US PGA Championship day three: Johnson eyes redemption
A decade after controversially being denied a play-off place in the US PGA Championship, Dustin Johnson has his sights set on a redemptive victory and second major title in San Francisco.
Johnson fired eight birdies in a third round of 65 at Harding Park to finish nine under par and hold a one-shot lead over compatriots Cameron Champ and Scottie Scheffler.
Defending champion Brooks Koepka, who is seeking an historic third straight victory in the event, is two shots off the pace alongside Collin Morikawa and England’s Paul Casey, with Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood part of a six-strong group on six under.
The top 17 names on the leaderboard are separated by just four shots in what promises to be a thrilling conclusion to the first major championship in 13 months.
Tweet of the day
Reporter: “There’s a few guys around you with one major; you’ve obviously got more. Was the second one harder to win?”
Brooks: “Well, if you look at the top of the leaderboard, I’d say yes.”
— Ryan Lavner (@RyanLavnerGC) August 9, 2020
Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka had no qualms about poking fun about 54-hole leader and 2016 US Open winner Dustin Johnson.
Quote of the day
“I’m not going to do anything different to prepare but we’ve got nothing to watch on TV because we were watching The Last Dance and we finished it” – Paul Casey when asked how he will prepare for Sunday’s final round.
Shot of the day
95 feet🤯🤯#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/86HhjrucHc
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 9, 2020
Bryson DeChambeau would have been happy to two-putt from the front edge of the 18th green, but holed from 95 feet for the most unlikely of birdies.
Round of the day
8 birdies. #PGAChamp leader. @DJohnsonPGA 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/0nZUwaZEiK
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) August 9, 2020
Dustin Johnson, Scottie Scheffler and Collin Morikawa all shot 65 on Saturday, but only Johnson did so with a double bogey on his card.
Statistic of the day
Dustin Johnson leads the PGA Championship field in Strokes Gained: Putting (6.705); Made 140′ 6″ of putts and needed 24 putts in round three
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) August 9, 2020
Johnson’s putting is not always his strongest suit, but that was not the case in round three.
On the up
The chances of a first English winner since 1919 with Paul Casey, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood all in contention.
On the slide
The chances of Li Haotong becoming the first Chinese player to win a men’s major title after a third round of 73 left him four off the lead.
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