The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Koepka leads by two at PGA Championship
Brooks Koepka will take a two-shot lead over Adam Scott into the final round of the PGA Championship after shooting a 4-under 66 that left him at 12 under for the tournament.
ST. LOUIS » Two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka took a step toward adding a third major to his short list of victories.
Koepka bullied rain-softened Bellerive on Saturday on the front nine and built a four-shot lead, only to run into bad patch that brought a strong list of contenders into the mix — including Tiger Woods — going into the final round of the PGA Championship.
Even with back-to-back bogeys on the back nine, Koepka had a 4-under 66 for a two-shot lead over Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters champion who has been struggling through his worst season in nearly two decades. Scott had a 65 to get into the final group.
Gary Woodland lost his way in his footprints in a bunker and made triple bogey on No. 10, falling six shots behind, and still managed a 71 to stay within three shots of the lead, along with Jon Rahm (66) and Rickie Fowler (69).
The biggest buzz, as always, belonged to Woods.
Coming off a three-putt bogey on the fifth hole, Woods ran off three straight birdies to get in range, only to stall on the back nine like he has done so often this year. He hit a 4-iron so pure on the par-5 17th hole that he immediately began walking off to it, and thousands of fans roared when it settled 20 feet from the hole for an eagle that could have brought him within one of the lead.
He missed. And then he missed the next from 4 feet for birdie and ended his day with 10 straight pars. Woods had to settle for a 66, and by the time everyone else came through the 17th hole, he slipped back to a tie for sixth, four shots out of the lead.
That’s the same position he was in going into the final round of the British Open at Carnoustie, where he led briefly in the final before fading.
Now he gets another shot, and it most likely will take another round like Saturday.
“Not just myself, but everyone’s going to have to shoot low rounds,” Woods said. “It’s soft, it’s gettable, and you can’t just go out there and make a bunch of pars.”
Koepka was at 12-under 198 and will play in the final group of a major for the first time. He won in the penultimate group at the U.S. Open each of the last two years.