Women walk by the 18th hole after third round play was suspend for the day at the PGA Championship golf tournament at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., Saturday, July 30, 2016.
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Thunderstorms are forecast into tomorrow morning at the 7,28-yard layout with rains to be heavy at times.
Harrington will start Saturday’s third round at one over par, 10 shots behind halfway leaders Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb of the United States.
The final round is scheduled to begin at 8:40 a.m.in nine-minute intervals with the same pairings from round three.
If the tournament goes into Monday it will be the third straight time for a major at Baltusrol, following the 2005 PGA and 1993 U.S. Open. In between those two, there have been 26 other golfers to shoot 63, including Mickelson earlier this year in the British Open in Scotland.
Two-time major champion Spieth was birdie-free for much of the first day, but picked up two shots in his final three holes to open the tournament with an even-par 70.
“I think somebody is going to break that major record of 63”, Mickelson said after firing a third-round 68.
“It’s a major championship and we certainly try and look at starting from one tee wherever we can”, Haigh told reporters after play was called on Saturday.
And if Mickelson stands any chance of winning this tournament, he’s going to need one of those record rounds Sunday, as he now sits seven shots behind co-leaders Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb (9-under).
One man actually hoping for history to repeat itself was Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, who had earlier carded a flawless 65 to finish four under par, matching Phil Mickelson’s winning total of 11 years ago.
“I’m having a hard time right now managing my expectations, because I know how well I’m playing”, he said, “and I’m so result oriented that I’m not playing very relaxed, free golf like I did at the British, like I did in the preparation here”.
“Hindsight is twenty/twenty but it’s going to be a weird championship now”, he said.
Of the players who completed their third round on Saturday, Kevin Kisner held the clubhouse lead at 5-under 205 after a round of 65 that included seven birdies and two bogeys.
Double major victor Martin Kaymer of Germany: “An ideal case, we’re going to play 36 holes tomorrow, which I don’t mind”. If not, it could produce a scenario in which the back half of the field plays in wildly different conditions than the leaders.
Walker, winless this season after winning three tournaments in 2014 and two more past year, also emerged from nowhere, after finding his putting stroke, notwithstanding his sole bogey of the day on the par-five 18th. It just shows you how bad I was around the greens. “The body is normally fine to play two rounds of golf”.
“I love the challenge”, he said.
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“Darren knows best and always tells me that, but it’s just difficult when every putt means a lot and it’s nearly one of those things where you try too hard”, Fitzpatrick said. “Greens are pristine. You can make a lot of putts”. They’re soft, so you can get the ball very close. “You can make a lot of birdies”.
