Collin Morikawa chipped in on 14, starting a flurry of a finish.
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The first major of 2020 was in doubt for much of the afternoon, until a Collin Morikawa flurry settled everything.
The 23-year-old chipped-in for a magical birdie on the 14th and drove the green on the drivable 16th, where he made a smooth 7-footer to grab control of the tournament.
The kid who played his college golf nearby in Berkley, Collin Morikawa jumped to the top of the leaderboard Sunday afternoon with a ridiculous chip-in. After his approach into the 14th left him short of the green, he was staring down a potential bogey. Then he hit the most pure chip and dove into the cup. Check it out below.
Matthew Wolff makes late charge, posts best score in clubhouse
On the 7th tee box, Matthew Wolff was four under. On the 11th tee box, he was nine under. Thanks to a scintillating four-hole stretch of four-under par, Wolff finds himself just one back of the leaders. The 21-year-old is looking to win his first major championship in his first ever appearance. Unfortunately for him, he stumbled on the difficult 14th and dropped a stroke.
Thanks to a birdie on 16 and playing the 18th hole perfectly, Wolff bounced back to post 10 under. He’ll now have to wait at least an hour to see how well it holds up.
Rory McIlroy fires back at Brooks Koepka’s comments
“I like my chances,” Koepka said. “When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. I don’t know, (Johnson)’s only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.”
He wasn’t done there.
“I was glancing at the leaderboard and of the ten guys that are up there, there’s been, what, three majors?” he continued. “DJ has been in this spot a couple of times and he hasn’t been able to capitalize.”
On Sunday afternoon, Rory McIlroy fired back.
“I was watching the golf last night and heard the interview and was just sort of taken aback a little bit by sort of what he said and whether he was trying to play mind games or not,” McIlroy told reporters after his final round 68. “If he’s trying to play mind games, he’s trying to do it to the wrong person. I don’t think DJ really gives much of a concern that.”
Whenever Woods finishes a tournament, we’re especially focused on one question: What event will he play next?
We know he’s skipping next week’s Wyndham Championship, but then the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin. Woods will have the opportunity to play the Northern Trust at TPC Boston, the BMW Championship the following week at Olympia Fields and, if he plays well enough, the week after that at the Tour Championship at East Lake. Two weeks after that is the U.S. Open.
Four events in six weeks?! That would be a shock to the system for a guy who has only played two events in six months. Here’s what Woods said about playing multiple weeks:
“Well, that’s potentially what could happen, and we’ve been training for that,” he said. “Trying to get my strength and endurance up to make sure that I can handle that type of workload. We knew once I started playing again when I committed to Memorial that this was going to be a heavy workload, and my training sessions, we’ve been pushing it pretty hard, making sure that I kept my strength and endurance up.”
10 possible PGA Championship outcomes, ranked from least to most likely
10. Jordan Spieth shoots 54 (!) to win
For those who love Spieth — which is most of the golf world — this has been a rollercoaster week. After a scratchy opening 73, Spieth put in a marathon practice session and the live TV shots of him alone at the range, desperately searching for a secret that has now eluded him for three years, tugged at the heartstrings.
He responded on Friday with a nearly flawless 68 to make the cut on the number and earn a tee time with his buddy Justin Thomas, a fraught pairing given that Spieth once led the PGA Tour victory count 8-1 but has now been surpassed by the current world No 1. Over the first six holes on Saturday, Thomas outplayed Spieth by a whopping eight strokes. Twitter pulsated with a mix of shock and pity as Spieth shot a 76 that left him tied for last.
After the round he headed straight for the range, head down, eyes cloudy, walking slowly and looking utterly grim. But Thomas, a true pal, was optimistic, saying, ”I know he’s going to be fine. I’m not just saying it because he’s one of my best friends. All of us go through little spurts. It’s just for him, this has just been a tough one. I mean, he’s going to be fine. All it takes sometimes is one week and all your confidence gets back. That’s golf.” Here’s hoping.
9. Tiger Woods shoots 58 to win
Pre-tournament, there was much concern about how Woods would fare in the chilly temperatures at Harding, but given that he’s among the tournament leaders in driving distance (313.8 yards), it seems like his back is fine. Not so his vaunted putting stroke, at least with the new, longer blade Woods put in play this week.
On Friday he made only 49 feet of putts for the entire round. On Saturday, Tiger didn’t hole a putt longer than five feet across the first 13 holes, and when he finally wiggled in a 10-footer for par on 14 he had to laugh ruefully. At that point he was four over on the day and had played himself out of contention.
Woods later said he was spooked by greens that putt slower than they look: “It’s about reading the greens. I just haven’t hit the putts hard enough. My feel and what I’m seeing just aren’t matching up.” But Tiger made a few mid-range putts coming in and Sunday will begin his run-up to Winged Foot; given his lack of reps over the last five months, this PGA was always going to be about building toward the future. Tiger is not going to win this week but expect a solid bounce-back round on Sunday to give him some momentum.
Brooks Koepka jabs Dustin Johnson’s major total, bullish about PGA three-peat
Brooks Koepka has never lacked for confidence. After wrapping up his third round of the PGA Championship, that self-assuredness was on full display when he was asked how he felt about his chances going into Sunday pursuing Dustin Johnson.
“I like my chances,” Koepka said. “When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. I don’t know, (Johnson)’s only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.”
It was a not-so-subtle jab from the four-time major winner at his old (albeit less-accomplished-in-the-majors) friend. But maybe that killer instinct is just the reason why Koepka has been so successful in the big ones. No one is safe — not even his workout buddies.
Koepka also used the occasion of his post-round interview with CBS’ Amanda Balionis to point out DJ’s major total, as well the rest of the mostly still-new-to-Sunday-major-pressure leaders, including Scottie Scheffler and Cameron Champ.
“A lot of the guys on the leaderboard, I don’t think have one,” he said. “I guess DJ has only won one, but I don’t know the other guys that are up there.”
