US PGA Championship 2023: third round – live | US PGA
Key events
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
Summarize this content to 100 words Key eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureBryson 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 BrooksBryson 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), PendrithE: 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: lostWhile 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…
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2023/may/20/us-pga-championship-2023-third-round-live US PGA Championship 2023: third round – live | US PGA