Lefty led by five at one point; he still leads by one going into the final round. Moving Day was packed with drama, and there should be plenty more of it tomorrow, with the wind expected to make life even tougher. As if fighting for a major championship isn’t hard enough! Hope you’ll join me for the denouement of an exciting week at Kiawah Island.
-7: Mickelson
-6: Koepka
-5: Oosthuizen
-4: Streelman
-3: Bezuidenhout, Grace
-2: DeChambeau, Niemann, Woodland
-1: Casey, Im, Conners
E: Spieth, Fowler, Finau, Cantlay, Bradley, Fitzpatrick, Hoffman, Kokrak, Higgs, Werenski
Updated
Mickleson tickles in the par saver, and after all his troubles coming home, that’ll feel like a birdie. It’s a 70, and he retains a one-shot lead going into Sunday. What a round by the old boy! Meanwhile two putts from Oosthuizen for a 72 that should have been at least three shots better, the culprit his errant flat stick.
Out comes the lob wedge. Swish! Clip! Whip! A gorgeous effort that sails high into the air, then bounces on the tiny patch of green between fringe and flag, once, twice, and nearly into the cup. It rolls past three feet, an astonishing outcome from where he was.
One heck of a reception for Phil as he makes his way up 18. Imagine if he’s in the same position tomorrow! The tension is palpable enough now.
Oosthuizen swishes his second, off a clean lie where the punters have roamed, into the heart of the green. Mickelson next, and he sends an awful 9-iron miles left, and down the swale at the back of the green. He’ll have some work to get up and down from there, the ground like an LP left out in the sun, though if anyone can work something out, Lefty can.
Back on the tee, Mickelson sends a high fade over the dunes and into the heart of the fairway. He’s slightly unfortunate to see his ball bounce into the first cut, but that’s far from disastrous. Meanwhile Oosthuizen hoicks his towards the hospitality boxes. He’ll get a drop from where his ball has landed.
-7: Mickelson (17)
-6: Koepka (F)
-5: Oosthuizen (17)
-4: Streelman (F)
-3: Bezuidenhout (F), Grace (F)
-2: DeChambeau (F), Niemann (F), Woodland (F)
-1: Casey (F), Im (F), Conners (F)
Grace guides in a left-to-right slider from 15 feet. That’s a fine birdie to finish, and after dropping three shots in four holes just after the turn, his dinner will taste a little better now. A level-par 72, and he starts tomorrow where he started today, at -3. Not out of this at all. Especially as Koepka pulls his par putt left and walks off with a bogey, and a face on. A 70, and he goes into Sunday at -6.
Koepka takes putter from the bank at the back of 18. It’s not a great stroke, sailing wide left and long. He’s left himself a very missable six footer there.
Oosthuizen’s par putt slides wide left. His putter has gone stone cold. That’s two dismal misses in a row. He should have grabbed a share of the lead ten minutes ago; now he’s two behind.
-7: Koepka (17), Mickelson (17)
-5: Oosthuizen (17)
Koepka sails a mammoth drive down 18, then sends his second just off the back left. Meanwhile back on 17, Oosthuizen lines up his 30-foot birdie putt ... and leaves it six feet short. Mickelson lines up his birdie effort. Off come the sunglasses again as he squints in all directions. In fact this putt is more like 18 feet ... but it’s still a decent chance. He pulls the trigger, but it’s a misread, and it’s always sailing left.
Oosthuizen first at 17. He only just gets over the water, sending his tee shot way further right than intended. But it’s a good outcome, leaving an outside chance for birdie. Then Phil’s up. Having struggled for the last 90 minutes, he whips his sunglasses off, and gunslings a stunning iron straight at the flag. It lands 12 feet to the right. He’ll have a nice look at birdie from there.
All three tidy up, Koepka on 17, Lefty and Louis on 16. Here’s how it’s looking.
-7: Koepka (17), Mickelson (16)
-6: Oosthuizen (16)
-4: Streelman (F)
-3: Bezuidenhout (17)
Mickelson trundles his long birdie putt straight at the hole. It’s dead on line, which is just as well, because had it not hit the cup and skipped out to a couple of feet, he’d have been ten feet past. And it’s three dismal putts in a row from the leading trio, because Oosthuizen pushes his short birdie putt wide right, and yelps in horror at his mistake. That’s the second tiddler he’s missed today; two putts that might cost him some sleep when it all comes down tomorrow.
Oosthuizen lobs high and gently from the rough to the right, up onto the green. That stops four feet from the flag, a great chance for birdie and a share ... unless Koepka drains his putt on 17, of course. Koepka prowls around it, sizes everything up ... then fails to hit it. A dreadful effort that stops a good six feet short, turning away apologetically to the right.
Mickelson is left with a 100-yard approach. He takes a long time to chew over the options with his caddy. His wedge in doesn’t go particularly close, but surely he’d have taken regulation golf when his drive was snap-hooking towards the jungle. Meanwhile Oosthuizen has creamed his second pin high, albeit into the first cut to the right of the green.
A dropped shot at 18 for Kevin Streelman, a disappointing end to an otherwise impressive 70. He goes into the final round at -4. Meanwhile on 17, Koepka fires his tee shot straight at the flag. A good 30 feet short, but it’s on the dancefloor, which is all anyone reasonable can ask.
The buggy’s moved, under supervision of a referee, and his ball carefully placed. It’s a bare patch, surrounded by tall trouble. What a break! He manages to whip back onto the fairway. In position again. Up on the green, Koepka tidies up for his birdie, and now the two-time champ has a share of the lead!
-7: Koepka (16), Mickelson (15)
-6: Oosthuizen (15)
-5: Streelman (17)
-3: Bezuidenhout (17)
Koepka, his tail up, races his eagle putt aggressively at the cup. It doesn’t drop, and so he’s left with a knee-knocker coming back. Before we witness that, news of Mickelson’s ball ... and he’s had a big break. It’s come to rest under the tyre of a buggy, stopping it from disappearing into the thick filth. Once this is sorted out, he’ll get a good swipe at this.
Lefty’s look, then. Let’s say it was determination, segueing into misery ... because he gives his drive everything. Too much, pulling it viciously into the tall stuff down the right of the fairway. He traipses up the hole with his head hanging a little. How the wind can change at Kiawah, both literally and figuratively. Oosthuizen is in good nick.
Brooks Koepka turns up the heat, lashing his second into 16 from 280 yards. Back on the tee, a grim look spreads across Phil Mickelson’s boat. Misery? Or determination? We’ll soon find out. Up on 17, it’s a birdie for Woodland, after a glorious tee shot to a couple of feet. He’s -2.
Two-putt pars for Mickelson and Oosthuizen on 15. They move on without fuss or drama. Meanwhile Justin Horton wants a word about 2012’s aforementioned runner-up David Lynn (9.50pm BST): “To be fair to Lynn, his second in the 2012 USPGA was one of only half-a-dozen appearances in the majors: within two years he’d had to retire due to injury.” True that. A shame tendonitis got him, as he was a late bloomer; the 2012 PGA as a 38-year-old, a good showing at the Players and the PGA the season after, plus only his second European Tour win that year as well.
Mickelson wedges in from 140. He finds the heart of the green, only for the ball to spin back a little, rather like Koepka’s before him. Oosthuizen meanwhile is pin high in two, but well wide left. Up on 16, Koepka sends his drive miles down the track. And on 17, Streelman finds the popular bunker to the left of the green, but chips down the glassy slope to four feet, and saves his par. He remains at -5.
Mickelson batters a long drive down the centre of 15. It’s like 2005 - either the year, or tonight’s time (BST) - all over again. Oosthuizen too. Meanwhile up the hole, Koepka has found the green in regulation, though his approach spins back fiercely, costing him a few feet. It’s too big an ask to drain the long birdie putt, but par usually suffices around here, and in it goes. He remains at -6. Par for Grace, too, which stops the rot of three bogeys in four holes. He’s -2.
Joaquin Niemann looked totally out of it when he bogeyed 10. But birdies at 11, 13 and now at the last, and the young Chilean is signing for a 71. He’s -2 overall.
... but it doesn’t. A perceptible twitch before he pulls the trigger, and the ball dies to the right when he eventually rolls the rock. Everything seemed so simple for Lefty a couple of hours ago. No more. Just a par, though he remains one clear of Koepka and Oosthuizen at -7.
Oosthuizen’s tee shot at 14 only just held the back of the green. One more turn, and he’d have been down the bottom of the swale. But it sticks, and he takes two putts for a more-than-acceptable par. Then Mickelson has a look at what appears to be a dead-straight six-foot putt. If this goes in, it’ll calm down a lot of jangling nerves.
After all that tumult, this is what the top of the leaderboard looks like ...
-7: Mickelson (13)
-6: Koepka (14), Oosthuizen (13)
-5: Streelman (16)
-3: Im (16)
... and this is how Mickelson has responded, cracking an iron straight at the flag at the 238-yard par-three 14th, his ball serenely rolling to six feet! To be fair, Lefty has had to bounce back from mini-disasters many a time before.
Mickelson remains in the lead. Koepka’s fairly straight birdie effort on 14 slips by the left-hand edge of the cup. Meanwhile a late move into the reckoning by Im Sung-jae: birdies at 13 and now 16 bring last season’s Masters runner-up to -3! Meanwhile his playing partner Kevin Streelman also birdies and moves to -5, the crowd whooping and hollering, feeding off some good old-fashioned underdog fever!
Oosthuizen goes walking after his 20-foot par putt, but only because he instantly knew he’d left it short. Bogey. Mickelson then tickles his downhill right-to-left swinger a dimple width’s wide left. A double, and this is a painful 5-5-6 run. If Koepka makes his birdie putt on 14, Mickelson’s five-shot lead will have totally evaporated in the space of 40 minutes. This is golf.
Mickelson’s tee shot didn’t cross, so he tees up again, splitting the fairway this time. Oosthuizen can drop up the hole, and sends his third into the heart of the green. Mickelson then lashes an iron, his fourth shot, straight at the flag. He’s got an eight-foot chance to limit the damage of that duck-hook off the tee to bogey.
Birdie for Bryson DeChambeau at 18, and he’s signing for a 71. He’s -2, and given the travails of Mickelson and Oosthuizen, not out of this yet! Ditto the aforementioned Matsuyama. Back on the 13th green, it’s a bogey for Grace and par for Koepka, the latter getting over his disappointment by sticking his tee shot at 14 to ten feet.
Matsuyama ends up with double bogey on 13, and that’s four shots gone in three holes. Suddenly, back-to-back major championships are beginning to look like a pipe dream for the Masters winner. He’s -1. Coming up behind, Grace flies his approach into the drink ... and this hole looks like claiming yet another pair of victims as on the tee, Oosthuizen and Mickelson both send their drives into the hazard crossing the hole!
... and suddenly the picture looks a whole lot different, as Oosthuizen, having sent his second at 12 over the flag to ten feet, rolls in for birdie. Mickelson is still in very good nick, but this was a five-shot lead 30 minutes ago!
-9: Mickelson (12)
-7: Oosthuizen (12)
-6: Koepka (12)
Mickelson’s wedge in on 12 isn’t all that. Short and left, and he’s left with a 25-footer to save his par. Unlikely, you’d think, and indeed he doesn’t make it, but only for the want of one turn of the ball. So unlucky, but that’s punishment for his travails back down the hole. His first bogey of the day, and he slips to -9.
Matsuyama, coming off the back of consecutive bogeys, is struggling with his game all of a sudden. His tee shot at 13 finds deep rough to the left of the hole; his second caroms off a poor punter and disappears into a miniature jungle atop a bank. He can only slash out, short of the dancefloor, and the Masters champion’s PGA bid is currently hanging from a shoogly peg.
Mickelson doesn’t have much of a stance in the sandy area, and is forced to take a big sup of medicine. Gulp. Out he wedges, back onto the fairway. He’ll need to get up and down from 120 yards to save his par. Meanwhile on 17, DeChambeau ends up with double bogey, though on balance that’s not a bad outcome having sent his third from the dropzone into the sand. He’s -1.
Mickelson’s tee shot at 12 finds a fairway “bunker”. For the first time today, he’s suffering a little turbulence. He might also have to wrestle Brooks Koepka soon, because after a quiet front nine, he’s just followed up birdie at 10 with another up on the 12th green. A 20-foot right-to-left breaker, and he joins Oosthuizen in second place at -6. Suddenly, “just four clear” doesn’t sound quite so flippant.
Back on 11, Oosthuizen wedges his third to seven feet, and for the first time today, the 38-year-old South African is in credit for his round. He’s -6. Meanwhile Mickelson bumps his chip up from the front to six feet, but his putting radar is off beam for once, and it’s just par. Suddenly the gap is only four. Only four!
-10: Mickelson (11)
-6: Oosthuizen (11)
-5: Koepka (11)
-4: Streelman (13), Grace (11)
-3: DeChambeau (16), Matsuyama (12)
A long, uncharacteristic run of pars for Bryson DeChambeau ends when he drains a birdie putt across 16. He’s -3 ... but then sends his tee shot at the par-three 17th into the drink. Christiaan Bezuidenhout drops back from there, though, with bogey at 13. And it’s back-to-back dropped shots for Hideki Matsuyama, the latest bogey at 12, and he slips to -3.
Mickelson lashes another long iron into a par-five. His effort at 11 isn’t quite as stellar as the one he creamed at 2, a couple of yards shy of making the green, but he’s in good nick nonetheless. Meanwhile it’s back-to-back birdies for Charley Hoffman at 15 and 16, and he leaps into the top ten at -2. And he’s joined there by Paul Casey, who rattles in a birdie putt on the par-three 14th.
Branden Grace and Brooks Koepka make a meal of the par-five 11th. Both find themselves in thick cabbage to the right of the green; neither manage to manufacture a decent chip. It costs Koepka his birdie; it costs Grace his par. Mickelson’s surge is messing with everyone’s head.
An extremely disappointing - and careless - bogey six on 11 for Matsuyama. Punishment for missing the green with wedge in hand. But it’s back-to-back birdies for his partner Bezuidenhout, who is back to where he started the day at -3. Meanwhile on 10, Mickelson lines up yet another birdie chance ... and steers the most gentle of left-to-right sliders into the cup! The 2005 champ is five clear ... though there are still 26 holes to traverse, so let’s try to keep everything in perspective. It’s not easy, though, is it?!
-10: Mickelson (10)
-5: Grace (10), Koepka (10), Oosthuizen (10)
-4: Streelman (12), Matsuyama (11)
-3: Bezuidenhout (11)
A huge break for Oosthuizen, whose drive just avoids topping into the drink. He’s able to whip a short iron onto the front edge of the green. Mickelson, from the centre of the fairway, swishes his wedge, twirls it like a baton, and watches it grip softly, eight feet from the flag. The exhibition continues. He’s feeling it this week!
Gary Woodland finds himself out of position coming down 11, having sent his drive into rough down the left. But he eventually makes it to the green in regulation, then rolls in a slightly bumpy, but otherwise unerring, 25-foot birdie putt into the cup. After that double at 6, the 2019 US Open champion is right back in the mix now!
Koepka makes up for that poor miss on the 9th green by rattling one in from 12 feet on 10. He moves back into a tie for second. Back on the tee, Mickelson splits the fairway with another monster drive but Oosthuizen sends his into a hazard down the right.
-9: Mickelson (9)
-5: Matsuyama (10), Koepka (10), Grace (10), Oosthuizen (9)
-4: Streelman (11)
-3: Woodland (10)
There was an unheralded runner-up here in 2012: David Lynn, who did absolutely nothing in the majors otherwise. Kevin Streelman isn’t quite as big an underdog - he’s got a tie for second at the Players on his CV for a start - but very few people would have mentioned his name on Thursday morning. He’s just played one of the shots of the week at 11, though, from 271 yards to 14 feet. He sends his eagle putt on the right line, too, but it’s one joule shy of enough energy, and stops on the lip. Birdie, though, and he joins Brooks Koepka in a tie for second at -4.
Mickelson’s ball found the sand ... as did Oosthuizen’s, and they’re other, messing with each other’s stance. So the referee is called as Mickelson moves his ball, Oosthuizen plays, then everyone tries to recreate Lefty’s original lie. Once it all comes down, both players have splashed close, and tidied up for their pars. Oosthuizen turns in 36, Mickelson in a scarcely believable 32.
Mickelson’s second into 9, and it’s his first big mistake of the day. Short and left of the green, it takes a bad bounce to the left and disappears from view. He’ll be hoping that’s in the bunker and not snagged in the filthy rough. The television coverage then switches to live footage of a heron spearing a fish from the nearby ocean, then gulping it down its long, elegant neck with glee. Memories - like I need an excuse - of this Kiawah classic from this very tourney in 2012: Croc v Snake.
Up on the 9th green, Koepka drops another stroke, the result of finding the waste sand to the left of the green, and chipping up in a very average style. He turns in 36, seriously disappointing given Mickelson’s antics. A birdie for Woodland at 10, and he moves back to -3. And on 18, the defending champion Collin Morikawa pars to sign for an underwhelming 74. He’s +3, and he’ll always have Harding Park.
Mickelson stripes a 3-wood down the middle of 9. This is surreal. Even in his heyday, Lefty would spray it all over the place from the tee box. Now he’s acting like mid-80s Calvin Peete. It’s not as if he’s holding back, either. Just timing everything sweetly. Long may it continue. The rest of the field, however, will be hoping for some sort of return to the norm.
A sad end to Tony Finau’s round. He’d been going along nicely, four under through 12, but a subsequent string of pars was snapped by an unwelcome bogey-bogey finish. A 70, and he’s level par through 54 holes.
Oosthuizen makes up for the dreadful miss on the previous green by stroking his tee shot at the par-three 8th pin high, then rolling in the putt. The birdie takes him up to -5. It’s a no-fuss two-putt par from 50 feet from Mickelson, meanwhile, as the Master golfer Matsuyama pars 9 and turns in 34.
Oosthuizen, deafened by the relentless clatter of the Mickelson bandwagon, yips a short birdie putt having splashed out wonderfully from sand to three feet. Up on 8, Grace’s tee shot nearly topples off the back, but stays on the fringe and he rakes in the birdie putt to move to a share of second.
-9: Mickelson (7)
-5: Matsuyama (8), Grace (8), Koepka (8)
-4: Oosthuizen (7)
Mickelson’s eagle putt is given a 14 percent chance by the boffins ... and he nearly makes it, stroking the left-to-right gentle curler to within a dimple of dropping. In frustration, he strikes the classic Miles Davis pose - knees bent, shoulders back - but is soon smiling again as he taps in for his fourth birdie in six holes. He moves to -9, and this is becoming slightly - but deliciously - absurd.
Matsuyama makes his two at 8, tidying up from a couple of feet. Deserved reward for a sensational iron. He joins Koepka in second place, staying on Mickelson’s tail. But having said that, Mickelson, having blootered a stunning drive down the middle of the par-five 7th, whistles a long iron pin high. He’ll have a look at eagle from 25 feet!
-8: Mickelson (6)
-5: Matsuyama (8), Koepka (7)
-4: Grace (7), Oosthuizen (6)
-3: Streelman (9)
Hideki Matsuyama saves his par on 7 with a staunch 15-footer, then builds on it by clipping his tee shot at the par-three 8th close. A three-putt double-bogey for Will Zalatoris on 13, and he slips back to level par. Then on 7, Brooks Koepka leaves an eagle effort well short, but knocks in the six footer he’d carelessly left himself, and moves back to -5, three off Lefty’s lead.
It’s a 78 today for the supple PGA club pro Brad Marek. He was going so well, too, until running up a quintuple-bogey eight at 17. Having flown his tee shot into the sandy area up to the left, he sent two chips down the green and into the drink. He ends the third round at +8, six behind fellow club pro and cut survivor Ben Cook at +2.
Another birdie for Phil Mickelson! He guides in his left-to-right slider on 6, and that’s one hell of a birdie after the state of his drive. The 50-year-old living legend is four clear at the top! Just 30 holes away from history.
-8: Mickelson (6)
-4: Matsuyama (6), Koepka (6), Oosthuizen (5)
So much for getting ragged. From the thick rough down the right, and with bunkers guarding either side of the green, Mickelson sends a high draw into the heart of the green, setting up another decent chance for birdie. Meanwhile trouble for Matsuyama down a bank to the right of the 7th green. He bumps up with driver, but overcooks it, and he’ll be left with a 15-footer coming back to salvage his par.
After that showboating start, Mickelson is getting a little ragged. He’s had to nail two nervy par putts in a row, and now flays his drive into the thick oomska down the right of 6. But up on the green, Grace can’t get up and down from the back, and he slips to -3, while Koepka’s short par putt horseshoes out ... and suddenly the lead is three again!
-7: Mickelson (5)
-4: Matsuyama (6), Koepka (6), Oosthuizen (5)
-3: Streelman (8), Grace (6)
Mickelson sends his tee shot at the par-three 5th to 20 feet. He then knocks the birdie putt four feet past. He tidies up, though he’s developed a habit of standing over those short ones for an absurdly long period of time before drawing the putter back, much to the dismay of putting guru Brad Faxon on Sky Sports. Still, it seems to be working more often than not at the moment. Any case, that’s another par, and another hole out of the way. Just 31 to go!
A three-putt bogey for Paul Casey on the par-three 8th. He slips to -1. Christiaan Bezuidenhout, having followed his opening bogey with another at 2, has steadied the ship a little with four pars in a row, but he’s -1. Joaquin Niemann had been heading the wrong way quickly, with bogeys at 4, 6 and 7, but birdie at 8 has brought him back to level par.
Woodland runs up a double on 6. He crashes back down the leaderboard to -2. Going the right way: Branden Grace with birdie at 5, and his playing partner Brooks Koepka, who also makes a two. Meanwhile on 4, Mickelson leaves his sand splash six feet short, but he guides the testing downhill dribbler into the cup to save his par.
-7: Mickelson (4)
-5: Koepka (5)
-4: Matsuyama (5), Grace (5), Oosthuizen (4)
-3: Streelman (6)
Mickelson isn’t the only fifty-something tearing it up this week. The US Ryder Cup captain Steve Stricker rolls in a monster for birdie at 18. The 54-year-old from Wisconsin - who led for a while on Sunday at Sahalee in 1998, only to be pipped by Vijay Singh - is signing for a superb 70. He’s +1.
Some trouble for Woodland on 6. Having found a penalty area down the right with his drive, he sends his third over the back, down a swale, and into the second cut. There’s not much green to play with up top. He’ll do well to limit the damage to bogey here. Meanwhile up on 12, Will Zalatoris steers in a 30-foot right-to-left curler for a birdie that brings him to -2.
You don’t see this too often: Mickelson refuses to play his second into 4 before the TV companies stop flying a camera drone nearby. He’s worried about hitting it. And perhaps the blood’s pumping a little too much right now, because once the buzzing menace buggers off, he sends his ball over the green and into the sand at the back.
Hideki Matsuyama isn’t likely to give up the chase, though. Having bounced back from bogey at 3 with birdie at 4, he nearly takes the flag out with his tee shot at 5 and tidies up for another bird. He’s -4, in a share of second, just three off Lefty’s lead.
This is already - like you need to be told - the Phil Mickelson Show. Don’t expect US network television to concentrate on too much else! Multiple views of his astonishing long iron into 2, then his absurd exhibition sand shot at 3, and now a booming drive that bounces this way and that, evading a couple of big bunkers, and finishing in Position A on 4. We have to be honest with ourselves: we’re already past the point where this isn’t going to be heartbreaking if/when it goes wrong ... and there are still another 32 holes to play. It’s the hope that kills you.
Mickelson really does look in the mood. His drive at 3 finds the sand down the left, but from 100 yards he pitches his second four feet to the right of the flag. The ball takes one bounce past, then screws back to a couple of feet on the left. That’s effectively a trick shot. He allows himself a content smile, before wandering up to the green and tapping in for his second birdie of the day. Oosthuizen’s approach was decent under any normal circumstances, leaving a straight 15-foot birdie chance, but he only gives it 14 feet of juice, and Phil the Thrill has a three-shot lead!
-7: Mickelson (3)
-4: Woodland (5), Grace (3), Koepka (3), Oosthuizen (3)
Rickie Fowler can’t make it up the last unscathed. His second sails to the left of the green, and he can’t get up and down. But that’s still an excellent 69, and at level par he’s currently in the top 20. If he keeps this up, it’ll be his best showing on Tour for a fair while. The crowd support the popular Californian accordingly.
Mickelson can’t make the eagle putt, a pull to the right, and he seems a little irritated with himself. But birdie’s nothing to be sniffed at, as Oosthuizen would surely agree, his ten-foot chance stubbornly stopping on the edge. All of a sudden, Phil doubles his lead!
-6: Mickelson (2)
-4: Woodland (4), Grace (2), Koepka (2), Oosthuizen (2)
-2: Finau (13), DeChambeau (8), Streelman (5), Matsuyama (3)
Once they leave the green, Mickelson takes the stage. And what an entrance he makes! He whips a long iron from 270 yards pin high, and the crowd goes wild. He’ll have a good look at eagle from 12 feet or so. It’s fair to say he gave that a good skelp. One of those pure whip-cracks. The purest golf. A slow start for the Masters champ, though; bogey for Matsuyama on 3, and he slips to -2.
Branden Grace drains a monster on 2, and Mr 62 moves into second place. He’s given his partner Brooks Koepka a read, but for once the two-time champ looks a gift horse in the mouth. He leaves his putt up on the left, and it’s a par-par start for the new tournament favourite.
Phil nearly drains his birdie putt on 1, but the ball stops just short. Par. He’s got sole ownership of the lead, though, because Oosthuizen leaves his first long putt six feet short, then pulls the second. Bogey. The pair go on to split the 2nd fairway with their drives. Meanwhile up on 7, DeChambeau can’t make the eagle putt, but birdie will do and he moves to -2. And at 12, Finau wedges from 140 yards to six feet, and he joins the group at -2.
-5: Mickelson (1)
-4: Koepka (1), Oosthuizen (1)
-3: Woodland (3), Matsuyama (2), Grace (1)
-2: Finau (12), DeChambeau (7), Casey (4), Streelman (3), Im (3)
Birdie for Gary Woodland at 2; he’s -3. A big chance slides by for Joaquin Niemann at 5; he remains at -1. Bryson sets up an eagle chance at 7 by sending his second, from 220 yards, to ten feet. And on 17, Rickie Fowler drains a 35-footer for his third birdie of the back nine! It’s his fifth of the day, offset by just the one bogey, and he’ll head up 18 looking for a par that would give him a career-restoring 68. This is lovely to see, and the gallery clearly agrees, whooping and hollering. Well worth the special invite he needed to tee it up this week.
Up on the green, Koepka can only lob up to 12 feet ... but he salvages his par with a nerveless putt, rolled unerringly into the cup. He remains at -4, and that’ll feel like a birdie. Mickelson meanwhile locates his ball, in ankle-deep filth, and stares at it like a doleful dog. But if anyone knows how to get out of trouble, it’s Lefty, who has made more than his fair share of escapes. He whips a wedge into the heart of the green, and he’ll have a look at birdie from 25 feet or so. He’s closer than Oosthuizen, who gets on in regulation from out left too, but nowhere near the flag.
Heeeeeeeeere’s Lefty! Phil Mickelson, golfing showbiz personified, takes to the tee. His opening drive is met with silence as it whistles into the thick stuff down the left. Finally here comes Louis Oosthuizen, and his drive is even worse, hooking over the rough, some palm trees, and towards a penalty zone. Thankfully his ball stops on the sand and it looks as though he’ll have a route to the green, providing a nearby palm doesn’t interfere with his backswing.
Rory McIlroy signs for yet another disappointing round: a 74 to go with his opening efforts of 75 and 72. He’s +5 overall, and will always have 2012. Back on 1, Brooks Koepka clumsily chips over the back of the green from position A on the fairway. Not the start he wanted after yesterday’s diminuendo finish.
A careless bogey for Christiaan Bezuidenhout on the opening hole. A perfect drive is followed by an extremely average approach, and three miserable putts. It’s the 27-year-old South African’s first real showing at a major, so a few early nerves can be forgiven. He’s -2. Meanwhile up on 9, Zalatoris drops a shot after taking way too much sand with his wedge from a waste area, leaving himself short of the green. He’s back to -1.
The unsung and unfancied Kevin Streelman birdies 2 to move into a share of fourth at -3. He has a very unsettling habit of wearing his sunglasses on the back of his head when he putts. Someone should draw a smile on the nape of his neck to offset the vaguely terrifying head-revolving illusion.
With the final two groups about to tee off, here’s how the top of the leaderboard has changed since the start of play today. No Bryson at -2, you’ll note: he paid the price for missing a short putt at 4 to slip back to -1.
-5: Mickelson, Oosthuizen
-4: Koepka
-3: Casey (2), Grace, Bezuidenhout, Matsuyama
-2: Zalatoris (8), Van Tonder (7), Bradley (6), Niemann (3), Streelman (1), Im (1), Conners (1), Woodland (1)
Jordan Spieth gets up and down from the front of 18 in style. Taking putter from the fringe, he lags up from 80 feet to 18 inches, and tidies up for par. That’s a superb 68. A fine effort. He’s level par, but surely too far back for a realistic tilt tomorrow, so the career slam will have to wait another 12 months at least.
Will Zalatoris made hole in one at the US Open last year, and was an inch away from making a second in the same round. He’s already holed out from a fairway for eagle this week, and now he’s sent his tee shot at the par-three 8th scampering straight at the flag. He’ll tap in for a birdie that takes him to -2, and this 24-year-old Californian is one hell of a big-time player in the making!
A fine round is threatening to end in ragged fashion for Jordan Spieth. He’s short of 18 in two, and a bogey-bogey finish looms. Big up-and-down attempt coming up. Meanwhile back on 2, Paul Casey nearly trundles in a chip from the front of the green, but it’s good enough for birdie that’ll bring him up to -3.
Justin Rose rolls one in from the front edge of the 12th green. Birdie, following one at 11. Throw in the four on the bounce made between 5 and 8, and that’s six birdies in the last eight holes for the Hampshire hero. Just a shame about that 5-7-5 start, really. But he’s two under for his round now, and +1 overall.
Spieth can’t salvage his par on 17. He gets a free drop on top of the bank, his ball close to some cables, but fluffs his chip. He can’t make the long rake from the apron, and it’s a miserable bogey. He’s back to level par. For all the talk of easier scoring conditions, nobody’s made any sort of super-dramatic move quite yet.
Back on the subject of Sam Snead, though. His tying for the lead after 36 holes as a 54-year-old is nothing. Slammin’ Sammy shot rounds of 68 and 69 to finish third at Tanglewood in the 1974 PGA ... at the age of 62! He was just three strokes behind the winner, the 34-year-old Lee Trevino. Snead also made the cut in 1979 at Oakland Hills as a 67-year-old, a major-championship record that stands today.
Jordan Spieth’s been fairly quiet since his birdie-birdie burst after the turn. But he’s just rolled in a 20-footer on the par-five 16th, and suddenly he’s into the red at -1. However he’s just pulled his tee shot at the nerve-shredding 17th onto the grassy knoll on the left. A tricky chip coming up. A second birdie of the afternoon for Keegan Bradley, meanwhile, and he’s -2 overall through 5.
Early birdies, at 2, for Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington. Both of these Ryder Cup heroes are -1. Otherwise, consider this the calm before the storm. Less than an hour now until Phil Mickelson, the second-oldest man to hold the 36-hole lead at the PGA, takes to the tee. The oldest, since you ask Sam Snead, who was 54 in 1966.
Tony Finau can’t buy a Tour win, never mind a major. The 31-year-old from Salt Lake City hasn’t won since his sole PGA Tour victory at the Puerto Rico Open in 2016, though he’s had three regular playoff defeats plus nine top-ten finishes in the majors since then. Something’s got to give at some point, you’d imagine. Well, he’s not out of this one yet: birdies at 2, 4 and now 7 have brought him up to -1.
Scottie Scheffler is a ball’s width away from hole-in-one at the 207-yard par-three 8th. He’ll tap in to move to +1. Meanwhile birdies at 2 for Bryson DeChambeau and Charley Hoffman, and it’s an excuse for us to whack up the first leaderboard update of the day.
-5: Mickelson, Oosthuizen
-4: Koepka
-3: Grace, Bezuidenhout, Matsuyama
-2: Hoffman (2), DeChambeau (2), Conners, Woodland, Streelman, Im, Casey
Billy Horschel gets home with a fine 68. He’s +1, having shot 72 yesterday ... and 77 on Thursday. How he’ll be cursing the back nine of his opening round: bogeys at 13 and 14, doubles at 16 and 17, back in 41. Factor out a couple of hours in the doldrums, and the 2014 FedEx Cup champion would be right in the mix.
DeChambeau manages to get up and down from the swale to the side of 1, despite hitting an excitable putt up the bank and eight feet past. Par for Hoffman as well. Rickie Fowler rattles in a 30-footer for birdie on 11; it’s his fourth of the day and he’s level par now, finding a little form after a long period in the wilderness. Meanwhile Patrick Reed, one of the pre-tournament picks, ends the day with by far his best round of the week, a 69 to go alongside his opening 74 and 75. He’s +2.
Tom Lewis has flown out of the traps. Birdies at 2 and 3, and the 30-year-old from Welwyn Garden City is -1 overall. An opening-hole birdie for the 2011 champ Keegan Bradley; he’s -1 too. And here comes yet another South African to join Louis Oosthuizen, Branden Grace and Christiaan Bezuidenhout at the top end of the leaderboard: birdies at 2 and 3 for Daniel van Tonder, making his major-championship debut at the age of 30.
Here comes Bryson! The big man blooters his opening drive straight down the track. Entertainment ahoy, one way or another. He could do with calming the old driver down, having been a bit wild yesterday. If he keeps his ball on a leash, the rest of the field will soon know about it. He’s going round today with Charley Hoffman, who doesn’t have much of a record to speak of at the PGA, but has top-ten finishes at both the Masters and the US Open on his CV. He sends his tee shot into the waste sand down the right, but finds the green with his second. Bryson, from position A, pulls his approach down the bank to the left.
Quite the round from Justin Rose so far. The 2013 US Open champion opened 5-7-5, but has just carded his fourth birdie in a row, at 8, to get back to where he started the day at +3. Will Zalatoris is quickly out of the blocks with a 30-foot eagle rake across 2; he’s -1. But here’s a reminder, should anyone really need it, that in golf, shots can go as quickly as they come: a duffed chip from the front of 10 ends up costing Joel Dahmen a double-bogey at 10, and he crashes back to level par.
Two PGA club pros have made it through to the weekend. Brad Marek has been the star turn so far: the 37-year-old teaching professional shot 73-74 over the first two days, and has become a star of social media for his Miguel Ángel Jiménez stylings on the practice range ...
Warming up for golf, directing traffic or practicing his throw-ins?! 🤷♂️
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) May 21, 2021
Brad Marek is getting plenty of attention on the range for his unusual routine ahead of his round at the #PGAChamp! pic.twitter.com/ezBZAtFWfC
... but it’s the 27-year-old director of instruction Ben Cook who is making the waves today. After opening rounds of 72 and 77, he’s back in the hutch today having shot a magnificent 69. He ends the day at +2, currently one ahead of Marek, who has just bogeyed 5.
Joel Dahmen shot four sub-70 rounds last year at Harding Park, on his way to a tie for tenth. He’s channelling his love of the PGA again, because he’s just drained a 25-footer on 9 for yet another birdie. He hits the turn in 31 strokes, five under for his round, and -2 overall. The 33-year-old from Washington state has come to Kiawah Island in form, having finished in the top 20 at the Wells Fargo two weeks ago, and won his first Tour title back in March, albeit at an alternate event, the Corales Puntacana.
Spieth is this close to stroking in a 15-foot birdie putt on 12, but he’ll remain at level par. Unlucky for the pre-tournament second-favourite. As for the favourite going into the week? Rory McIlroy continues to struggle. He’s sent his tee shot at 10 wide right on all three days now, the latest slice leading to his second bogey of the week at the hole. Having played the first nine in level-par 36, he slips to +4, taking no advantage of the easier conditions whatsoever.
The moral of all this? It’s going to be possible to shoot low this afternoon. The wind is down significantly in comparison to the opening two days. Throw in a field that, over the first 36 holes, will have learned plenty more about the nuances of the Ocean Course, and there’s scope for plenty of moving on Moving Day. It just depends how aggressive the players want to be. Fans of grinding it out in testing conditions can take heart, though: the wind is expected to pick up again tomorrow, and come in from the opposite direction, which should make the closing four holes fun.
Spieth’s four under for his round today. Also four under today: Webb Simpson, Billy Horschel and Joel Dahmen, through 16, 15 and 8 respectively. Simpson and Horschel are both +1, Dahmen is -1. Meanwhile the 27-year-old PGA club pro Ben Cook is three under today, a performance that’s taken him up the standings to +2.
Here we go, then. Nobody’s disturbed the upper echelons of the leaderboard yet, but we didn’t really expect that. However here’s a significant move, and one that brings us bang up-to-date in short order: back-to-back birdies for the career-slam-chasing Jordan Spieth at 10 and 11. They follow birdies at 3 and 5, and he had a couple of other opportunities on the front nine, too, only for his flat stick to go cold for a while. That draws him up to level par for the tournament, just five off the lead.
Preamble
It’s Moving Day! Here’s how the 103rd PGA Championship looked at the halfway stage …
-5: Mickelson, Oosthuizen
-4: Koepka
-3: Grace, Bezuidenhout, Matsuyama
-2: Conners, Woodland, Streelman, Im, Casey
-1: Hoffman, DeChambeau, Kokrak, Laird, Niemann, Higgs, Werenski
E: Hovland, Bradley, Lowry, Poulter, Fitzpatrick, Harrington
+1: Morikawa, Westwood, Lewis, Zalatoris, Watson, Smith, Van Tonder
… here are a few of the big names who haven’t made it to the weekend ... Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Sergio Garcia, Marc Leishman, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele, Kim Si-woo, Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Dufner, Zach Johnson, Martin Kaymer, Matt Kuchar, Cameron Champ and - perhaps no surprise, but we’ll miss him, and he did lead for about two minutes on Thursday morning - the 1991 champ John Daly.
… and here are the third-round tee times. Plenty of early groups out already, so we’ll have news of the morning movers and shakers coming right up.
07.40 Denny McCarthy
07.50 Emiliano Grillo (Arg), Chan Kim
08.00 Harris English, Alexander Noren (Swe)
08.10 Tom Hoge, Henrik Stenson (Swe)
08.20 Garrick Higgo (Rsa), Harold Varner III
08.30 Talor Gooch, Brendan Steele
08.40 Ben Cook, Webb Simpson
08.50 Billy Horschel, Patrick Reed
09.00 Jason Day (Aus), Sam Horsfield (Eng)
09.10 Robert Streb, Wyndham Clark
09.20 Brian Gay, Aaron Wise
09.30 Jason Scrivener (Aus), Danny Willett (Eng)
09.40 Byeong-Hun An (Kor), Robert MacIntyre (Sco)
09.50 Dean Burmester (Rsa), Matt Jones (Aus)
10.00 Lucas Herbert (Aus), Jordan Spieth
10.20 Daniel Berger, Russell Henley
10.30 Adam Hadwin (Can), Rory McIlroy (NIrl)
10.40 Stewart Cink, Jimmy Walker
10.50 Joel Dahmen, Rickie Fowler
11.00 Cameron Davis (Aus), Steve Stricker
11.10 Carlos Ortiz (Mex), Justin Rose (Eng)
11.20 Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den), Jon Rahm (Spa)
11.30 Brad Marek, Matt Wallace (Eng)
11.40 Tyrrell Hatton (Eng), Scottie Scheffler
11.50 Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau
12.00 Abraham Ancer (Mex), Collin Morikawa
12.10 Tom Lewis (Eng), Lee Westwood (Eng)
12.20 Bubba Watson, Will Zalatoris
12.30 Cameron Smith (Aus), Daniel van Tonder (Rsa)
12.40 Keegan Bradley, Viktor Hovland (Nor)
12.50 Shane Lowry (Irl), Ian Poulter (Eng)
13.00 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Eng), Padraig Harrington (Irl)
13.10 Bryson DeChambeau, Charley Hoffman
13.20 Jason Kokrak, Martin Laird (Sco)
13.30 Harry Higgs, Joaquin Niemann (Chi)
13.50 Paul Casey (Eng), Richy Werenski
14.00 Sung Jae Im (Kor), Kevin Streelman
14.10 Corey Conners (Can), Gary Woodland
14.20 Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
14.30 Branden Grace (Rsa), Brooks Koepka
14.40 Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
Updated
