ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Two of the golf’s top stars are well within striking distance of winning the PGA Championship on Sunday.
Neither Scottie Scheffler, ranked No. 2 on the world, nor Rory McIlroy, ranked No. 3, believe they’ve had their best stuff for the first three days, but both are buoyed by the fact that they didn’t shoot their way out of the tournament either.
“I got off to a rough start,’’ Scheffler said. “So, I’m pretty proud of how I fought. I stayed in it. I’m only four back going into tomorrow. It could have gone the opposite direction. The front nine was rough. I think I was 4-over through seven, which definitely not the start I had in mind.
“But the way I played the back nine, I started hitting a lot of fairways and hitting some quality shots. I didn’t shoot myself out of it on a day where the condition were tough and I didn’t have my best stuff. I hung in there pretty good and I’m still only four back going into tomorrow, and if I go out and have a great round, I think I’ll have a decent chance.’’
Scheffler is 2-under and four behind leader Brooks Koepka, while McIlroy is 1-under and five back.
McIlroy said he was most pleased with “my ability to just stick in there and show a little bit of grit and determination and not let rounds get away from me too much.’’
“I’d obviously like to be a couple of shots closer to the lead, but with how I’ve felt this week, if you had have told me on Thursday night that I’d be going into Sunday in the top five and with a realistic chance to win this golf tournament, I would have taken it.’’
Jordan Spieth will not complete the career Grand Slam on Sunday at the PGA Championship.
Spieth, with a Masters, U.S. Open and British Open on his résumé, needs only a PGA Championship to become the sixth player to have won all four.
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But he will enter the final round at 6-over, 12 shots out of the lead and with little realistic chance of winning.
This week was Spieth’s sixth attempt at winning a Wanamaker Trophy and joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Gary Player in immortality since he won the 2017 British Open.
Lee Hodges, who was paired with Spieth on Saturday, received a one-stroke penalty for a breach of Rule 13.3a during the third round.
On the 17th hole, Hodges’ first putt stopped at the edge of the hole. Spieth suggested he wait before tapping it in, because it looked as if the ball might eventually drop in.
Hodges waited and the ball did, indeed, fall into the hole. The problem was, he waited for more than 10 seconds, which is, by rule, over the time limit. As a result, Hodges received a one-stroke penalty.
Padraig Harrington made an 11-shot improvement in his third round from the front nine to the back, going out in 43 and coming home in 32. Afterward, he said he can’t remember ever doing that.
“An 11-shot swing is a lot,’’ Harrington said. “I had eight 5s on the front nine. I created some good chances on the back nine. I didn’t play awful on the front nine by any means, I just scored terrible, and that happens. On a tough day, it happens. That’s golf. If all the breaks went your way all the time, it would be boring.’’
Two Buffalo Bills stars, quarterback Josh Allen and edge rusher Von Miller, were on hand for the third consecutive day to watch the golf. Allen, recently added as a member at Oak Hill, said he plans to also attend the U.S. Open next month and the British Open in July before training camp begins. He was at the Masters last month.
