It’s getting stupid now. McIlroy throws a 25-foot curler from left to right into the cup at 4, and it’s three birds on the rebound. Pit -3. Speaking of good, useful and cool entertainment, Jordan Spit on the 17th achievable number four it is close to an albatross with a hole! Its 3-timer lands on the front of the green, makes a couple of jumps, and then rolls about an inch wide to the right of the cup. Then his ball rolls from the back, which is just unfair. It would be the first albatross on the PGA after Joey Cindelar, 5th in Medina in 2006.
Back to back birds for Rory McIlroy! This one comes at 3, and suddenly he has -2. Those tragedies yesterday – double damage at 6, triple damage at 11 – really cost him. A couple of couples are there and he will be twice off the lead. But here we are.
Southern Hills had seven previous majors. The U.S. Open Championships in 1958, 1977, and 2001, in which Tommy Bolt, Hubert Green, and Retif Guzen won; and the PGA Championships of 1970, 1982, 1994 and 2007, in which Dave Stockton, Ray Floyd, Nick Price and Tiger Woods won. This is a fairly high-quality score that may explain why all seven winners held or held the 54-hole lead together. Myth Pereira has a lot to live for.
It was a frustrating week for John Ram. One of the favorites before the tournament, he did not have time, yesterday’s 76 – the lowest level of an unequal week. However, he finished with 68, which boosted confidence a bit when he started thinking about his US Open defense next month in Brooklyn. He finishes +6.
Is Rory McIlroy going to do his usual thing by charging the leaderboard on Sunday without playing with himself? Maybe! He rides in the birdie at 2 to go to the red numbers at -1. Today he will need a stellar round if he wants to satisfy this eight-year-old great thirst, and frankly, the conditions are conducive to low scores. Warmer than yesterday, the wind was much less troublesome and they raised a few boxes in hopes of fireworks. It doesn’t have to be more than anyone out of the chase to publish a bill that will bother surprise leader Mitt Pereira if he stumbles.
In case you missed the news last night, Tiger walked away after that painful (in more than one sense of the word) 79. It was his third worst round of a major championship – he scored 81 shots at Murfield at the 2002 Open and 80 when the U.S. Open was put on a steep waltz that at Chambers Bay – but that leg really played, so it was it was no great surprise when he limped off the stage. Hopefully he will return to the Open Championships in St. Andrews in July; an appearance in Brooklyn next month at the US Open could push it.
Preamble
… And we thought the story that unfolded last year on the island of Kiev, when Phil Mickelson became the oldest player to win a major, could not be equal this year. But look: Mitt Pereira, making his PGA Championship debut, leads by three hits in the final round at the Southern Hills. If the 27-year-old Chilean, the 100th number one in the world, who only starts 28th in the PGA Tour, picks up the Wanamaker trophy in a few hours, it will be a shock with victories on left side John Daly (1991). ), Rich Beam (2002) and Sean Michael (2003).
But should it be such a big surprise? Last year, Pereira did not reach the medals at the Olympics. In the tour, he finished third at the Fortinet Championships last September, 13th at the Texas Open in April and 17th at the Byron Nelson Championship last week. He is also fourth this season in the Greens in regulation. I mean, the answer to the question is obviously YES – please list the legions that sent Pereira to glory three days ago – but it’s not as if the guy doesn’t have enough chops to become the main champion. Yesterday’s steady regrouping after its mini-collapse on the turn testifies to that.
However, other shocks are available! Pereira has yet to win the Tour, but neither does Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalataris or Cameron Young. Abraham Anser and Seamus Power have one victory each in their name, but by the beginning of the week no one had achieved them. Few talked about veterans Stuart Zinc or Bub Watson, and although Justin Thomas was one of the favorites before the tournament if he wins from here, he would be close to John Mahafi’s record for winning seven throws back after 54 holes (1978), and it was would be in itself seismic.
All of this is a very long-term way to say that everything that is happening today in the Southern Hills is guaranteed to be remembered. And hey, it will be even more special if we all go on a journey together. So pin up, friends and honorable Okies, as we embark on another wild trip to the unknown major championships. Good luck to all participants and may the best / most blessed person win.
This is what the top of the leaderboard looked like after 54 holes …
-9: Pereira
-6: Fitzpatyk, Goldsmith
-5: Young
-4: Anser
-3: Strength
-2: Zinc, Thomas, Watson
-1: Simpson, Herbert, Homa, Burns, Woodland, Kirk, Riley
E: Schaufele, Fleetwood, Fox, Hoge, Arnaus, McIlroy
… And that’s when they all come out to meet their destiny (all the time BST). This is included. This is included!
13.00: Maverick McNealy, Sepp Strack
13.09: Robert McIntyre, Patan Kizir
13.18: Jason Cockrac, Billy Horschel
13.27: Adam Hadwin, Thomas Peters
13.36: Bo Hosler, Si Wu Kim
13.45: Justin Harding, John Rum
13.55: Colin Morikova, Kevin Stillman
14.05: Francesco Malinari, Kramer Hicak
14.15: Louis Osthausen, Sean Norris
14.25: Lanta Griffin, Charles Schwarzel
14.35: Keith Mitchell, Mark Leishman
14.45: Cam Davis, Hideki Matsuyama
14.55: Tony Finov, Victor Howland
15.05: Danny McCarthy, Jordan Spit
15.15: Jason Day, Keegan Bradley
15.25: Troy Merritt, Adam Shank
15.45: Brian Harman, Luke Liszt
15.55: Harald Warner III, Brooks Koepka
16.05: Bernd Weisberger, Talor Guch
16.15: K. H. Lee, Shane Lowry
16.25: Roaring Hoshyn, Russell Henley
16.35: Tyrell Hutan, Sebastian Munoz
16.45: Cameron Tringale, Patrick Reed
16.55: Aaron Wise, Ricky Fowler
17.05: Lori Kanter, Justin Rose
17.15: Matt Kuchar, Lucas Glover
17.25: Joaquin Neiman, Cameron Smith
17.35: Brendan Steele, Kevin Na
17.45: Adri Arnaus, Rory McIlroy
17.55: Ryan Fox, Tom Hodge
18.05: Xander Schaufele, Tommy Fleetwood
18.15: Chris Kirk, Davis Riley
18.25: Sam Burns, Gary Woodland
18.35: Lucas Herbert, Max Homa
18.55: Buba Watson, Web Simpson
19.05: Stuart Zinc, Justin Thomas
19.15: Abraham Anser, Seamus Power
19.25: Will Zalataris, Cameron Young
19.35: Mitt Pereira, Matt Fitzpatyk
