Robert TheodorsonMoving day saw two of LIV’s best, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau making the most out of their Saturday to bolt up the leaderboard, including a couple of short-lived number one spots!
Jon Rahm was the big winner on Saturday, shooting a 67 and moving up to T5 in the standings. Rahm was able to score four birdies a piece on the front and back nines.
The Legion XIII captain’s putter was working near perfectly after a somewhat disappointing first two days around the green. Rahm said of his outing, “I played really good golf today and it was the kind of round that I thought I was capable of.”
Bryson DeChambeau, the favourite among the LIV field for the PGA Championship, held the top spot on the leaderboard momentarily until disaster struck on The Green Mile.
DeChambeau’s luck finally ran out and marred what would have otherwise been a perfect day with a bogey on 16 and double bogey on the Par 3 17th.
Still, Bryson is in position to win it all as he sits 5-under par and T8 in the standings. If anyone is capable of having a shockingly great final round, it’s these two men.
The man to beat Sunday is quite possibly the most difficult golfer to dislodge on Championship Sundays.
Who else could it be but Scottie Scheffler? What began as a solid, though somewhat up and down round received a huge exclamation point at the Par 4 14th when Scheffler sunk a round-defining eagle putt.
From there on out it was the Scottie Scheffler show once again, and it didn’t seem to matter what anyone else in the field was doing even after the end of the two-time Masters winner’s day. Scheffler sits alone in 1st place at 11-under par after his round of 65.
If there’s any chance of stealing a win from what appears to be a sure thing for Scheffler, Rahm and DeChambeau will need perfect days and must take risks to increase the scoring.
Sunday scores of three, four, or five under par are just not going to cut it against Scottie. Since Scheffler has not shot over 69 the entire tournament, it’s likely one of the LIV golfers will need to match or try to break the course record of 61 if they have any chance of winning barring a total collapse by the leaders.
Around Quail Hollow
Elsewhere, David Puig (-2; T23), Niemann (-1; T31), and Tyrrell Hatton (E; T36) remain at even par or better. David Puig’s Saturday 68 gives the youngster a real shot at ending the tournament in the Top 15 or Top 10.
Unfortunately, Puig’s captain Sergio Garcia had the worst Saturday of anyone in the field (8-over par) and sits in dead last place in 74th.
Legion XIII’s Tom McKibbin and Cleeks’ Richard Bland also had rough outings and both sit at T49. Bland’s day was especially bad after blowing a gorgeous 3-under par total score going into Saturday.
Dickie B will want to end the weekend on a good note and finish at least even par as he will be defending his title at the Senior PGA Championship next weekend.
TGL’s Boston Common Golf members Keegan Bradley (-5; T8) and Adam Scott (-4; T13) have put themselves into contention to join Rahm and DeChambeau in hopes of stealing a win.
Sweden’s Alex Noren had the second-best day amongst the field, only behind Scottie Scheffler both in score and placement. Could Noren or Davis Riley (-7; T3) pull off a massive upset and eclipse the champ?
Fall of the Giants
Betting favourite and reigning Masters champion Rory McIlroy was supposed to dominate this PGA Championship as Quail Hollow might as well be his home course.
Rory’s Saturday only saw two birdies, quickly erased and overcome by three bogeys including one on The Green Mile, a stretch he usually makes short work of.
Reigning PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele sits with Bland, McKibbin, and McIlroy at T49. It has been a disappointing couple of days for the two-time major winner as recent play on the PGA Tour indicated Schauffele was completely healthy and ready to challenge the field for another win.
Perennial Top 10 stars Colin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood fell out of contention with days of 3 and 5-over par, respectively.
Can Scottie retain his lead one more time to take home a third major championship or will Jon Rahm or Bryson DeChambeau have career outings and upset the order?
Barring another storm delay, the tournament concludes with an 8 AM ET start time.
