PGA Championship: Brooks Koepka leads Viktor Hovland after stunning third-round 66 at Oak Hill
Brooks Koepka holds a one-shot lead at the PGA Championship
Brooks Koepka moved into pole position to claim a third PGA Championship victory and fifth major title after taking a one-shot lead into the final round at Oak Hill.
The former world No 1 charged up the leaderboard with a brilliant round-of-the-day 66, mixing five birdies with a lone bogey in heavy rain to grab the 54-hole lead for the second successive major.
-6 Brooks Koepka (USA)
-5 Viktor Hovland (Nor), Corey Conners (Can)
-3 Bryson DeChambeau (USA)
Koepka heads into the final round on six unders and a shot clear of Corey Conners, who held the lead until a costly double-bogey late in his round, with Viktor Hovland also a shot back after a final-hole bogey.
Cory Conners hits the ball from close range directly into the lip of the bunker, which forced him to lose two shots and the lead at the PGA Championship.
World No 2 Scottie Scheffler and England’s Justin Rose share fifth spot on two under, while a second successive 69 from Rory McIlroy kept him within five of the lead as he chases a first major victory since 2014.
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Koepka the man to catch at Oak Hill
Scheffler immediately lost his overnight co-lead when he started with back-to-back bogeys and Hovland fell one behind when he failed to save par from the sand at the fourth, giving Conners the solo lead, while Koepka got within one after posting successively birdies from the fourth.
Koepka dropped a shot at the seventh to temporarily give Conners a two-shot cushion, only for Hovland to cancel out a bogey at the fifth by birdieing the eighth and join Rose – who made three birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn – we four under.
Justin Rose felt he got the most out of his round and said he’s fighting again to give himself the best opportunity to win another major championship.
Conners ended a run of pars with a close-range birdie at the eighth to get back two clear but saw playing partner Hovland pull level with successive birdies from 11th, with the pair exchanging pars over the next few holes.
Koepka added birdies at the 12th and 13th to move to five under and within one of the leading pair, while Conners followed a 10-foot birdie at the 15th by losing his lead for the first time of the day with a costly mistake at the par – four next.
Justin Rose put on a putting masterclass in his third round to give him an outside chance of glory at the PGA Championship.
Conners found sand off the tee and then fired into the face of the fairway bunker with his second, with the Canadian missing the green with his third shot before two-putting from 12 feet for a double-bogey six.
Koepka holed a monster birdie at the 17th to close out a bogey-free back nine and join Hovland in a share of the lead, then was handed the outright advantage when the Norweigan failed to get up and down to save by at the last.
Brooks Koepka said it would be special to join Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in winning three or more PGA Championships if he can win the major again tomorrow.
“It [winning] would mean a lot,” Koepka said. “I think a major championship would mean a lot to anybody. To win one would be fantastic. Just got to go out and go play good tomorrow.”
Who remains in major contention?
Hovland and Conners both signed for level-par 70s and DeChambeau matched the same total to remain at three under, while Scheffler recovered from a front-nine 39 to birdie the 14th and par his last four holes and stay alongside Rose within four of the lead .
Scottie Scheffler caught a huge break, skimming the water to land just shy of the green on the seventh.
McIlroy was briefly just three back after birdieing both early par-threes but lost ground with three bogeys in a four-hole stretch, then followed three birdies in five holes on the back nine by dropping a shot on his penultimate hole of the day.
Club per continued his Cinderella week with a third 70 in as many days, leaving him in a share of eighth, while Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry are both in the group level-par heading into a final day where just six strokes separate 15 players.
Who will win the 105th PGA Championship? Watch the final round live on Sunday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf.
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