Well, that was quite the finish. And it’s only Saturday! I wonder what the Green Mile has in store for us tomorrow? A lot of players who looked out of it suddenly in with a shout again. You wouldn’t miss it for the world, would you? Good, good. See you here tomorrow! Nighty night!
-7: Kisner
-6: Stroud, Matsuyama
-5: Thomas, Oosthuizen
-3: Murray
-2: DeLaet, Woodland, Reed, Brown, Molinari
-1: Reavie, Kang, Fox, Fowler
E: Casey, Day
Updated
Day’s putt hooks out on the right, and that’s a quadruple bogey eight. He grins ironically for a second, but his face soon falls as the enormity of that ludicrous decision back up the hole washes over him. What a way to play yourself out of a major championship. That’s a 77, and he crashes all the way down the leader board to level par. Kisner meanwhile tidies up for bogey, and that’s a 72. He’s -7, and it really is all to play for tomorrow.
Kisner goes very well under the circumstances to cosy his long par putt to four feet. He’ll still have a shaky one for bogey, but from where he was, that’s a fine result. Then Matsuyama - remember him? - has a go at his birdie putt. It’s a snaky left-to-right-to-left effort. He doesn’t quite hit it, but par will suffice. A 73: he’s -6, and despite playing pretty poorly today, is right in the mix for Sunday.
Day’s lie is appalling, and he can only hack out onto the fairway. He’s there in five. This is preposterous. A simple chip back out onto the fairway would have sufficed. He putts up onto the green. His head’s gone. That’s short by 15 feet. Meanwhile out on the left, Kisner can only flop into the heart of the green; he can’t go for the pin, because that would take the creek into play. He’ll have a 30-footer to save his par. This is a meltdown in stereo! And it’s only Saturday! Goodness knows what havoc the Green Mile will wreak when the pressure’s really on tomorrow!
Day’s ball is in the middle of a clump of bushes to the right of 18. That last shot was the height of stupidity, possibly the daftest decision ever made in the entire history of golf, also including ones made by amateurs with more tinnies packed into their bags than clubs. What was the point? The chances of making par with a massive draw round the trees was still slim. He was right behind the tree trunk! Look at what Louis Oosthuizen did moments before. He’s now back in the clubhouse with his feet up, having made par. Eventually, after an ersatz tribute to Jordan Spieth at 18, he finds a spot to drop, and hacks over the hedges into the rough down the right. He’s played four, and there’s still over 60 yards to go from a tight lie.
Day’s ball has rested on some straw at the bottom of a pine trunk. He should chip out, Oosthuizen style, and try to salvage his par like the South African did. But he’s deciding to go for a big draw down the right. This seems a high-tariff gamble. And he smashes his ball straight into a row of shrubs further down that side of the hole. That’s an incredibly stupid decision, and he’ll be paying a heavy price by the looks of it. Meanwhile more drama on the fairway, as Kisner hooks one into the creek, though his ball bounces out off a rock and into the cabbage to the left of the water! Matsuyama watches in wonder, then sends a gorgeous second straight at the flag. He’ll have a 12-footer for a closing birdie.
Stroud sends his long birdie putt at 18 ten feet past the hole. And the one coming back shaves the left lip. He finishes bogey-bogey, and that’s a 71. He’s -6, exactly where he started his round. It’s been a long day: remember he had to get up early to complete his second round. No wonder he faded at the end. Oosthuizen meanwhile tidies up for his par. A 71, and he stays at -5, right in this championship, despite carrying that injured arm. And Francesco Molinari signs for a 74, down to -2 but not half bad after that dismal double-bogey-bogey-bogey start. Back on the tee, Matsuyama finds a rare fairway with his drive. Kisner is accurate as ever. And then Day - “Aw no! A-ha!” - sends a hysterical slice deep into the woods down the right of the hole.
Oosthuizen crashes a wild drive into the trees down the right of 18, and is forced to take his medicine, chipping out sideways. But he gives himself a great chance to save his par by knocking his third to four feet. Stroud can only find the front of the green in two; he’ll have a long two putts to save his par.
Back on 17, Matsuyama splashes delicately to a couple of feet, and that’s saved his par. Kisner goes close with his birdie effort, but par will do. Day however severely underhits his putt up from the swale, and leaves himself a curly 15-footer. It’s not going in, and the bonus shot he picked up at 16 is immediately shed. He’s -4, but not out of this by any means.
Up on 18, Rickie Fowler three putts. That means he’s traversed the Green Mile in 5-5-5. Back in 39, a 73, and he’s -1. Not this year, Rickie. Par for Justin Thomas: a 69, and he’s -5, in very good nick ahead of Sunday. Paul Casey however doubles: that’s a 5-4-6 return along the Green Mile, and he crashes down to level par.
Having just doubled 16, Kevin Kisner shows Titleists of steel to aim straight for the flag at the water-guarded 17th. His ball only just makes it onto the dancefloor, but it bounds up and that’ll leave a fairly straight uphill 15-footer for birdie! Hideki Matsuyama tries the same thing but his ball snags in the bunker at the front. Jason Day’s effort topples down the swale to the right.
Louis Oosthuizen sends his tee shot at 17 pin high, then curls in the 20-foot right-to-lefter for birdie! He’s -5! But Chris Stroud - for a few milliseconds the co-leader - races a long birdie putt ten feet past, and can’t make the one coming back. This is a fascinating leader board, partly because nobody’s made a decisive burst. Not so much Moving Day as Gently Oscillating Day.
-8: Kisner (16)
-7: Stroud (17)
-6: Matsuyama (16)
-5: Thomas (17), Oosthuizen (17), Day (16)
-3: Murray (F)
Kisner drops from the water hazard at 16, and his chip into the green - his fourth shot - stops well short of the hole. He’ll have a 25-footer for bogey. He hits a firm left-to-right slider, which looks like dropping but horseshoes out. Double bogey, and he’s back to -8. Matsuyama and Day, both spooked by the fate of Kisner’s second, send theirs into the right-hand portion of the green, well away from the flag. Matsuyama lags his 40-footer to four feet. Par: he’s -6. Day however whistles his straight into the cup from similar distance, and that’s his third birdie on the bounce! He’s -5, and having looked down and out, has hauled himself right back into this championship!
Fowler sends his shot from the drop zone at 17 to 12 feet, and very nearly guides in the bogey putt. But there’s a huge left-to-right break, and it stays a dimple’s width high. A double, and he drops back to -2. Up on 18, Grayson Murray finishes with a bogey. He signs for a 69, and at -3 is in very good nick for the Sunday of his very first PGA!
Oosthuizen drops a stroke at 16, sending a hot birdie putt from the fringe at the back of the green 12 feet past the hole. He can’t make the return, and he’s -4. Stroud very nearly rattles a 50-footer in for birdie, but there’s too much pace on the ball and it horseshoes out. No worries: that’s par, and he stays a couple off Kisner’s lead at -8. And he could have a share soon, because back down the hole, Kisner finds the rough down the left, then hooks his second into the drink! Welcome to the Green Mile, Kevin.
This leaderboard has stretched out a wee bit now. And Rickie Fowler will be falling off it soon, because he’s just dumped his tee shot at 17 into the water. The drained look on his face suggests he knows his chances of breaking that major duck in 2017 are now as good as gone.
-10: Kisner (15)
-8: Stroud (15)
-6: Matsuyama (15)
-5: Oosthuizen (15), Thomas (16)
-4: Murray (17), Fowler (16), Day (15)
Matsuyama chooses to putt up from the swale at the front of 15. He leaves himself six feet short. And he pulls the birdie putt, remaining at -6. Kisner sees a 20-foot eagle putt wide right; Day’s curly effort slides by from 12 feet. They’re -10 and -4 respectively. Up on 16, Rickie Fowler leaves himself a long two putts for par. The first one stops six feet short, and he sends his second away to the right. It was never going in. He’s back to -4 and looks very disappointed. He’s chasing that elusive major, and knows there’s no room for error. Par for Thomas: he’s -5. But bogey for Casey, and he slips back to -3.
Kisner and Day both find the par-five 15th with a pair of big bashes, but Matsuyama can only find the depression front right of the green. He really is out of sorts today. Grayson Murray, son of nearby Raleigh, sends his tee shot at 17 over the flag to 12 feet, then curls in the birdie putt. He’s -4.
Louis Oosthuizen finds the heart of the green at 15 with two big booms, and very nearly slides the eagle putt in from 30 feet. Just a birdie, and he’s happy enough to move to -5. Chris Stroud can’t reach in two, but no matter: he sends a gentle third to six feet. However he misses the short birdie putt and stays at -8. Meanwhile up on 18, Graham DeLaet finishes with par. He signs for a brilliant 68, having played the last six holes birdie-eagle-eagle-birdie-par-par. He’s turned the Green Mile into a verdant stretch of the legs. He’s -2.
Kisner’s long putt sails off to the left. He’s got a five-footer for birdie. In it goes. He’s -9. Matsuyama never gives his 15-foot birdie effort a chance. He’s -6. But Day guides his right-to-left slider in from similar distance for a ludicrous birdie three! He’s -3. Meanwhile up on 15, Fowler gets up and down from the back to scramble his par after sending a hot chip through the green. He remains at -5. Casey bangs out of a bunker to four feet, and converts for a birdie that takes him to -4. And it’s a birdie for Thomas, too: he’s -5. This is suddenly cooking!
-9: Kisner (14)
-8: Stroud (14)
-6: Matsuyama (14)
-5: Fowler (15), Thomas (15)
-4: Casey (15), Oosthuizen (14)
Well, he’s sort of dry. He has to take his right shoe and sock off, planting one foot in the lake so he can play his shot! He flops - splashes would be the wrong word - into the heart of the green. It’s Matsuyama who splashes, from the sand, albeit not particularly close. These lads are making hard work of this third round.
Sung Kang has been there or thereabouts in many a PGA Tour event this year. He’s just strung together quite a run - birdies at 9, 10, 14 and 15 - and this could be another! He’s -3, alongside the aforementioned Grayson Murray and Paul Casey, who has been hovering around quietly, not doing much ... but not going away either. Meanwhile some wild scenes on the driveable par-four 14th. The relatively short-hitting Kisner manages to dispatch his ball onto the dancefloor, though he’ll have a long putt for eagle. Matsuyama pulls his drive towards the water, and gets a hugely fortunate kick right into the bunker guarding the green. And Day is equally fortunate: he takes an iron for safety, then sends it straight towards the drink! But somehow the gods are with him, and it snags on the bank. He’s in the hazard, so he won’t be able to ground his club, but he’s dry!
Matsuyama’s tee shot at the par-three 13th hits the green but bounds off down the swale to the right. He chips up to 12 feet. Day sends his tee shot into the oomska over on the left; his wedge only goes to 12 feet too. Both with work to do. Kisner sent his iron over the flag, though, and has a 15-footer coming back for birdie. He tickles a marvellous effort down the treacherous green, but it kinks off to the left at the last turn. Par will do, though. By contrast his partners end up with bogey. Stroud meanwhile chips close with his second at the short par-four 14th, and he’s tied for the lead!
-8: Stroud (14), Kisner (13)
-6: Matsuyama (13)
-5: Fowler (14)
-4: Oosthuizen (14), Thomas (14)
Eagle for local boy Grayson Murray at 15, to go with the birdie he picked up at 13. He’s -3, and the 23-year-old from nearby Raleigh is not out of this by any means! Rory McIlroy has signed for a two-over 73 today, incidentally: he’s +4 overall.
It’s moving day all right, but the leaders all went backwards there. Up on 13, Stroud can only find the fringe at the front with his tee shot, and fluffs his putt. But the saver goes in, and he remains at -7. Oosthuizen sends his tee shot pin high, but can’t make the birdie effort. He stays at -4. But on 14, Fowler nearly drives the green, chips to a couple of feet, and taps in for another birdie! He’s suddenly only three off the lead, one of the few in a positive frame of mind today!
-8: Kisner (12)
-7: Matsuyama (12), Stroud (13)
-5: Fowler (14)
-4: Oosthuizen (13), Thomas (13)
-3: Woodland (15), Casey (14), Day (12)
Trouble for Kisner, Day and Matsuyama down 12. Kisner drives into rough down the right and can only find the front of the green. He’s left with a monster two putt for par, and leaves the first ten feet short. His par putt stays on the edge, and that’s his first bogey of the day. He’s -8. That’s his first bogey in 24 holes. Day hacks his way down the left, twice hitting from behind trees, and is eventually chipping four into the green. He doesn’t go particularly close, and that’s a double. He’s -3. Matsuyama sends his second wide left into cabbage, and fluffs the chip. He blades his second effort to four feet, and that’s a bogey. He’s -7.
Graham DeLaet’s round is now officially getting ridiculous. He’s just raked a 35-footer into the cup at 16 for birdie, and that’s 2-2-3-3 over the last four holes, six shots under par! He’s -2 now. When you’re hot, you’re hot.
Rickie Fowler sends his tee shot at 13 short and right, and fails to get up and down. He hands back that birdie straight away. Bogey for Louis Oosthuizen at 12, meanwhile, the result of his approach toppling off the green to the right, then sailing down a swale.
-9: Kisner (11)
-8: Matsuyama (11)
-7: Stroud (12)
-5: Day (11)
-4: Fowler (13), Oosthuizen (12), Thomas (13)
On 12, Thomas races a long 60-foot birdie putt 12 feet past the hole. But he brilliantly makes the one coming back to save his par and stay at -4. He’s one behind his playing partner Rickie Fowler, though, who birdies to move to -5. Trouble for Chris Stroud coming behind: he hooks his drive into the pines down the left, and can only smash his second under branches and into thick grass front left of the green. He chips up to 15 feet, but can’t make the fairly straight par putt. He’s back to -7. And birdie for Scott Brown on 14, negating a bogey at 12: he’s -3.
Matsuyama doesn’t take particular advantage of that rare accurate drive, in so much as he doesn’t go close with his second. He nearly holes the 25-footer he leaves himself for birdie, but that’s just a par. He stays at -8. Everything was dropping yesterday. Kisner’s approach is a good club short, and he zips his long putt up the green six feet past. But in goes the par saver coming back, and his card remains blemish free. He’s -9. Par too for Day; he’s -5.
DA Points nearly slam dunks his tee shot straight into the cup at 13. He’s just gone double bogey, bogey, so that birdie will bring him back to +1. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back eagles for Graham DeLaet! This time on the par-five 15th, and he’s -1! He’s picked up five shots in the last three holes!
BREAKING NEWS: Hideki Matsuyama finds the fairway with a tee shot. And this is a big boom, splitting the tight 11th in half. That’s the drive of the day. Not bad for a player who has been erratic from the from the get-go in this third round. Day finds the bunker down the left, while Kisner finds the fairway as usual. Meanwhile birdie for Gary Woodland at 14, and he’s suddenly in the mix at -3.
Kisner bundles his chip to 18 inches, very nearly making an outrageous birdie. But he’ll settle for par. He’s -9. Matsuyama’s up next with a putt from 25 feet, and tickles a slow snaking effort to tap-in distance. He’s -8. And finally Day, who knocked his third to five feet. It’s a fairly straight one ... and for the third time today, he misses a short one. To be fair, this one is pretty unfortunate: it looks like dropping on the left, skirts round the back, looks like dropping on the right, then somehow pops back up and sits on the lip at the front. He stays at -5 too. Three pars. There really is next to nothing going on. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the amazing non-moving Moving Day!
Kisner’s second at the par-five 10th is a wild hoick into the punters down the left. His chip towards the green isn’t up to much. Matsuyama’s second flies off in the other direction, and his bump up onto the dancefloor isn’t all that either. Day meanwhile drives near a tree and is forced to punch a low scuttler under branches towards the general direction of the green. All three men in this final group making a meal of a hole that’s given up a lot of birdies.
Louis Oosthuizen passes up a good chance for birdie on 10, overcooking a simple four footer, the ball whistling past the hole on the high side. He stays at -5. It’s not been his day at all, but he’s still only four off the lead.
-9: Kisner (9)
-8: Stroud (9), Matsuyama (9)
-5: Oosthuizen (10), Day (9)
-4: Thomas (10), Fowler (10)
Graham DeLaet nearly makes a hole-in-one albatross on the par-four 14th! He lands his tee shot on the green, the ball takes three bounces, rolls towards the hole, and skips over the top of the cup! It stops eight feet behind the hole. He makes his eagle, which is only fair. That comes off the back of birdie at 13, and he’s +1.
Matsuyama lobs over the sand and lands his ball an inch on the green. It runs 15 feet past, but that’s a decent effort from where he was. And in goes the par saver! That’s a magnificent, borderline ridiculous par. He stays at -8. He’s out in 35. Day, feet in the bunker, ball out, grips down the shaft and clips onto the green, but not particularly closely. He can’t make the putt, and drops back to -5. Kisner’s birdie putt, which looks straight, kinks off to the left at the death. He remains at -9. He’s out in 34, and along with Scott Brown and James Hahn, one of only three bogey-free players out there today. Meanwhile Fowler is nearly on the 10th green in two, but chips clumsily past the hole and can’t make the ten-footer coming back for his birdie. He stays at -4. Justin Thomas joins him after sending his chip to a couple of feet and cleaning up..
Coming behind, Hideki Matsuyama sends his tee shot at 9 deep into the pines lining the left of the hole. He sends a draw greenwards from the pine straw, but can only find the cabbage to the left of the green. He’s also shortsided, with a bunker in the way. It’ll be some up and down to save par from there. Kevin Kisner finds the green quietly in regulation: pin high, 15 feet from the flag. Jason Day is meanwhile forced to fire a low iron underneath some hanging branches, and watches in horror as the ball snags by a greenside bunker, leaving him no stance. Kisner demonstrating the benefit of finding the fairway with a straight, short drive, as opposed to booming it long and towards the woods.
Back on the 9th green, Chris Stroud has found the bunker guarding the front-left. He’s not got a lot of grass to play with, and the lip of the trap is high. But he splashes out gorgeously, and he’ll save his par to remain at -8. Par also for Louis Oosthuizen, but even more spectacularly: after physically bothering some poor punter watching from the left of the hole with a wild second, he eventually leaves himself with a 60-foot par putt ... and in it goes! He stays at -5. He’s injured and not in form today, but the 2010 Open champion is clinging on.
Jon Rahm was five under for his round after 14 holes. He ends with a level-par 71 after finishing 6-6-3-6: bogey, double, par, double. He’s +3, and wanders off holding the back of his neck, one of those classic panic-attack coping mechanisms. He’s young, he’ll be back to post a low one. Maybe tomorrow. Meanwhile another birdie for Scott Brown, this time on 10, and he rises to -3.
News of Rory McIlroy. He reached the turn in one-over 36, then immediately dropped a couple more strokes with bogeys at 10 and 11. He’s just picked one back up at 13, but he’s adrift at +4, his status as pre-tournament favourite hanging sadly round his neck right now. Back on 8, Matsuyama bundles a chip up to the hole, saving his par; Day nearly curls a putt on from the fringe; and Kisner pulls an awful birdie effort wide left. Pars all round, and it’s as you were.
Matsuyama lifts a high approach into 8. It lands 12 feet from the flag, but bites and spins back in determined fashion, toppling off the front of the green and back down the fairway. Day chips greenwards from tangled rough down the left, and doesn’t get enough purchase on the ball. It only just reaches the fringe. The leader Kisner does the best job, sending his second bouncing past the hole and nestling on the fringe at the back, within realistic birdie range.
Glad we posted that leaderboard when we could. Because Chris Stroud has just birdied the short par-four 8th to move a shot behind the leader at -8. His playing partner Louis Oosthuizen very nearly made an outrageous birdie, after driving into the trees down the right, getting a free drop for some unspecified reason, chipping up not particularly close, then nearly raking in the putt. But he stays at -5. Meanwhile some news of Gary Woodland, who follows up birdie at 8 with another at 10. He’s -2.
Here, there’s something very aesthetically pleasing about this leaderboard. (See also: cricket scorecards where every batsman makes double figures, no more, no less.)
-9: Kisner (7)
-8: Matsuyama (7)
-7: Stroud (7)
-6: Day (7)
-5: Oosthuizen (8)
-4: Fowler (8)
Updated
Birdie for Rickie Fowler after a gorgeous chip on 8. He’s back to -4. And birdie for his partner Justin Thomas, too, who rises to -3. The third member of that group, Paul Casey, pars, but he birdied 7 and is -3 too. Back on 7, Kisner chips up delicately from the hazard to four feet. Brilliant birdie, snatched from the jaws of disaster. Day races his 50-foot eagle effort five feet past. He pulls the birdie effort wide left, and that’s the second daft short one he’s missed. Par, and this is not the sort of behaviour that wins major championships. Matsuyama doesn’t hit his 17-footer, and has to settle for birdie. That’s something of a disappointment after such a good approach.
Matt Kuchar very nearly aces 17! He larrups a 7-iron straight at the flag. A couple of bounces and a skip, and the ball nearly releases into the cup. It stops a couple of feet short, and he’ll kick in to move to +2. Meanwhile back on the par-five 7th, the leader Kevin Kisner splits the fairway with his drive, but hoicks his second towards the water guarding the green on the right. The ball snags in the thick rough just before the rockery lining the lake. He’s in the hazard, but dry. Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day toy with the creek on the right with their drives, but both have shots into the green and eagle chances are set up in short order.
Trouble for Jordan Spieth on 18. He finds sand down the right from the tee, then has a lash at the green. Bad move, as he hooks into the creek running down the left of the hole. It costs him a double bogey, and a fine back-nine comeback goes off the rails at the very end. That’s a level-par 71, and he finishes the day where he started at +3. Double for Jon Rahm at 16, after finding rough then three-putting; that’s two sixes in a row. He’s back to +1, and there goes all that good work. Meanwhile Chris Stroud finds the middle of the par-five 7th with a whippy long iron. Two putts, and that’s a birdie, bringing him to within a shot of Kevin Kisner’s lead at -7. Birdie for Louis Oosthuizen, too, but he was a turn away from making a relatively short eagle effort. He’s -5 again.
Play is really slowing up here, the result of sending everyone out in threes. The final group of Kisner, Matsuyama and Day have a 20-minute wait at the par-three 6th. Eventually they get a go, and it’s not really worth the wait. Mastsuyama plays it safe by going for the heart of the green, well away from the flag, front left near sand. The other two come up short, fooled by the false front. Matsuyama lags up nicely for his fifth par in a row. The other two get up and down without much fuss. Moving Day? Pah!
The only player in the top ten currently under par for his round today is Scott Brown, the 34-year-old from Augusta with no record to speak of in any of the majors. He’s birdied 7, and sits nicely at -2. Birdie for Rickie Fowler at 7. It’s his first in his last 17 holes, and he’s back to where he started the day at -3. Ditto Paul Casey, who gets up and down from the thick grass to the side of the par-five.
Updated
Jon Rahm’s momentum comes to a juddering halt on the par-five 15th. He’s got a long putt for birdie, leaves it three feet short, and then carelessly lets the par effort slide by. He’s back to -1, and easy to forget he’s only 22 years old. Chris Stroud comes up short at the par-three 6th, and his putt up onto the green isn’t all that. He can’t knock in the eight footer he leaves himself, and he’s back to -6. Bogey for Louis Oosthuizen, too; he’s back to -4, and has his right arm strapped and supported now. Meanwhile Spieth nearly sends his tee shot at 17 into the drink to the left of the green, but the fringe is his friend. Sure enough, he very nearly chips in for an outrageous birdie, but he’d have settled for par when that ball was trundling towards the water, and par’s what the deal is. He stays at +1.
Bogey for Justin Thomas at 6, having taken two goes at a chip from the thick Bermuda grass to the left of the green. He’s -2. A bit of a gap developing at the top of the leader board now, between the top five and the chasing pack, in the wake of that error.
-8: Kisner (5)
-7: Stroud (5), Matsuyama (5)
-6: Day (5)
-5: Oosthuizen (5)
-2: Rahm (14), Brown (7), Casey (6), Fowler (6), Thomas (6), Molinari (5)
Three birdies in a row for Jordan Spieth! He starts out on the Green Mile by picking up yet another stroke at 16. He’s +1 and ... well, too far back, surely. But ... well ... Jordan Spieth, you know. Rickie Fowler is a dimple away from stroking in an uphill 20-footer on 6 for birdie, but remains at -2. And up on 12, from the middle of the fairway, Robert Streb lashes his approach straight at the flag. A couple of short bounces, a jag to the right, and it’s in the cup for eagle! He’s level par!
Another birdie for Jon Rahm! This one at the short par-four 14th, and that’s three threes in a row. He’s -2, and will be cursing his mid-round collapse yesterday en route to a 75. The leader Kisner nearly rolls in a 12-footer for birdie on 5, but it skates past the left of the cup and he remains at -8. His playing partner Jason Day should move onto his shoulder, but having knocked his second to three feet, yips the putt right and stays at -6. That is an appalling miss.
News of Jordan Spieth, who simply refuses to buckle under any circumstances, whether a major’s in the balance or not. Back to back birdies at 14 and 15, and he’s +2. Meanwhile Bryson DeChambeau makes his first eagle in a major after 298 holes of trying! A little chip onto 10 which releases and trundles into the cup. He’s +3 overall, and that’s a nice response seeing he’d just gone bogey-double bogey.
Jon Rahm is going along very nicely. Five birdies today, the latest at 10 and 12, and he’s moved up the standings to -1. Francesco Molinari, off the back of his 64 yesterday, was heading the other way fast, having doubled the opening hole and followed that up with bogeys at 2 and 3. But a birdie at 5 has stemmed the flow of blood. He’s -2. And speaking of injury, poor Louis Oosthuizen is getting more treatment on his right arm, in the wake of that trick shot near the tree on 2. Must have hit a root, Rory style. Get well, get well soon, as Elaine Benes might sing. (No cake.)
Thanks Bryan. So... Moving Day, they call this. Not a whole lot of moving going on, though, is there? Thank goodness, then, for Chris Stroud, who only qualified for this tournament last week by winning the Barracuda, and is taking full advantage of his late invite. He’s just eased his second into 5 pin high and rolled in a 15-footer for birdie, and he’s a shot off Kevin Kisner’s lead!
-8: Kisner (4)
-7: Stroud (5), Matsuyama (4)
-6: Day (4)
-5: Oosthuizen (4)
-3: Thomas (5)
-2: Casey (5), An (5), Fowler (5)
Kevin Kisner’s perfection on short putts had to end sometime. He’d been a perfect 32-for-32 from inside 10 feet at Quail Hollow before missing a nine-foot birdie putt just now on the third green, but he taps in for par and still alone atop the leaderboard at -8.
And with that, I’ll leave you in the capable hands of the sated and rested Scott Murray.
Jason Day birdies the second hole to draw level with Matsuyama at -7, one shot off the lead. Somehow, he dumped a 148ft second shot to within four feet of the pin, draining the easy putt to put a spot of pressure on his partners.
Also, to confirm just how difficult the first hole has been playing this afternoon: none of the 75 players who made the cut managed a birdie today. And the 15 birdies it’s allowed through three rounds is the fewest of any hole.
Hideki Matsuyama bogeys the first, giving Kevin Kisner the outright lead at -8. We’ve seen lots of bogeys on the first today – including Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed – and not a single birdie. Meanwhile, Louis Oosthuizen managed to save par on the second after his tee shot went awry.
Louis did WHAT?!#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/fA1bDQcpu0
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 12, 2017
Jaw-dropping stuff, but it appears he may have hurt himself hitting a tree root while playing it as he’s now getting medical attention on his right arm between holes.
Updated
Right in time for the leaders. Thanks, Scott. The final group of Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama and Kevin Kisner have just teed off. They’ll hopefully fare better on the first hole than Francesco Molinari did moments ago. The 34-year-old from Turin, whose 64 yesterday was the lowest score ever shot by an Italian at a major, put his drive off the first tee into the rough, his second shot into a fairway bunker and from there scrambled to make double bogey. That drops him to -3 and five shots off the pace.
Quail Hollow puts an abrupt halt to Pat Perez’s gallop. A three-putt, double bogey at 12, and he’s down to +2, all that good work undone. Shane Lowry, whose fine momentum was crudely stalled on 17 last night, stutters early on today, dropping a stroke at the opening hole; he’s +2. Ryan Moore opens bogey-bogey, and he’s +2 as well. And another dropped shot for Rory McIlroy, who has been a thundering non-event this week. This bogey comes at 5, and he’s +4.
So with that, I’m away to rustle up a North Carolinian feast of vinegar-drenched pulled pork, Krispy Kremes and Cheerwine. Bryan Graham will be your loving guide for the next 60 minutes. See you soon!
Updated
Another birdie for Finau, tipped by quite a few pundits at the start of the week as a wise each-way bet, and a decent outside shout for the title. This one comes at the par-three 4th, a result of very nearly holing his tee shot. Four inches from an ace. He’s -1. A slightly subdued 74 yesterday might cost him hopes of actually winning this thing... but there’s plenty of golf to be played at Quail Hollow yet, so you never know.
Opening bogeys for Brooks Koepka and Sung Kang, the pair slipping to level par. Koepka never really got it going yesterday, a disappointing 73 following an opening-day 68 that had suggested another major tilt for the US Open champion. The super-long Tony Finau joins the pair at even, moving in the other direction with birdie at 3.
JB Holmes has reclaimed his momentum all right. Another birdie now, this time at 15, and he moves to level par for this championship. The Green Mile coming up, of course. But if he makes it through unscathed, he’ll be signing for a 66. Meanwhile a good start for Gary Woodland, who shot a disappointing 74 yesterday. Birdie at 2, and he moves into red figures at -1.
Pat Perez continues to rise up the leader board. A birdie at 11 and he’s level par for the tournament now. JB Holmes regains some momentum too, with birdie at 14; he’s +1. A slow start for Patrick Cantlay, who bogeys the first two holes to drop to +3. And the 2016 Open champion Henrik Stenson didn’t enjoy the opening stretch either: bogeys at 1, 2 and 3 sent him plummeting down the standings to +5.
Back-to-back birdies for Jordan Spieth! He only reaches the fringe of the long par-four 9th in two. But he rolls a confident 30-footer straight into the cup, one of those that looked destined to drop pretty much from the moment it left the flat stick. The crowd give it up for one of the stars of the south. He’s +4.
Jon Rahm has been streaky this week. Very up and down, but then he is only 22 and this is his PGA debut. It’s good news this morning, as he birdies 4, 5 and 7 to rise to +1. But David Lingmerth’s momentum stalls. A bogey at 9, and he turns in 33 strokes, the outward nine suddenly not feeling so special. He slips to +1.
Pat Perez is going along very nicely. Birdies at 5, 7 and now 10, and the 41-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona is +1 for the tournament. A misfire early in the round for Rory McIlroy, though: a loose approach to the 2nd costs him a shot, and he’s slipping back to +3.
Spieth sends another drive clattering into the trees, this time to the right of 8. But the ball drops down into the semi-rough, and he chips up to nine feet at the short par-four. In goes the putt, straight as an arrow, and that’s his first birdie of the day. He’s back to +5. Meanwhile three birdies in four holes for Jamie Lovemark, 4, 5 and 7: he rises to +1. But JB Holmes takes a stumble backwards. Having reached the turn in 31, he added a fifth birdie of the day at 10, but has dropped strokes at 11 and now 13, and he’s +2.
Spieth can’t drain his putt to save his par on 7. He’s +6, and has a face on, having tumbled disconcertingly down the leader board this morning. There are only five players below him: Russell Henley and Vijay Singh at +7, Cody Gribble and Adam Scott at +8, and Charles Howell III, who has racked up seven bogeys in 12 holes today and is adrift at +11. Holmes and Lingmerth apart, it’s not looked that easy out there today.
David Lingmerth likes a good old birdie blitz. Remember his 29 along the front nine at St Andrews in the 2015 Open? Anyway, he’s at it again today. Bogey at 2, but since then the Swede has carded four birdies in five holes, at 3, 4, 6 and 7. He’s level par for the tournament now. “Care to do a public service?” begins Hubert O’Hearn, mistaking me for the BBC. Or maybe not. “I don’t see the golf on the iPlayer. Do we have to watch the *shudder* Twitter feed, or is there a proper broadcast anywhere else?” As far as I know, golf fans in the UK are being herded towards Twitter whether they like it or not, until the national broadcaster gets going at 7pm, in super low-def on its red button. Maybe they’ll see things through to the end tonight. They didn’t bother yesterday, going off-air before the final putts dropped.
Spieth is a wee bit agitated. He works out a position to take his penalty drop by the side of the green, and hopes his ball will rest on the fringe. It hops back into the deep rough, though, a bad break. He throws his arms in the air in frustration, then takes umbrage at a nearby camera operative getting up in his grille. Flustered, his chip onto the putting surface stops a good 15 feet short of the cup. It’s not easy being a genius, what with everyone in the entire world wanting to know what you’re doing, even when it’s not going so well.
Updated
A huge stroke of luck for Spieth down the par-five 7th. He flays a hysterically useless drive towards the creek down the right. The ball takes a bounce out, then off a nearby branch, and back into the first cut! But he looks the gift horse right in its kisser, because he then lashes his fairway wood into the drink guarding the right-hand side of the green. He’s just not got going this week at all. It’s almost as though winning back-to-back majors is quite hard. He’ll know all about that, of course, having done it in 2015 at the Masters and US Open. Golf!
Ha! Scrub all that about Vijay Singh! He suddenly looks full of life, vim and vigour! On the par-three 6th, he knocks a very average tee shot to the back of the green with the flag 80 feet away at the front ... and then drains the monster coming back! He’s just missed a preposterous tiddler on the previous green! He’s +7, and unfurls the widest grin as the gallery goes wild in his honour. He skips off in the jaunty fashion, having previously looked like a man heading towards the gallows. Meanwhile the hot Tommy Fleetwood suddenly cools; a bogey drops him back to +4. That, ladies and gentlemen, is golf.
Fleetwood’s the only one keeping his head above water in this group. Spieth’s approach was pretty darn decent, to five feet, but he misses another putt you’d usually expect him to nail. He stays at +5. Meanwhile an awfully ugly triple bogey for Vijay Singh. He drove into a bunker, found more sand, came up well short of the flag with his splash out, missed the par putt three feet to the right, and then yipped the short one. He’s +8, and currently has the air of a gentleman who would rather be anywhere but here.
Oh this is sensational from Tommy Fleetwood! Confidence fuelled by that brilliant birdie on 4, he splits the fairway at 5, then screeches a stunning short iron to 12 inches! If that! That’s a kick-in birdie that will bring him back to level par for his round, and he’ll be +3 again.
JB Holmes pars 9, and reaches the turn in 31 strokes. He’s +1, and there are a few players further up the leader board who would offer him cash money for that front nine. Especially as, otherwise, there’s not a lot of positive action going on. David Lingmerth (+2 thru 4), Pat Perez (+3 thru 6), Satoshi Kodaira (+4 thru 8) and Kevin Chappell (+4 thru 8) are the only other players under par for their rounds today, and all just by the single shot. Quail Hollow has, for the most part, shown its teeth this week.
Jordan Spieth hasn’t hit a green in regulation yet. So much for the big fanfare we gave him. His tee shot at the par-three 4th slams in the sand guarding the front. The splash out is decent, to four feet, but he uncharacteristically pushes the short saver wide right. That’s his second bogey of the day, and down he drops to +5. Birdie for Tommy Fleetwood, though, and deservedly so after a crisp tee shot lands just over the sand and rolls serenely to three feet. Gorgeous. He’s back to +4.
Updated
JB Holmes is tearing the place up! For the second time today, he posts back-to-back birdies. The first came at 4 and 5; now it’s 7 and 8. He’s +1, and clearly got the blood pumping during that sprint round the closing holes in the gloaming yesterday eve.
Tommy Fleetwood started slowly, following up that bogey at 1 with another dropped shot at 2. But he very nearly drains a long one on 3 for birdie, and at least the bleeding has stopped. He’s +5. Everton have beaten Stoke 1-0 thanks to that Rooney goal, so things really are looking up for Fleetwood now. Spieth meanwhile gets up and down from the thick rough to the side of the green for his second par in a row: he remains at +4. And the third member of the group, the 1998 and 2004 champion Vijay Singh, follows up bogey at 1 with another on 3. He’s so unlucky that his left-to-right 20-foot par putt doesn’t drop, though, as it curls all the way around the left of the cup and somehow stays up at the back. He’s +5.
Updated
Spieth does very well to get up and down from the left of 2 to scramble his par and stay at +4. A birdie blitz was probably too much to ask: of the 33 players out on the course right now, there’s only one under par for his round. That’s the aforementioned JB Holmes. The big-hitter from Kentucky has just made his third birdie of the day, this time at 7. He’s +2 with a rocket! Good to see last night’s late-evening jog in the gloaming, blowing hard in the wake of Danny Willett and Louis Oosthuizen, as the trio desperately tried to finish their round before the klaxon went for bad light - hasn’t taken too much puff out of the big man.
Another year goes by without a major championship for Lee Westwood. He starts his third round with a bogey, then a double after a lot of faffing around the 2nd green. He clatters down the leader board to +6. That chance to snatch the Masters last year - Danny Willett seized the day instead - increasingly looks like the last chance on offer. That tournament is something of a late-career outlier: it’s the only time he’s come close in the last 14 majors. Make that 15 now. Still, according to the Julius Boros-o-meter, at 44 he’s got another four years, another 16 chances. It’d be crazy if he finishes his storied career without a major title. But it’s happened to plenty of them.
Updated
Spieth splashes out from the sand to five feet. He’s faced with a left-to-right slider, and doesn’t give it enough on the left, the ball dying off to the right and lipping out. An opening bogey, and he drops to +4. So much for any hope of a quick start, just to see what might happen. His playing partner Tommy Fleetwood also misses a short one for par, and he’s +4 too. He scrunches up his nose in annoyance, and Erin Hills seems a long time ago right now for Southport’s finest. On the flip side, Wayne Rooney has scored against Stoke for Fleetwood’s boyhood heroes Everton, so what the world of sport takes away, it also sometimes gives back.
Adam Scott might be wondering whether it was worth scraping under the cut line. A double bogey at 1, and he’s followed it up with another dropped shot at 5. The 2013 Masters champion is +8, one stroke better than Cody Gribble, who has also stumbled badly out of the third-round blocks. Bogeys at 1, 2, 3 and now 6, and he’s propping up what’s left of the field, 75th out of 75.
Fingers crossed, but the early talk is that the weather won’t be too intrusive today. There might be quite a few showers, but previous forecasts of electrical storms might be wide of the mark. Hopefully that’s the case and we can enjoy the golf. And it’s a good start to the day by JB Holmes: birdies at 4 and 5 and he rises up the leader board to +3. Spieth’s second into 1 however is arrowed straight at the flag, but with the pin tucked to the left of the green, 18 feet from sand, that’s another aggressive play. And his ball topples into the bunker instead of staying up on the lip, as it threatened to do. It’s really not been his week.
With the leading lights not out for some time, let’s concentrate early doors on Jordan Spieth. The new Open champion was the talk of the town ahead of the big tee-off on Thursday, on account of being one major championship - this major championship - away from becoming the youngest-ever winner of the career slam. Lucky we got this speculative effort in when we did, because that prospect looks very unlikely now. Tiger Woods can rest easy. “I kind of accept the fact that I’m essentially out of this tournament pending some form of crazy stuff the next couple of days,” he says. But Spieth being Spieth, he’s not quite giving up the ghost altogether. “On to the weekend to try and fire at stuff! Nothing to lose.” Hee hee! And here he comes. He cuts the corner at the dogleg-right opening hole, the aggressive line, and it’s a perfect drive. By the relaxed look on his face, he knows full well he’s got no realistic chance of winning this tournament; he’s just out to have a bit of fun and do the best he can do. He’s a marvellously entertaining player - especially when things threaten to spiral out of control - so a no-holds-barred approach could be a lot of fun. Hopefully he’ll give us an exciting start to Moving Day. It’s on!
Good morning, North Carolina!
The second round of the 99th PGA Championship at Quail Hollow was of the highest quality. Hideki Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari shot 64s. Jason Day, Justin Thomas and Ryan Fox carded 66s. Kevin Kisner posted his second 67 of the week to top the leader board with Matsuyama, and Louis Oosthuizen signed for a 67 too. However it was Rod Pampling who provided us with the moment we’ll surely all remember years from now:
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/7RRrf6AIOe
— PGA of America (@PGA) August 12, 2017
Marvellous. Pampling, at +12 and sure to miss the cut, selflessly teed off at speed on 9 last night, ensuring his group had begun playing, and could therefore finish, their final hole before the klaxon went for bad light. He doubled and signed for a 79. “That was the best thing I did all day,” he smiled afterwards.
Our hero misses the halfway cut along with some big names: Justin Rose, Daniel Berger, Graeme McDowell, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Tyrrell Hatton, Kevin Na, Luke Donald, Bubba Watson, Shaun Micheel, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Ernie Els, Jhonattan Vegas, Branden Grace, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington, Danny Willett, Phil Mickelson, John Daly, Davis Love III, Rich Beem, Thomas Bjorn, Thomas Pieters, YE Yang, Adam Hadwin, Xander Schauffele, the Masters champion Sergio Garcia and the reigning PGA champion Jimmy Walker.
Of the folk who had to come back and finish their second rounds this morning, the in-form Chris Stroud, winner last week of the Barracuda, was the most notable. He birdied 7 and signed for his second 68 of the week, and at -6 is just two off the lead. Here’s how they stand at the halfway mark:
-8: Kisner, Matsuyama
-6: Day, Stroud
-5: Molinari, Oosthuizen
-3: Fowler, Thomas, Casey
-2: An
-1: Points, Fox, Murray, Kang, Koepka, Brown
E: Moore, Reavie, Reed, Woodland
The pre-tournament favourites, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, are +2 and +3 respectively. Meanwhile here’s when everyone will be teeing off today (local then BST):
9.50am (2.50pm): JB Holmes, Charles Howell III, Cody Gribble
10am (3pm): Kevin Chappell, Adam Scott, Satoshi Kodaira
10.10am (3.10pm): Kelly Kraft, Charley Hoffman, Sean O’Hair
10.20am (3.20pm): Jason Dufner, Marc Leishman, Billy Horschel
10.30am (3.30pm): Webb Simpson, Pat Perez, Russell Henley
10.40am (3.40pm): Hideto Tanihara, Richard Sterne, KT Kim
10.50am (3.50pm): David Lingmerth, Lee Westwood, Thorbjorn Olesen
11am (4pm): Jordan Spieth, Vijay Singh, Tommy Fleetwood
11.10am (4.10pm): Ian Poulter, Jamie Lovemark, Jordan Smith
11.20am (4.20pm): Matt Kuchar, Steve Stricker, Jon Rahm
11.30am (4.30pm): Anirban Lahiri, Jason Kokrak, Lucas Glover
11.40am (4.40pm): Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Henrik Stenson
11.50am (4.50pm): Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Jim Herman
12pm (5pm): Chris Wood, Robert Streb, Dylan Frittelli
12.10pm (5.10pm): Bryson DeChambeau, Bill Haas, Brian Harman
12.20pm (5.20pm): Rory McIlroy, Omar Uresti, James Hahn
12.30pm (5.30pm): Daniel Summerhays, Alex Noren, Tony Finau
12.40pm (5.40pm): Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay, Graham DeLaet
1pm (6pm): Bud Cauley, Gary Woodland, Patrick Reed
1.10pm (6.10pm): Chez Reavie, Ryan Moore, Scott Brown
1.20pm (6.20pm): Brooks Koepka, Sung Kang, Grayson Murray
1.30pm (6.30pm): Ryan Fox, DA Points, Byeong Hun An
1.40pm (6.40pm): Paul Casey, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler
1.50pm (6.50pm): Louis Oosthuizen, Francesco Molinari, Chris Stroud
2pm (7pm): Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama, Kevin Kisner
They’re all going out in threes, in anticipation of some more thunder and lightning. We’ll get going just after 4pm UK time, and hopefully any electrical storms will give Charlotte the bodyswerve and we won’t have too bitty a day.
Updated
