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2015 PGA Championship: Seven things you need to know from Round 3

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If you didn’t break into the mid- or low-60s on Saturday, you moved down the leader board at Whistling Straits. On a windless day, greens and fairways were softened from overnight rains, offering opportunities to aim arrows directly at flag sticks. No one runs away from the field at Whistling Straits, but before you kick back and watch yet another exciting final round from Wisconsin, there are a few things you need to know.

Brush up on your geography

The 2015 U.S. PGA Championship is an international affair. Throughout Round 3, golfers from Australia, India, South Africa, Germany and England danced across the top of the board. Best round of the day came from Branden Grace, who tantalized us at Chambers Bay’s U.S. Open in June. He had eight birdies on a clean scorecard for 64…check that. Jason Day pulled eight birdies and an eagle out of the cup. If he hadn’t made two bogeys and a double, what might he have shot?

The 11th Hole

This is where things happen on the inward nine. It’s similar to the 13th at Augusta, but coming a bit earlier, it makes the home half even more exciting. Golfers eagle this hole — as Jason Day did on Saturday — with some regularity. Expect someone in contention to do the deed on Sunday, and elicit roars from the gallery.

The 5th Hole

This hole is the most bizarre on the golf course. I played it once and it is as inconceivable in person as it is on television. Given Pete Dye’s brilliance, it is difficult to imagine how this hole went from planning stage to reality, with not one person raising a hand and asking, are you tripping? That said, it will be the key to the front nine on Sunday. Keep your drive left, keep your second dry and make birdie.

SpiethWatch

Here’s why his round was so impressive: Every time I checked the app, it said “Spieth: 217 yards to green. 12 feet 6 inches to hole” and “Piercy: 212 yards to greenside bunker. 91 feet to hole.” Despite the distraction of an imploding fellow competitor (something the pairings of Grace-Kaymer and Day-Jones didn’t suffer) Spieth soldiered on, made birdie on six of the back-nine holes and played himself from “oh yeah, he made the cut” to “%&*$@! He might be leading by nightfall.”

What’s the carry from the upper deck of hospitality?

Matt Jones did very well under atypical pressure. He was the leader heading into the third round, paired with countryman Jason Day, and clean through eight holes when he yanked his drive on nine into the hospitality condos. Since the drop options were of the “yah, no thanks” variety, he opted to do this:

One If By Land, Fun If By Sea

No offense to the kayak krew from Lancaster, Pa., (Women’s Open) but these boaters are the cream of the crop. They retrieve, errr, lost clubs, they land and walk along the sand adjacent to the golf course, they even set up floating greens for water golf. No, it’s not Couer D’Alene, it’s party central in Lake Michigan!

Major Championship nerves

Of the top-10 golfers, only three have won a major title (Kaymer, Rose and Spieth.) Does this help? A bit. Is it imperative? We’ll find out. The PGA has a history of one-and-done major champions (Love, Dufner, Toms, Micheel, Bradley, Yang, Beem, to name a few) or at least it seems that way. One thing’s for certain: Any of the non-major champs lurking near the lead would desperately love to add their name to my parenthetical list. My money is on Spieth, for the simple fact that he loves playing in the final group, wants the pressure, wants the heat.

Ronald Montesano writes for GolfWRX.com from western New York. He dabbles in coaching golf and teaching Spanish, in addition to scribbling columns on all aspects of golf, from apparel to architecture, from equipment to travel. Follow Ronald on Twitter at @buffalogolfer.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Matto

    Aug 16, 2015 at 4:07 am

    Jason could’ve shot 62 without the bogeys and double. That’s what.

  2. Pat M

    Aug 16, 2015 at 12:21 am

    Jason Day is a beast and is playing incredible golf. What may be more amazing is how close Jordan Spieth has come in winning all 4 majors this year. He just missed making the playoff at The Open and is 2 strokes behind Jason going into Sunday.

    Just staggering. Kudos for great consistency for Brendan Grace and Justin Rose. Sunday should be exciting.

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