Knox storms it
Scot beats the bad weather to complete third round with a 67. Phil Casey reports
RUSSELL Knox beat the weather at the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol, as he completed his third round with a 67 just seconds before play was suspended due to an approaching storm. After spotting an official was about to blow the horn, the Scot hurried to tap in his par putt on the 18th for a three under total.
Playing partner Marc Leishman was not so fortunate, however, the siren sounding as he lined up his own putt and forcing the Australian to wait until play resumed before completing his round.
Justin Rose celebrated his 36th birthday by recovering from a bogey on the opening hole to card a 66 and improve to two under par, while Kevin Kisner and three-time Major winner Padraig Harrington went one better with rounds of 65 to finish five and four under respectively, while Francesco Molinari finished with six straight birdies in a 68.
Harrington, who carded five birdies in a flawless score, said: “I probably made the most of the round, certainly played average but made the most of it and took my chances. I hit the right shots at the right time and any of the [bad] shots I did hit didn’t do me any harm.
“In my head I’m hoping the scoring goes the same it did the last time the PGA Championship was here [in 2005] when the leaders come under pressure on the golf course and maybe some guys behind, namely me, get a bit of momentum early on and can push on.
“If you do get momentum in the early holes you feel good and feel there are opportunities to make birdies.”
Rose felt his birthday present had come a day early by making the cut on the mark of two over. The top 70 players and ties qualified for the weekend, with 69 eventually finishing on one over par to let the likes of Rose, Ernie Els and Matt Fitzpatrick make the final two rounds.
“It was one of the tightest cuts I’ve seen, incredibly close, but I was very happy to be out here today and made the most of it, which was fun,” the 2013 US Open champion said.
“I’ve just got a vague feeling there might be a 62 today. I’m not saying it’s that easy, but anyone who gets under par through the first six or seven holes, it’s on. The course is there for the taking.
“I actually didn’t play that well to be honest and putted unbelievably well, which was so much fun. It’s what I’ve been working hard on and today was one of the first days I’ve really seen a great deal of progress.”
Rose has won at least one event worldwide every year since 2010, but the Ryder Cup star has yet to taste victory in a frustrating 2016 campaign hampered by a back injury.
“It’s definitely on my mind for sure,” the world No 11 added. “I’ve got to look at 2011 which wasn’t a particularly good year and then I won the BMW Championship and turned it into a great year.
“It can happen any week. I’m aware time is running out but I feel a few things in my game are beginning to click and when they do I know I’m going to be in contention and then you hope to put it away.”
Fitzpatrick could not match Rose’s score but a second consecutive 70 at least represented progress after missing the cut in his last four events.
The 21-year-old currently occupies the final Ryder Cup qualifying place and was told last week to “relax” by European captain Darren Clarke, who has still been impressed by Fitzpatrick’s statistics since winning the Nordea Masters in June.
“Darren knows best and always tells me that, but it’s just difficult when every putt means a lot and it’s almost one of those things where you try too hard,” Fitzpatrick said. “It’s annoying at the minute but you’ve just got to keep working at it.”
A dejected Rory McIlroy labelled his putting “pathetic” after missing the cut when he could only add a 69 to his opening 74 to finish three over par.
McIlroy had returned to the course on Thursday evening to work on his putting after needing 35 in the opening round, but admitted he had failed to make any progress. “Tee to green was good, but it was just pathetic when I got on to the green. I just need to do a lot of work,” he said.