ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Look out below: The Terminator is in the front-runner position again at a major championship.
Brooks Koepka always has a look about him that screams that he’s taking no prisoners. That may not be good news for Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners, the two players Koepka leads by one stroke entering the final round of the 105th PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
Koepka, who conquered brutal Oak Hill and the hellacious rainy conditions Saturday during the third round by posting the low-round of the day at 4-under 66, is 6-under for the week. Hovland and Conners are both 5-under after shooting even-par 70s.
Bryson DeChambeau is three shots off the lead at 3-under, followed by Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose at 2-under, Rory McIlroy at 1-under and club pro Michael Block and Justin Suh at even.
It indeed figures to be a fascinating final round with so many diverse stories in position to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy by the end of the final round Sunday.
Despite the fact he owns four career major championships and has already won two PGA Championships, Koepka is entering the final round with a sizable chip on his broad shoulders.
Brooks Koepka, hitting a tee shot on the fourth hole, shot a third-round 66 to grab the leads after three rounds of the PGA Championship. AP
Koepka has a score to settle. Not with other players, but with himself for what he did last month at Augusta National in the Masters. He entered the final round of the Masters with a four-shot lead, shot 75 and lost by four shots to Jon Rahm. Koepka said that he couldn’t sleep the night after that final round at Augusta because he was wired, analyzing in his head what went wrong.
Koepka revealed later that his conclusion to the Masters final-round failure was that he “played not to win’’ that day. Before this PGA, he conceded that he “choked.’’
“I know what I did and I promise I won’t show up like that tomorrow,’’ Koepka said after his round Saturday. “I won’t have that thought process again. It will be completely different. I’ll never do it again. If you can do what I’m trying to set out to do, it’s up to playing good, and that’s what I set out to do tomorrow.’’
Koepka said the lesson he learned from Augusta was “to just never think the way I thought going into the final round. Learning what I learned at Augusta kind of helped today. I won’t do it again the rest of my career.’’
If it’s a major championship, the likelihood that Koepka is going to be a factor is rather great. He is a major championship contention machine.
Viktor Hovland, who shot an even-par 70 in the third round, is one stroke behind leader Brooks Koepka. Getty ImagesHow dangerous is Koepka at major championships?
In 35 career starts, he has four wins, 13 top-5 finishes and 16 top-10s, while Hovland and Conners have combined to play in 30 majors and have one top-5 finish — Hovland’s tie for fourth at the 2022 British Open.
Conners looked like he was owning the day Saturday. The soft-spoken Canadian had a beautiful round going — bogey-free with two birdies — until he embedded a shot into a bunker on the 16th hole. The bad break cost him two shots, a double bogey that sent him from 7-under and alone in the lead to 5-under and one shot behind Koepka and Hovland.
“Wish I could have that one back,’’ Conners said. “I didn’t make great contact there,’’ Conners said. “I saw everybody looking up in the air. I thought it maybe skipped up. But I didn’t see anything land and was pretty certain it was embedded there. It was an unfortunate situation and a poor shot.’’
Corey Conners, who is tied with Viktor Hovland for second, lines up a putt on the 13th hole during the third round. Getty ImagesThe most compelling pairing of the day was Koepka and DeChambeau, both former rivals and now fellow LIV Golf members. When they were introduced at the first tee, DeChambeau drew audible boos from the crowd and Koepka got a mixed reaction.
“Look, it’s New York, and I expect it here. I appreciate the fans, them doing that to me,’’ DeChambeau said. “It’s like, ‘OK, cool, no problem.’ I’ve got no problem, either way. If we got applause, that’s fantastic and if not, you know what … it still was fun today.’’
Koepka, who has won two of his major championships in New York — U.S. Opens at Bethpage Black and Shinnecock Hills — said, “I love New York.’’
“It’s always fun,’’ he went on. “You do something really well, they are going to let you know. And if you do something pretty poor, they are going to let you know, and I just love that. I love when the fans are on you, cheering for you, or you know, giving you crap if you screw up. You want that, or at least I want that atmosphere.’’
