Justin Rose is back in the mix at a major following a brilliant 7-under 64 at the PGA Championship
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Justin Rose had a pretty good seat while playing partner Shane Lowry went super low on Saturday at the PGA Championship.
Thing is, Rose nearly matched him.
While Lowry tied a record with a 9-under 62, Rose posted a 7-under 64 to get to 12-under for the tournament and three shots back of co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele heading into Sunday at Valhalla.
Rose and Lowry both reeled off four straight birdies on the front nine. As hot as Lowry was, he didn’t even get the honors until the 10th hole.
“There were a lot of things pushing us all forward in the right direction, and once you got a sniff of the leaderboard, the intensity kind of goes up, as well, which is good,” Rose said. “It keeps you focused and keeps you hungry and keeps pushing you forward.”
Rose’s only mistake came on a bogey at the par-4 ninth. Three birdies on the back nine pulled him to within three shots of the lead as he tries to add a second major to the U.S. Open title he captured in 2013 at Merion.
There have been a few close calls over the last 11 years, including a handful of top 10s at the PGA. A welcome jolt of energy from the massive crowds that have stuffed the course in the Louisville suburbs has brought out an element in Rose’s game that’s been lacking for a while.
“Last time I felt that was Ryder Cup and felt like I performed pretty well there,” Rose said. “The big situation is what I’m interested in. It’s what I’m practicing for, it’s what I enjoy. It’s what we all enjoy. But it’s been a little too few and far between of late. But yeah, certainly enjoy it.”
JT’S CRAZY BIRDIE
Justin Thomas went from shouting “Fore!” to writing “2.”
Thomas yanked his tee shot so far left on the 256-yard, par-3 14th hole that he was yelling for the crowd to take cover.
No one was harmed, but the ball ended up perched on the top of a hill, 30 yards away from the hole. Thomas lined it up and took a mighty lash with his wedge. The ball bounced pin-high about 30 feet away, rolled into the cup and the crowd in his hometown went crazy.
It was part of a 4-under 67 that left the two-time PGA champion at 10 under, five shots out of the lead and part of a major-record group of 15 players who will start Sunday double-digits under par.
“I knew it had a chance, or at least it was on a good line,” Thomas said. “For that to go in was beyond a bonus.”
HOVLAND’S BACK
A year ago at Oak Hill, Viktor Hovland chased Brooks Koepka down the stretch on Sunday before coming undone at the par-4 16th when his shot out of a fairway bunker smacked into the lip and disappeared.
Hovland will have another chance Sunday after a bogey-free 5-under 66 pushed him into a tie for fourth with Lowry and Bryson DeChambeau.
The 26-year-old thinks this time is a little different with the leaderboard a little more crowded going into the final round than it was in upstate New York.
Still, the 2023 FedEx Cup champion got a chance, and that’s good enough. It has been an underwhelming 2024 so far for Hovland, whose best finish this season was a tie for 19th at Riviera in February.
“Like there’s nothing wrong with me mentally or — like, I never doubted I couldn’t play golf anymore,” Hovland said. “It’s just like the technique was not good enough to compete. But now we’re moving in the right direction.”
NO SPANIARDS THIS WEEKEND
For the first time since the 1998 PGA at Sahalee, no player from Spain stuck around for the weekend at a major.
Adrian Otaegui had a chance when he returned to the course early Saturday to finish up his second round. He was on the number with two holes to go but three-putted from 35 feet on the par-4 17th for a bogey and a chip-in birdie attempt on the 18th rolled left of the hole.
Two-time major Jon Rahm shot even-par through two rounds to miss the cut at 1-under, which tied for the lowest cut in major championship history.
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AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.
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