In the 2005 PGA Championship, they chose not to move up the tee times on Sunday with a high possibility of storms in the forecast, and Phil Mickelson had to return to play five holes to secure a one-shot victory.
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With rain in the forecast for Saturday afternoon, the PGA of America could have elected to start the third round early in the morning using both tees.
Jason Day, who is tied for third and two strokes behind the leaders, said he was pleased that he wasn’t rushed out to get a few holes completed. “My expectations had really gone up a lot since the British, since I started playing at that level”.
He doubted 63 would fall due to rising winds but admitted, “Somebody gets hot, you never know”. The 2013 U.S. Open victor carded a five-birdie 66 on in the third round and is 2-under 208 overall.
“I’m guessing we’re going to be here ’till at least Monday, hopefully not Tuesday”. Players will have an easy time stopping balls for the rest of the tournament but how the greens hold up will be a factor.
Golf has the No. 62 in major championships.
The two-time champion got back on track when his approach to 11 nearly spun back into the cup, but he then missed from five feet for par at 13 and squandered excellent birdie chances over the next three holes before holing his longest putt of the week from 35 feet at the 17th. He shot a 2-under 68 Saturday.
Kevin Kisner was one player to finish his third round, carding a 5-under 65 to reach 5-under for the tournament.
While that was a reasonable assertion at the time, the suspension of play which followed two hours later, and saw no further golf played on Saturday, changes everything.
But with more rain in the forecast, and the course already drenched, it’s uncertain how much golf will be played on this suddenly vulnerable venue today.
Mickelson shot 63 in the opening round of the British Open two weeks ago at Royal Troon, and Big Lefty was beaten in a sensational final-round duel there by Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who fired his own 63.
Padraig Harrington survived the cut and finished one plus one over the two days.
And Mickelson, who missed a putt for a 62 at The Open earlier in July, said: “There’s a 61 or 62 out there because it’s par 70, the greens are pristine – they’re rolling beautifully – and they’re soft”.
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Fans leave the course during a weather delay in the third round of the PGA Championship golf tournament at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., Saturday, July 30, 2016. Day had a no-bogey 67 to keep alive his chance of joining Tiger Woods as the only players to defend the PGA title since it went to stroke play in 1958. Hope is that Round 4 action can begin at 8:40 a.m. with the current top of the leaderboard attempting to go off at 3:25 p.m.
