My tee to green game, there’s not much wrong with that – it’s pretty solid.
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“If you had given anyone else in this field my tee shots this week, they would have been up near the top of the leaderboard”, he said. “So you’re going to hit a lot of fairways and the ability to hit 6-, 7-, 8-iron at the pin and have the ball just stop right by its divot is taking away the challenge of the greens”.
Kevin Kisner and Padraig Harrington, a three-time major champion including the 2008 PGA, posted the lowest rounds of the day at 65 to move to 5 under and 4 under par, respectively. So ended a lean major season for McIlroy, who had two top 10s but also missed two cuts.
Rory McIlroy, the world’s fourth-ranked player, is joining Johnson on the sidelines this weekend after bogeying the easy par-5 18th hole to finish at 3-over 143, one shy of making it for the final 36 holes. “But we’ll see how it goes and just kind of take today as a day of rest, I guess”, Streb said.
“I need to do something…I just need to figure out what to do on the greens”.
Phil Mickelson just about avoided that fate. You watch him with a driver, and it’s the sweetest thing you can imagine.
Streb and Walker will be looking for more separation on Saturday from a pack that includes British Open champion Henrik Stenson, who shot a second straight 67 and is three shots back.
He said: “I got to thank all the GAA jerseys”.
“Putting let me down at [the US Open at] Oakmont and then putting let me down here again”.
But the world number one revealed an X-rated pep talk he gave himself after the double bogey on the seventh – where he needed four to get down from a greenside bunker – had done the trick.
“A few swear words inside my head”, he said.
The left-hander, who won the PGA the last time it was played here in 2005, got his round of 2-under 68 started a little better than he did his second round. That turned 72 into a 69.
Up: Emiliano Grillo. Proving that his T-12 at the Open Championship was no fluke, the 23-year-old Argentine is two back after shooting 66-67. He has won five PGA Tour titles in his career, but before this week had never led in a major championship.
A revised hole location was provided to all of the remaining groups. Rickie Fowler had 45 feet for birdie on the first hole.
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Bubba Watson and Russell Knox each were three under through their first 10 holes. The PGA apologized and changed the hole sheet for subsequent groups.
