PITTSFORD, NY — Brooks Koepka says he thrives in the majors because they’re the toughest exams. The PGA Championship was all part of that on a rainy Saturday in Oak Hill, and so was Koepka.
Koepka was at his best even during the occasional rain, and climbed to the 54-hole lead for his second straight. He had a 4-under 66 – the round low at Oak Hill for the second day in a row – and led by one shot over Victor Hovland and Corey Conners.
Now he has to finish it. Koepka failed to do just that last month at the Masters when he had a two-shot lead, played it safe and shot a 75 as John Rahm rallied to win by four.
“I know what I did,” Koepka said. “I promise I won’t come like this tomorrow.”
The last player to score low in the second and third rounds of a major was Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters, which he won by scoring a record 12 shots.
Koepka, who was 6-under-204, wouldn’t be so easy.
Conners played Oak Hill like the U.S. Open—that’s what this PGA Championship feels like—by opening with two birdies and a 13-pars that kept him ahead for much of a wet, grueling day. Then one swing changed everything.
He was in a bunker to the right of the 16th fairway when he hit the ball so weakly that it disappeared into the lip of the wet turf. Plugged deep in the sod, Conners had to drop him in the rough on top of a hill surrounding the dugout. I did well on him stepping up the green into thicker grass and taking a double bogey.
Conners, who had dominated for so long, had to settle for 70.
Hovland overcame early mistakes with three birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. But then the Norwegian failed to capitalize on the scoring stretch – par 13, 14 and 15 – and took a bogey from the bunker on the 18th hole for a par of 70.
He will be in the last group of the major for the second time. Hovland tied Rory McIlroy at St Andrews last summer and closed with 74.
Missing from all the action was Scotty Scheffler, the world No. 2 player, who started with two straight bogeys and didn’t make a birdie — his only of the round — until the 14th hole. He shot 73, but he’s still in the mix.
So did Bresson Dechambeau, who played with Koepka and took a double bogey on the 6th hole for the second day in a row. He came out 70 and had three shots behind him.
McIlroy was like the weather – promising then dismal – during a wild run that ended in a draw with 69. He was among only seven players still under par, but he remained five shots behind four-time grand champion Koepka.
When asked if there was a 65 in Oak Hill, McIlroy said he would have to avoid misses from his card.
“I have to believe there is a result like that because… I would have to pay something like that to have a chance to win,” he said.
And he’ll need some help from Koepka, who’s leading by 54 holes in his second consecutive major.
Oak Hill in nice weather was rough. It rained at the start of play and never let up except for a brief rush of sunshine and shade, then the rain came back. Fairways are framed by awnings. The raw was thick and moist. McIlroy was among the players who wore their caps backwards to prevent rain from dripping off the bill.
Moving along, Koepka was particularly sharp with the putter on the back nine. He drilled a 15-foot birdie on the 12th and made an 18-foot birdie on the 5th and 13th. The real boost came on the 17th, when he rolled one off the outside of 45 feet.
“I felt like he was more aggressive today,” Koepka said of his situation. “Especially on the back nine, and the blows began to strike in the back of the hole.”
Then came Conners’ blunder on the 16th, Hovland bogey on the 18th, and Kupka was single-handedly at the top of the leaderboard chasing a leading fifth, third PGA Championship. Also at stake: A victory moves him into second place in the Ryder Cup standings. Because Koepka plays LIV Golf, he can only earn Ryder Cup points in the majors.
Justin Rose joined Scheffler at 2-under, still very much in the range. And no one seems to be having more fun than California professional Michael Block. He had another round of 70 and tied for eighth, the first club professional to be in the top ten after 54 holes since 1990 at Shoal Creek.
Even Koepka’s stellar run along the back nine didn’t look like it would be enough to catch Conners, and then that changed on the 16th hole. Conners swung and then tried to figure out where he went, looking up into the air, until he realized he had fallen straight into the lip.
“I wish he had that back,” he said.
Scheffler would like his seven-four bogey hole back, and it could have been worse. Shot from the rough wet on the 7th he landed in Allen Creek and jumped to the other side. He was bogey-free through the last 11 holes.
“I didn’t come out of it on a day when the conditions were tough and I didn’t have my best foot,” Scheffler said. “I held out there pretty well and didn’t post the number I wanted to post, but I’m still only four back until tomorrow. And if I go out and get a great run, I think I’ll have a good shot.”