PGA Championship: Jason Day leads, Jordan Spieth lurks
By Phil Watson
Jason Day will go into the final day of a major championship with the lead for the third time this year.
Jordan Spieth has come from behind to win one of those events at June’s U.S. Open and is in prime position to steal the Wanamaker Trophy on Sunday at Whistling Straits in Kohler.
ALSO ON DAIRYLAND EXPRESS: Top 10 Packers Not In The Hall Of Fame
Day shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday, overcoming a double bogey on the 15th with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th and enters the final round with a two-shot lead with a 15-under 201 through three rounds.
His playing partner on Sunday will be Spieth, who roared to a 7-under 65 by closing with a sizzling 30 on the back nine that included three straight birdies to finish his round.
More from Wisconsin Sports
- 5 Takeaways From Week 2 Packers vs. Falcons
- 5 Takeaways from Packers Week One Win Over Bears
- 5 Defensive Packers on Roster Bubble Entering Preseason
- 3 best kept secrets on Packers roster heading into 2023 summer
- Instant Takeaways: Packers select Iowa edge rusher Lukas Van Ness
Spieth has bounced back from an opening-round 71 with rounds of 67 and 65 to get to 13-under for the championship.
Day doesn’t look at the near misses as a negative.
“I’ve played phenomenal golf leading up to this,” Day said via the Associated Press. “But now I’ve got to focus on Round 4. Everything I need to do is just make sure that I focus and prepare myself for [Sunday].”
The final pair is set to go off at 1:45 p.m., but there could already be some movement on the leaderboard by then as six players are within five shots of the lead and another two are six back.
Branden Grace of South Africa had the round of the day Saturday with an 8-under 64 to get to 12-under, three shots back, and will be paired Sunday with Justin Rose, the 2013 U.S. Open champion who is also 12-under after a third-round 68.
Martin Kaymer, who won the PGA Championship the last time it was held at Whistling Straits in 2010, put himself in position for another run with a third-round 65. He stands alone in fifth place at 11-under for the championship.
Second-round leader Matt Jones was the only player in the group near the top of the scoreboard to struggle Saturday, shooting a 1-over 73 to fall into a tie for sixth with American Tony Finau, who shot a 69 Saturday. The duo is tied at 10-under.
Dustin Johnson, the first-round leader after an opening-morning 66, bounced back from a second-round 73 to shoot 68 on Saturday and goes into the final round tied with Anirban Lahiri of India at 9-under. Lahiri shot a 70 on Saturday.
Steve Stricker had a 1-under 71 Saturday and goes into the final round at 2-under. He is set to begin play at 9:51 a.m. and is tied for 44th place.
Vijay Singh, who won the title the first time the PGA Championship came to Whistling Straits in 2004, also shot a 71 on Saturday and is tied for 52nd place at 1-under for the championship.
Live Feed
FanSided
Hiroshi Iwata, who had a tournament-best 63 in the second round, settled for 70 on Saturday and is in a group of seven golfers tied at 6-under, a group that includes Boo Weekley, who had a 65 on Saturday, and Rory McIlroy, playing in his first major tournament since injuring his ankle playing soccer earlier this year, who had a 68 on Saturday and provided some thrills.
Spieth is trying to become just the third player to win three majors in one year, a group that includes only Ben Hogan in 1953 and Tiger Woods in 2000. Spieth won the Masters and U.S. Open before his Grand Slam quest ended at The Open Championship last month.
“Just to try to get my name on the Wanamaker Trophy, that’s about it,” Spieth said of his mind set for Sunday. “That’s the only history I’ll be thinking of when we step on the first tee is you can hoist that trophy (Sunday} and make it happen.
“I’ll go into (Sunday) strictly for the history piece of trying to get my name on a different major.”
Grace ended his round Saturday by holing out for birdie from the front bunker on 18 and knows major tournament angst. He was tied for the lead on the 16th hole on Sunday at the U.S. Open in June before hitting his drive out of bounds.
Next: Aussies Rule After Weather-Delayed Round 2