Courtesy: The PGA of America
KOHLER, Wis. (WFRV) — News and notes from Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship.
JASON DAY IS 54-HOLE LEADER AT 97TH PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
After three rounds of the PGA Championship, Jason Day (15-under-par, 201) leads Jordan Spieth (203) by two shots, while Justin Rose and Branden Grace are tied for third and just three strokes off the pace.
Day’s perch atop the leaderboard is not unfamiliar one; earlier this year, he was tied for the 54-hole lead at both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship.
AND ON THE 7TH DAY?
Jason Day will take a two-shot buffer into Sunday’s final round in hopes of securing the first major championship of his career. Day has four career wins, the most recent of which came two weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open.
Vijay Singh won the 2004 PGA Championships at Whistling Straits in a three-player playoff after entering the final round with a one-stroke lead. In 2010, also on the Straits Course, 54-hole leader Nick Watney’s 3-shot advantage quickly faded and Martin Kaymer eventually won his first major, also in a playoff. Watney finished in a tied for 18th place.
SPIETH SIZZLES ON THE BACK NINE
Walking off the 10th green, Jordan Spieth was just one-under-par despite conditions that were yielding low scores. He responded with six birdies in his final eight holes.
Spieth’s six birdies on the back 9 today trumped the five he carded on the same 9 holes on Thursday (2) and Friday (3) combined.
Spieth’s 65 this afternoon was only one shot off his low round in a major championship this year. He shot a 64 in the first round of the Masters back in April.
JORDAN’S RULES: WHAT’S AT STAKE?
If Jordan Spieth is able to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy tomorrow, he will become the first player in the history of golf to win all three U.S.-based major championships in the same season.
To date, Tiger Woods (2000) and Ben Hogan (1953) comprise the short list of those to win three major championships in a single season. Spieth can make it a trio with a win on Sunday.
AMERICAN SWEEP IN DOUBT
Thanks to the efforts of Jordan Spieth (Masters, U.S. Open) and Zach Johnson (Open Championship), Americans can sweep all four majors in the same season for the first time since 1982 (Craig Stadler/Masters, Tom Watson/U.S. Open & Open Championship, Raymond Floyd/PGA Championship at Southern Hills Country Club).
Entering the final round of the PGA Championship, Americans occupy only three of the top nine spots on the leaderboard: Spieth (second, two shots back), Tony Finau (tied 6th, five shots back), Dustin Johnson (tied eighth, six back).
