Brooks Koepka leads by one stroke going into the final round of the 2023 PGA Championship.
Media release via Tony Webeck of Australian Golf Media
Western Australia’s Min Woo Lee maintained his position in the top 10 of the leaderboard as heavy rain made the fight for the US PGA Championship in Oak Hill even tougher in Round 3.
The best round of the day – 4 under 66 – gave four-time major champion Brooks Koepka a one-stroke lead from Viktor Hovland (70) and Corey Conners (70), Lee seven strokes back and one of six players for 1-over and tied for 10th place over 54 holes.
Looking for his first top 10 finish in a major championship, Lee (71) spectacularly entered the red numbers on Saturday.
The day after hitting a 77-foot putt on fifth par 3, Lee released a birdie putt from just 44 feet on par 3-11 to move up to part of eighth position.
With the momentum behind him, a poor tee shot on par-5 13th brought Lee’s charge to an abrupt halt.
Missing the left resulted in a penalty stroke, forcing a fourth shot 253 yards from the hole.
His double bogey 7 would be the worst score on a hole playing below par in round 3 and moved the top of the leaderboard further out of reach.
Lee missed an 8-foot birdie on short par-4 14, hit a 10-foot par on 15, two putts on par on 16, went up and down on par on 17, then nearly missed a 19-foot birdie on 18.
The day after he started talking about playing “hard” golf, Lee showed again that he could play his best golf under the greatest pressure.
Lee’s added motivation for a strong finish on Sunday is the knowledge that a lone 27th or better finish would secure a Special Temporary PGA TOUR Membership for the remainder of the season.
Cam Davis and Kiwi Ryan Fox are one shot behind Lee in a tie for 16th after matching 1-over 71 rounds.
Paired with Dustin Johnson, Davis was 1-under in his round when he birdied a six-footer on 16, but lost shots on both 17 and 18, ending the day with a 2-over in the tournament.
An even round of 70 moved Cameron Smith up 21 places and tied for 27th, while Lucas Herbert (72) and Adam Scott (74) are 42nd with 6-over par.
Round 3 Results
T10 Min Woo Lee 73-67-71-211
T16 Ryan Fox (New Zealand) 68-73-71-212
T16 Cam Davis 71-70-71-212
T27 Cameron Smith 72-72-70-214
T42 Lucas Herbert 75-69-72-216
T42 Adam Scott 68-74-74-216
Final round tee times AEST
12:10 Adam ScotAdam Hadwin
12:30 Luke HerbertTom Hoge
2:00 in the morning Cameron SmithHayden Buckley
2:50 am Cam DavisHideki Matsuyama
3:00 am Ryan Fox (New Zealand), Kurt Kitayama
3:10 am Min Woo LeePatrick Reed
