play the last seven holes two under, I’m really pleased … it was really nice to squeeze out a couple under coming in, just to get a little more sleep tomorrow and maybe make a backdoor run at a top ten, or whatever it can be.”
To further illustrate how difficult play has been this morning … the world number one and new Masters champion Jon Rahm, the joint pre-tournament favourite alongside Scottie Scheffler, went out in 39 strokes. He carded six bogeys in his first ten holes. But he’s birdied the two par-fives, 4 and now 13, and walks off the 13th green with a huge smile on his face, sharing a joke with his caddy. A big difference from yesterday afternoon, which at one point saw him peeling off his glove in a manner which suggested he was about to wade into the gallery and throw hands indiscriminately. He’s clearly at peace now, having let this tournament go, and it’s so nice to see him so happy. He’s +8.
Having said that, all is not lost for those further down the leaderboard. The course will be very soft tomorrow after the hammering it’s taken today, so low Sunday scoring will be more likely than not. Yay, etc. Anyway, Tommy Fleetwood has been joined on that list of players -2 for their round today by Stephan Jaeger. The 33-year-old German is making his PGA Championship debut and sits at level par for the tournament, alongside the 2020 champion Collin Morikawa, who birdied 1. The first tentative moves of this here Moving Day!
-5: Scheffler, Conners, Hovland
-3: Suh, DeChambeau
-2: Koepka, Tarren
-1: Pendrith, Rose
E: Jaeger (4), Morikawa (4), Block, Straka, Mitchell, Lee, Svensson, McIlroy, Lowry, Bradley, NeSmith
In theory, while the course is playing longer in these dreich conditions, it should be easier to attack pins on more receptive greens. Only problem is, the rain has been so hard and relentless, it’s been a complete nightmare for the players, as they juggle umbrellas, wet gloves, soaked hats and flappy waterproofs. Theory is the first thing to go out of the window when it’s coming down in stair rods. So there’s not been much moving so far on Moving Day. To illustrate: right now, there’s only one player today at -2 or better for his round. That’s Tommy Fleetwood, and he’s had to rake in a 70-footer on 6 to achieve that. By way of contrast, 32 players are at least +2 or worse. However, when the rain stops, perhaps some attacking advantage will kick in for the final few pairings. Not the greatest news for the chasing pack, but there it is.
The weather. It’s been bucketing down in Rochester from the get-go. The course is playing long and soft as a result. Men with rollers mooch up and down the fairway to assist drainage, but there doesn’t seem to be any danger of pooling on the greens, the one thing that would stop play. That’s been put down to the excellence of the course redesign in tandem with a state-of-the-art computerised drainage system. By all accounts it can shift 15 inches of rain in a single hour, which is some going. The rain is expected to stop, or at least ease off, sometime around 3pm to 4pm local time (8pm to 9pm BST). Clear skies tomorrow. Elsewhere …
Preamble
Welcome to Moving Day at the 105th PGA Championship! After 36 holes, the top of the leaderboard looked like this …
-5: Scheffler, Conners, Hovland
-3: Suh, DeChambeau
-2: Koepka, Tarren
-1: Pendrith, Rose
E: Block, Straka, Mitchell, Lee, Svensson, McIlroy, Lowry, Bradley, NeSmith
… while these (selected) big names missed the cut …
Matt Fitzpatrick, Billy Horschel, Rickie Fowler, Kim Si-woo, Brian Harman, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Alex Noren, Matt Kuchar, Joaquin Niemann, Gary Woodland, Tom Kim, Jason Day, Jimmy Walker, Emiliano Grillo, Cam Young, Seamus Power, YE Yang, Danny Willett, Bob MacIntyre, Im Sung-jae, Sam Burns and Webb Simpson
… and that left us with a tee sheet that looked like this (all times BST). It’s on!
1.10pm: Mark Hubbard, Rikuya Hoshino
1.20pm: Yannik Paul, Denny McCarthy
1.30pm: Jordan Spieth, Lee Hodges
1.40pm: Zach Johnson, Justin Thomas
1.50pm: Patrick Rodgers, Kazuki Higa
2pm: Alex Smalley, Thomas Detry
2.10pm: Tyrrell Hatton, Phil Mickelson
2.20pm: Tony Finau, Chris Kirk
2.30pm: Taylor Montgomery, Thomas Pieters
2.40pm: Adrain Meronk, Dean Burmester
3pm: Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm
3.10pm: Thriston Lawerence, Tom Hoge
3.20pm: Xander Schauffele, Ben Taylor
3.30pm: Chez Reavie, Lucas Herbert
3.40pm: Taylor Moore, Pablo Larrazabal
3.50pm: Sam Stevens, Padraig Harrington
4pm: Joel Dahmen, Nicolai Hojgaard
4.10pm: Adam Hadwin, Matt Wallace
4.20pm: Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa
4.30pm: Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood
4.40pm: Hayden Buckley, Sihwan Kim
5pm: Sahith Theegala, JT Poston
5.10pm: Stephan Jaeger, Victor Perez
5.20pm: Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott
5.30pm: Beau Hossler, Kurt Kitayama
5.40pm: KH Lee, Harold Varner III
5.50pm: Eric Cole, Ryan Fox
6pm: Patrick Cantlay, Mito Pereira
6.10pm: Cam Davis, Dustin Johnson
6.20pm: Keegan Bradley, Matt NeSmith
6.40pm: Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry
6.50pm: Min Woo Lee, Adam Svensson
7pm: Sepp Straka, Keith Mitchell
7.10pm: Justin Rose, Michael Block
7.20pm: Callum Tarren, Taylor Pendrith
7.30pm: Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka
7.40pm: Viktor Hovland, Justin Suh
7.50pm: Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners
