'LIV Member' Kepka "4 Under Par"... 'Leap to the Lead'

Hoblan PGA Championship 3R Tied 2nd
DeChambeau 4th, Scheffler 5th, McIlroy 7th
Johnson 33rd, Ram and Lee Kyung-hoon Tied 42nd

‘Major Hunter’ Brooks Koepka (USA) takes the lead.

On the 20th (local time), Koepka surged with a 4-under-par round in the third round of the season's second major tournament, the PGA Championship (total prize money $15 million), held at Oak Hill Country Club (par 70, 7,394 yards) in Rochester, New York. He topped the leaderboard at 6-under-par 204. Viktor Hovland (Norway) and Corey Conners (Canada) are tied for second place at 5-under-par 205, while ‘The Hulk’ Bryson DeChambeau (USA) sits in fourth at 3-under-par 207.

Brooks Koepka is waiting to take his second shot on the 17th hole fairway during the third round of the PGA Championship.
[Rochester, USA=Photo by AFP·Yonhap News]

Starting from a tie for sixth place, three strokes behind, Koepka collected five birdies and one bogey. After consecutive birdies on holes 4 and 5, he took a brief breather with a bogey on the 7th hole (par 4), then added back-to-back birdies on holes 12 and 13. Koepka further reduced his score by one stroke on the 17th hole (par 4), ultimately taking a one-stroke lead. He now has a chance for his fifth major win and ninth PGA Tour victory overall. Koepka is a ‘major powerhouse’ who achieved back-to-back wins at the US Open in 2017 and 2018, and the PGA Championship in 2018 and 2019. After moving to LIV Golf last year, he secured two wins. He also showed his strength by finishing tied for second at last month’s Masters.

World No. 2 Scottie Scheffler (USA), who was co-leader the previous day, shot 1-over-par and dropped to a tie for fifth place at 2-under-par 208. Justin Rose (England) is also tied for fifth, while World No. 3 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is in seventh place at 1-under-par 209. Minwoo Lee (Australia) and Tommy Fleetwood (England) are tied for 10th at 1-over-par 211.

‘LIV Golf star’ Dustin Johnson (USA) lost four strokes and slipped to a tie for 33rd at 5-over-par 215. World No. 1 Jon Rahm (Spain) and Jordan Spieth (USA) are tied for 42nd at 6-over-par 216. Among Korean players, the only one to make the cut, Kyung-hoon Lee, dropped five strokes with three birdies and eight bogeys, falling to a tie for 42nd. Defending champion Justin Thomas and the oldest major champion Phil Mickelson (both USA) are tied for 67th at 10-over-par 220.