American Jimmy Walker claimed a one-shot lead after the delayed third round was finally completed on Sunday, carding a 68 at Baltusrol to finish 11 under par and a shot ahead of defending champion Jason Day.
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This already was shaping up as a major like no other.
The final round was being conducted with no re-pairing following the third round and with preferred lies.
The 2013 Masters champion did drop two shots in between the birdies and the hole out, so he’s 6 under for the tournament with 10 holes to play.
Consider his opportunities to advance on leader Jimmy Walker.
“I’m just really happy to finish birdie, birdie in both rounds today and post a decent score”.
Grace also birdied the 13th to close the gap to a single shot, but three-putted the 16th and did well to save par on the last after driving into the water on the par five.
The final round figured to be the toughest, especially with the cast of characters behind him.
Day, who started with bogeys on the first and third, set-up a grandstand finish as he conjured the most incredible eagle three on the last hole to put pressure on the champion elect.
“Sometimes, things just don’t come easy”, Walker said after hoisting the 37-pound Wanamaker Trophy, wonderful that he had any strength left after a 36-hole final day brought on my rain over the weekend. He was at the hospital into the early hours Wednesday, when his wife, Ellie, had an allergic reaction following the PGA Championship Champions dinner. He rifled his birdie putt 3 feet past the hole but made the par putt coming back for the win, posting a score of 14-under 266 in soft conditions at the rain-soaked Baltusrol course. “But I played some nice golf out there”.
Day stuck around, determined to be like his buddy Tiger Woods and win back-to-back at the PGA Championship.
Day only managed one practice round at Baltusrol after feeling under the weather and then spending Tuesday night in hospital after his wife suffered an allergic reaction. He will focus more on the mental part of his game, which he said hurt him here the first two days, as he seeks his first victory since the 2013 British Open. Koepka is playing in his first event since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational due to a nagging ankle injury. A big week by Koepka could all but clinch a spot on his first Ryder Cup team.
Sharing fifth on 203 were Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama and Americans William McGirt and Robert Streb, who on Friday matched the record low major round with a 63.
Jordan Spieth finished with eight straight pars, missing good birdie chances along the way, and had to settle for a 69. That puts him at nine-under for the entire PGA Championship and two shots off the pace.
Adam Scott one-hopped his approach shot on the par-4 eighth hole for an eagle.
Phil Mickelson shot a two-under 68, finishing at three under at the venue where he won his Wanamaker trophy in 2005.
It marked the first time players have ever been allowed to lift, clean and place from the fairway during a major championship, in a nod to the soaking wet conditions and the forecast of more rain in the area.
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He is the first wire-to-wire US PGA victor since Phil Mickelson triumphed here in 2005 after leading from day one.
