Brooks Koepka cruising to second straight PGA title and golf history
Brooks Koepka keeps his seven-shot lead after an even-par 70 in the third round of the PGA Championship on Saturday
Bethpage Black bared its teeth Saturday in the third round of the PGA Championshi. But at the end of the day the name atop the leaderboard stayed the same.
Brooks Koepka preserved his seven-shot lead going into Sunday’s final round. His fourth major championship and second straight PGA Championship title seem a mere formality now.
Koepka didn’t have as easy a go Saturday as in the first two rounds. He had to battle his way to shoot par. As he did that, his closest competitors fell victim to Bethpage’s notorious treachery. His 12-under, seven-shot lead through 54 holes is the largest margin in PGA Championship history. His three-round total of 198 was only two shots off the PGA record of 196 by David Toms in 2001.
At the start of the round, it looked like the margin would be even bigger. Koepka birdied two of his first five holes to get to 14-under. But he began to look almost human the rest of the round, making back-to-back bogeys on the ninth and 10th. He stopped the slide at the par-five 13th with a touch of good putting and simple brute strength.
Koepka’s drive went well right into the trees lining the fairway. His layup was also left out to the right in thick rough. But Koepka, built more like a linebacker than a golfer, muscled his approach shot out of the rough to within 16 feet and rolled in the birdie putt.
The 29-year-old is now just 18 holes away from not only lifting the Wanamaker Trophy again but taking his place as the best player of this generation. A win would be his fourth major in the last eight he’s played. Less than two years since his first major triumph, it would be the shortest span ever between a player’s first and fourth major titles.
Since the start of 2017, he leads everyone in cumulative score in majors, scoring average and rounds under par. He would tie Rory McIlroy with four majors, the most among the current crop of young players on tour, and he would become the first player in history to simultaneously hold back-to-back titles at two majors.
None of those things, however, will be on his mind when he tees off on Sunday afternoon. For the stoic Koepka, the final round will be just like any other.
“Obviously to win would be great. I mean it is just another day of work for me,” he said after his round. “If you start treating tomorrow’s round differently than every other round I feel like that’s where I would maybe be nervous. I’m not superstitious or anything but, you know, you start worrying about this, worrying about that. It’s just like any other round I’ve ever played. Eighteen holes, try to hit the fairway, try to hit the green and try to make birdie.”
Dustin Johnson, Harold Varner III, Jazz Janewattananond and Luke List are tied for second at five-under, but it would take a historically low round combined with a Koepka meltdown for any of them to have a chance. Xander Schauffele, currently in eighth place, voiced what must be the thinking of every other player when he said on Saturday it was disheartening to play well and still be so far behind. That was just fine with Koepka.
“I’d love to force it on the field,” he said. “I can make it where it’s as big a lead as I can possibly get. It’d be nice to make it 10 on the last hole and be okay, but I’m just trying to play good golf and wherever that puts me I’m going to be satisfied if I play one more good round.”
Koepka played the first two rounds with Tiger Woods, which is fitting because he’s doing to the field this week what Woods used to make commonplace. When he’s playing this well, with a combination of power and feel, everyone else is playing for second.
Johnson and company are seven shots back, but it might as well be 70. The 101st PGA Championship belongs to Koepka, and the rest of the field will be mere spectators as he takes the next step toward golf immortality.