PGA Championship: After taking a one-shot lead into the final round at Oak Hill, Brooks Koepka put himself in prime position to win his third PGA Championship and sixth major.
The former world No. 1 shot a fantastic round of the day 66 in torrential weather, combining five birdies with one bogey to take the lead after 54 holes for the second consecutive major.
With Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland both a stroke back after costly double-bogeys late in their rounds, Koepka leads the field going into the final round at six under and one under.
On two under par, the world’s No. 2 golfer Scottie Scheffler and England’s Justin Rose are tied for fifth place. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy’s second consecutive 69 kept him five shots back of the leader as he pursues his first major victory since 2014.
The player to catch at Oak Hill is Koepka.
When Hovland failed to save par from the sand at the fourth hole, Scheffler lost his overnight co-lead and Hovland went one behind, giving Conners the sole lead. Koepka closed the gap after making back-to-back birdies from the fourth.
Koepka made a mistake at the seventh hole, momentarily giving Conners a two-shot lead. Hovland then joined Rose on four under after making three birdies in a span of five holes around the turn to make up for a bogey at the fifth.
Conners broke a streak of pars with a close-range birdie at the eighth hole to jump back two ahead, but playing partner Hovland quickly caught up with him after making consecutive birdies starting at the eleventh hole. The two then traded pars for the following several holes.
While Conners followed a 10-foot birdie at the 15th by surrendering his lead for the first time of the day with a costly error at the par-four next, Koepka scored birdies at the 12th and 13th holes to move to five under and within one of the leading duo.
Conners found sand off the tee, hit his second ball into a fairway bunker, missed the green with his third shot, and then made two putts from 12 feet for a double-bogey six.
After finishing the back nine holes without making a bogey, Koepka made a huge birdie at the 17th to tie Hovland for the lead. Then, when Hovland couldn’t get up and down to save par at the last, Koepka gained the lead outright.
“It [winning] would mean a lot,” remarked Koepka. A significant victory would be meaningful to everyone, in my opinion. It would be wonderful to win one. Just have to get out there and perform well tomorrow.
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