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PGA Championship 2017: Live updates -- Thomas jumps to lead on back nine
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CHARLOTTE—Kevin Kisner had a chance to pull away from the field on Saturday at Quail Hollow, but made some costly mistakes at the Green Mile. He still leads by one at seven under and is set to tee off at 2:45 PM alongside Chris Stroud.
The group teeing off just before them, Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama, should make things very interesting. Matsuyama sits at six under, while Thomas is at five under. Like Kisner and Stroud, they are both looking for their first major championship.
Sunday's action has been exciting so far, and we'll have more updates for you throughout the final round.
All Times EDT
6:36 PM: Boom!!! Thomas holes it in the back door at 17 to get to nine under. His drive at 18 found a fairway bunker though, so he's got work to do to save par.
Up at the green, Louis Oosthuizen rolls in long birdie putt to join the clubhouse leaders at six under.
6:27 PM: Ouch. Patrick Reed makes bogey at the 18th and finishes with a three-under 68. He's tied with Molinari for the clubhouse lead at six under and will need some help behind him to have a chance at winning the Wanamaker Trophy.
Meanwhile, back at 17, Justin Thomas absolutely striped one:
If he makes that, he'll get to nine under and open up a two shot lead.
Kevin Kisner is still hanging around at seven under. He's got a long, long putt at the 16th hole for birdie.
6:22 PM: Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama both found trouble on the 16th hole, but hit great recovery shots to a few feet. Unfortunately for Hideki, he lipped out his par putt and dropped to six under. Thomas holed his and remains at eight under. Two holes to go.
6:09 PM: Phew... Patrick Reed saves par with this nervy putt at the par-3 17th. He heads to 18 just one shot back, with a chance to take the clubhouse lead over Molinari.
6:04 PM: Bang! Hideki gets one back at the 15th to get to seven under. He's not done. Thomas' just slides by and he cleans it up for par to remain one up on Reed and Matsuyama at eight under.
Kevin Kisner stops the bleeding with a birdie at the par-4 14th. He's at six under for the championship.
6:00 PM: Molinari posts a four-under 67 and is now your clubhouse leader at six under. However it ends, that's a damn good week for the Italian, whose best finish in a major came at the 2013 Open Championship, where he tied for ninth.
Joining him at six under is Louis Oosthuizen, who chipped in for eagle at the par-5 15th:
Hideki Matsuyama is also at six under. He and Thomas have birdie looks at the 15th.
5:42 PM: Justin Thomas has taken the solo lead with this chip-in at the par-4 12th:
He's now eight under after following that up with two straight pars.
One back is Patrick Reed at seven under. He's five under on the day and currently heading to the Green Mile.
Francesco Molinari is the surprising name on the board at six under. He's coming up the 18th with a chance to grab the clubhouse lead, which Rickie Fowler currently holds at five under.
4:59 PM: It took a little while, but Sunday at the PGA is officially getting wild. After Hideki Matsuyama rolled in a birdie at the 10th to get to eight under, playing partner Justin Thomas did this:
Unbelievable. He's tied for second with Chris Stroud at seven under, one back.
4:36 PM: It's all happening now. Fowler makes his third in a row to get to four under, and Justin Thomas holes a long one at the ninth to get to six under, one shot back of Matsuyama.
Patrick Reed two putts for birdie at the par-5 10th. He's three under on his round, five under for the championship.
4:21 PM: Another for Rick! He's at three under heading to the drivable par-4 14th.
4:15 PM: Birdies are finally starting to fall for some guys who desperately needed them. Rickie Fowler makes a bomb at the par-4 12th to get to two under for the championship. With the short par-4 14th and the par-5 15th coming up, he may be able to make a little run.
His buddy Justin Thomas also just picked one up at the par-5 seventh as well to get to five under.
A double-bogey at the par-4 fifth look like it would knock Grayson Murray out of the mix, but he's recovered with birdies at the seventh and eighth to get back to four under for the tournament.
Hideki makes another birdie to get to seven under and grab a share of the lead with Kevin Kisner, who has found trouble at the seventh hole. He's got a long putt left to save par.
3:50 PM: Look who is lurking at four under:
Through seven holes, Patrick Reed is two under on the day, and has made just one par. Don't believe us? Check out his ridiculous scorecard:
Hideki Matsuyama finally gets a putt to drop at the par-3 sixth for birdie. He's back at six under, tied for second with Chris Stroud.
South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen also rolls in his first birdie of the day at the par five seventh to get back to level par on the day, five under for the championship.
Everybody is still chasing Kevin Kisner, who has made five straight pars to begin his round.
3:22 PM: Two pars to start for Kevin Kisner. That's good enough for a two shot lead after Stroud and Matsuyama each drop a shot and sit at five under. Grayson Murray, Justin Thomas and Louis Oosthuizen are three back at four under.
Jon Rahm had a rough week, but still managed to provide one of the loudest roars of the day with this wild shot on the 18th:
2:56 PM: And we're off. Everybody is on the course, including Grayson Murray, who just rolled in a birdie at the second hole and is lurking at four under for the championship.
Hideki Matsuyama had a prime look at the par-4 first, but missed and tapped in his par to stay six under. Right behind him, Kevin Kisner stuffs one, giving him a chance to get to eight under. Playing partner Chris Stroud caught a flyer lie and hit one over the green. He's got work to do to save par.
Justin Thomas and Louis Oosthuizen each dropped a shot at the first hole and are now at four under overall.
1:42 PM: The final round is well underway at Quail Hollow, and moves are being made. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson won't win, but he's on pace to post a low number. Despite making three bogeys, he's four under through 16 holes, even par for the championship.
Rory McIlroy and Marc Leishman are also working on solid rounds, each at three under on the day, one over for the tournament.
The last time we saw Jason Day, he was making a mess of the 18th hole on Saturday. He kicked off his round Sunday a little bit differently:
Ian Poulter had it rolling, then this happened:
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All Times ET
7:40 PM: Remember we said Jason Day was getting back in this thing? Yeah, scratch that. The Aussie has absolutely imploded on the par-4 18th. A bad drive led to a risky recover attempt from behind a tree, which he hit into an even worse spot. He walked away with a quadruple bogey. That should crush any hopes he had at winning his second PGA.
Meanwhile, Matsuyama makes par to finish with a two over 73. He's at six under, one off Kisner, who made bogey at the 18th to post a one-over 72.
That wraps up one long day at the PGA Championship. Check back tomorrow for more live updates from what we hope is an exciting final round at Quail Hollow.
7:16 PM: Chris Stroud bogeyed his final two holes to move back to 6-under, which is two back of Kevin Kisner, as Kiz plays the 18th hole.
Justin Thomas and Louis Oosthuizen are in the clubhouse at 5-under -- two names to watch tomorrow as just lurking behind the leaders. Both are capable of making some noise.
6:57 PM: How about Jason Day getting back in this thing? The Aussie just dropped a bomb at the 16th hole to move it to 5-under. And that's now just three back of Kevin Kisner after Kiz double-bogeys 16. His putt lipped out for bogey, too. Ouch.
Chris Stroud bogeyed the 17th hole, so Kiz has the solo lead once again after losing it for about one minute. But he's just let a lot of folks back in this tournament.
6:52 PM: This is Kevin Kisner's biggest gut-check moment of the tournament so far. Following a drive into the long Bermuda rough on the left side of 16, his clubface turned over on his approach shot and he found the water.
Kiz is going to have his work cut out to save bogey after his drop. This might be Chris Stroud's solo lead at the end of the day.
6:36 PM: Rickie is leaking oil down the stretch. After a bogey at 16, his tee shot at the long par-3 17th just found the water short.
He had just moved to 4-under after the bogey at 16, which was six back of Kevin Kisner after Kiz birdied two in a row. But now Rickie is slated to lose even more ground.
The lead is now two for Kiz over Chris Stroud with an easy birdie at 15.
Justin Thomas made a nice par at 16 after his drive went way right. He's still at 5-under.
6:21 PM: Kevin Kisner cleans up a birdie at the short par-4 14th to get back to nine under, one ahead of Chris Stroud.
Hideki Matsuyama's struggles continue as he's unable to take advantage of the 14th and settle for par. He's two over on the day, six under on the tournament.
Justin Thomas makes birdie at 15, while playing partner Rickie Fowler saves par. They are tied at five under. Not sure if you've heard or seen of him today, but Paul Casey is also playing in the same group. He's two under on his round, four under overall.
5:53 PM: Rickie Fowler bounces back at the 14th with a birdie. He's now just three back at five under. Officially lurking.
5:49 PM: The 12th hole was not kind to the final group. They just played it in a combined four over. Kisner still leads at eight under and Matsuyama is one back at seven under. Jason Day made double and fell back to three under. Ouch.
5:41 PM: Just when Rickie Fowler was beginning to heat up, he drops a shot at the par-3 13th. He's still four under, five back of Kisner. So is Justin Thomas, who has made three straight pars since his birdie at the par-5 10th.
Making a charge is Graham DeLaet, who nearly aced the par-4 14th hole. Check out this back nine:
Fire!
As for Jason Day, who is at five under, this about sums up his round:
4:55 PM: It took nearly three hours, but the final group has finally made the turn. Kisner turns in a one-under 34 and still leads at nine under for the championship. Matsuyama and Stroud are tied in second just one back at eight under.
Three back are Louis Oosthuizen and Jason Day, who is looking pretty uninspired on a day many thought he'd make another charge.
Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas are four back at four under. We'll see if the back nine provides some more fireworks.
4:32 PM: Kisner, Day and Matsuyama all miss an opportunity at the short par-4 eighth and walk away with par. Can't say the same for Chris Stroud, who birdied that hole for his third in his last four holes. He's just one back of Kisner at eight under.
4:15 PM: Shoutout to the par-5 seventh for making things interesting this afternoon. Kisner and Matsuyama make birdie, while Day settles for par. Here's where we stand as the final group heads to the eighth hole:
4:10 PM: Things are happening now! Fowler makes a second straight birdie at the short par-4 eighth to get to four under, four back of Kisner. Justin Thomas also pours one in at the eighth to get back to even par on the day, three under for the tournament.
In the group right behind them, Chris Stroud and Louis Oosthuizen both two putt for birdie. That gets Stroud to within a shot of the lead at seven under, while Oosty sits at five under.
3:54 PM: Finally, Rickie Fowler makes a birdie at the par-5 seventh. He's back to three under for the championship, five back of Kevin Kisner, who has made six straight pars to begin his round. Fowler's playing partner Justin Thomas had a good look to get to three under as well, but missed it left. There's been hardly much movement on moving day at Quail Hollow.
3:32 PM: Jason Day sticks one on the par-4 fifth, but misses a huge opportunity and doesn't convert. Seriously, he was this close.
Plenty of golf left, but that one is going to hurt.
Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm are both making a little run. Rahm's working on a five under round and has another good chance to pick up a shot at the par-5 15th. He's two under for the championship. As for Spieth, he still back at one over overall, but he's made five birdies in his last nine holes, including this one at the par-4 16th:
3:16 PM: Birdies are few and far between on Saturday at Quail Hollow, and Chris Stroud just made his first the par-4 fifth to get to seven under, just one back of Kisner.
2:57 PM: Chris Stroud is hanging around at six under after making four straight pars to begin his round. One of those par saves was thanks to this absolutely ridiculous recovery shot:
2:42 PM: Louis Oosthuizen checking in with the shot of the week:
2:37 PM: J.B. Holmes gets up and down at the 18th to post the round of the day so far, a four-under 67 that vaulted him 50 spots up the leader board. He's currently T-20 at one over for the tournament.
Just as we typed that, Satoshi Kodaira made his par at 18 to match Holmes' 67. He's also one over for the tournament.
Meanwhile, the final groups are starting to get something going here. Justin Thomas just rolled in a birdie at the par-4 third to get back to three under for the championship. At the par-4 second, Jason Day makes his first birdie to get to seven under, one back of Kisner.
2:21 PM: All the leaders are off: And we have a shake-up at the top of the leaderboard. Hideki Matsuyama missed his par putt to give Kevin Kisner the solo lead once again.
Kiz almost jarred a birdie putt from the lower tier but will take his par and the lead. Jason Day also made a par putt from a similar distance of Matsuyama's. Let's do this!
1:44 PM: How about this shot from Tony Finau at the par-3 fourth hole? The new par 3 with an interesting set of undulations has played tough all week. Not for Finau on Saturday...
That would set up his second straight birdie to move to 1-under -- currently seven shots back of the leaders before they off in a bit.
1:35 PM: Can the group at 3-under with Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Paul Casey make up some ground on the leaders? They're teeing off now in their third round.
1:03 PM: All week, Rickie Fowler has appeared focused on the task at-hand -- winning his first major title. He spoke with Amanda Balionis before his round to talk about his mind-set before he tees off at 1:40.
12:15 PM: Jordan Spieth's fading a bit more on Saturday at Quail Hollow, but he hit this fantastic pitch shot that somehow didn't drop. But we can still admire the shot for its terrific touch.
11:37 AM: There are low numbers out there on the first nine holes, as proven by J.B. Holmes. The big-hitting Kentuckian is 3-under through his opening seven holes with birdies on the new par-3 fourth hole and Nos. 5 and 7.
11:16 AM: Jordan Spieth starts his third round off with a bogey at the ultra-tough opening hole. His fellow playing competitors (Tommy Fleetwood and Vijay Singh) also bogeyed this beast of a hole, playing even tougher in these soggy conditions. Only nine pars so far against 16 bogeys and one double (Adam Scott).
9:10 AM: As we wait for the third round to get underway after the completion of the second round, here are some interesting numbers about how Quail Hollow is playing.
8:31 AM: Here are the final couple of tee times for Moving Day at Quail Hollow.