NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — Saturday’s third round at the PGA Championship brought a dramatic shift in scoring conditions, with three golfers carding matching 5-under 65s by early afternoon.
Chris Kirk, Norway’s Kristoffer Reitan, and England’s Justin Rose all posted the low rounds before 2 p.m., matching the total number of rounds at 65 or better from the tournament’s first two days combined.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland was also making a strong move, recording six birdies against one bogey through 15 holes to reach a tie for the 36-hole lead at 4 under par.
The improved scoring came after two days of player complaints about extremely difficult pin placements and challenging weather conditions at the Pennsylvania course near Philadelphia.
Kirk came tantalizingly close to golf history, needing just one more birdie to record what would have been the sixth 62 in major championship history. However, his approach shot at the 18th hole came up short of the green, and his lengthy putt from the fringe rolled 8 1/2 feet past the hole. He missed the comeback putt when it caught the lip, resulting in a double-bogey that drew gasps from spectators.
“When I’m not playing particularly well, I tend to play more conservative. When I’m having a nice day and making putts, I’m going to try to keep the pedal down as long as I can,” Kirk explained. “I was trying to make that putt from the front fringe on 18. It just doesn’t always work out that way.”
The aggressive approach made sense given the circumstances. All three players who shot 65 began the day at 3 over par, just one shot inside the cut line and needing to make significant moves.
“I’m hoping the lead doesn’t stretch more than 6 or 7 (under),” Rose commented. “That’s kind of what I’m kind of sitting here hoping. I think, if you don’t get off to a fast start, then you’re going to kind of get to, let’s say, the seventh hole, eighth hole, and you’re going to be like, geez, you know the easy holes are running out.”
Both Kirk and Rose built their strong rounds primarily on the front nine holes. Rose posted a 5-under 30 on the outward nine, recording consecutive birdies at holes 3, 4, 5, and 6, plus another at the ninth. Kirk managed five birdies over a six-hole span before stumbling with a bogey at the challenging par-3 eighth hole.
Reitan took a different path to his 65, making eagles on both the par-4 13th and par-5 16th holes. Tournament officials moved the tee forward on the 13th hole Saturday, reducing it to a drivable 292 yards. Reitan’s tee shot struck the flagstick with force before settling just 6 feet away for an easy eagle putt.
The 28-year-old Norwegian, fresh off his first PGA Tour victory at last week’s Truist Championship, joined Rose and Kirk in identifying two key factors that made scoring easier: more reasonable pin positions and warmer, calmer weather compared to Thursday and Friday.
“I think they’re probably halfway responsible, both of those two factors,” Reitan observed, though he cautioned that conditions might change as the day progressed.
“I don’t know how it’s going to look like this afternoon, but happy to get out early and try to take — or take advantage of the early morning conditions.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler had harshly criticized Friday’s pin placements as “absurd,” saying they were the most difficult he’d encountered since becoming a professional. Many pins were positioned on narrow shelves or steep slopes within the greens.
“Pin locations is a big difference, for sure,” Kirk noted Saturday. “There’s a handful of really tough ones out there still, but for the most part, they’re much, much more accessible than they have been the last few days.”
“It is warming up, and I think that makes a big difference,” Rose added. “Suddenly the ball is going a bit further. I think players feel a little bit better in T-shirts, and the body works a bit better, people start hitting the ball a little bit further.”
The tournament’s 36-hole co-leaders, Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley, were scheduled to begin their third rounds at 2:40 p.m. local time. Other players making significant moves included Xander Schauffele, who was 4 under for his round and 3 under for the tournament, and Spain’s Jon Rahm, who stood at 3 under for the day and 2 under overall.
