Kisner bridges gap with major in reach
Back-to-back eagles help DeLaet climb leaderboard heading into final round
CHARLOTTE, N.C.— Kevin Kisner survived a calamitous finish at the PGA Championship thanks to a good bounce off a bridge that allowed him to escape with a bogey and take a one-shot lead into the final round at Quail Hollow.
Kisner already gave up a two-shot lead with a 6-iron into the water on the 16th hole for double bogey.
Then, he nearly did it again at the end of Quail Hollow’s fabled Green Mile. His 7-iron went left toward the creek until it landed on the concrete bridge, sailed high in the air and disappeared in the thick grass on the hill above the water.
Kisner did well to chop that onto the green and two-putt from 45 feet for a 1-over 72.
Jason Day wasn’t so fortunate, most of that his own doing. Day took a big risk and paid a big price, going from behind a tree to flower bushes, into the rough and short of the green. The final result was a quadruple-bogey eight, leaving him seven shots behind.
Kisner had the lead going into the final round, a great spot to pursue his first major championship. He just doesn’t like what he sees in his rearview mirror, where the players are a lot closer than they once appeared.
Hideki Matsuyama made only one birdie and wasted two good scoring chances on the back nine. Then again, he had a rather dull finish that allowed him to salvage a 73 and leaves him only one shot behind as he tries to bring Japan its first major championship.
Chris Stroud, the last player to qual- ify for the PGA Championship, was briefly tied for the lead until he three-putted his last two holes for a 71. He was one shot behind and will be playing in the final group with Kisner.
“I’m happy I’m in the position I’m in,” said Kisner, who was at 7-under 206. “I had a chance to run away from guys and take people out of the tournament that were four or five, six back. And I didn’t do it. Now, I’m in a dogfight tomorrow and I have to be prepared for that.”
After the final hour of the third round Saturday, he should be prepared for anything.
Justin Thomas, the son of a PGA professional, had the right formula. He didn’t drop a shot over the last 12 holes and fired a 69 to finish just two behind along with Louis Oosthuizen, who saved par on the18th with a bold shot for a 71.
It was everyone else in the hunt that fell apart.
Rickie Fowler, quietly lurking with four birdies in an eight-hole stretch, failed to birdie the par-5 15th — the easiest hole at Quail Hollow — and followed with a three-putt bogey on the 16th, an 8-iron into the water for double bogey on the17th and a threeputt bogey from a little more than 20 feet on the 18th. That gave him a 73, and after getting within three shots, he trailed by six.
Paul Casey also was in position until his shot on 18 missed by a fraction and settled in the rough above the hole. His chip ran off the green and he made double bogey. Casey played the final three holes in 4 over and shot 74. He was seven behind. Graham DeLaet, of Weyburn, Sask., made an unexpected run up the leaderboard after playing the four-hole stretch from No. 13 through 16 in a remarkable 6 under par, highlighted by back-to-back eagles on No. 14 and 15. He finished up the round with two pars for a 68.
The hot spell left DeLaet 2 under par for the tournament, still six shots back of Kisner.
DeLaet, who has never won a professional tournament on American soil, nearly had a hole-in-one on the par-4 14th hole, driving the ball eight feet past the hole. On the par-5 15th hole, he put his approach shot to within 12 feet. He made both putts for eagle.
Of the 15 players who remained under par, Oosthuizen is the only one who has won a major, and that was seven years ago. The South African had his own problems. His right arm tightened up on the front nine and he required a therapist to work on it. Then he hit a root on a shot with an 8-iron and bent the club, meaning he couldn’t use it when he needed it late in his round.
He still has a chance to add to that British Open title at St. Andrews in 2010.