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PGA Championship: 5 things we learned on Saturday
Day three at Bethpage promised to differ from the first 48 hours of the 2019 PGA Championship. With a halved field and no 10th-hole tee times, odds of missing your tee time were reduced, even for David Lipsky. Brooks Koepka began the day with a 7-stroke lead, but the chance to chase him down depended on one of two scenarios playing out.
The first demanded similar course conditions to days one and two. In that situation, someone would shoot 63 or 64, hoping Koepka remained at par or higher. Conditions were different, as the wind picked up and then swirled, sending a higher number of tee shots into the rough and beyond. As for the second, well, it required Koepka to balloon to a mid- to high-70s score, allowing a score anywhere below par to make up ground. Neither one happened, and Koepka left the state park with the same lead as he had 24 hours prior. We still learned quite a bit on Saturday, so have a look at the 5 most important things we learned on Saturday at the 2019 PGA Championship.
5. New names made their presence known
Ardent followers of professional golf have read about Jazz Janewattananond, Harold Varner III and Luke List, but until today, none had made a dent in the first page of a major professional event. Each sits at -5, tied with Dustin Johnson, seven blows behind Koepka. Varner will accompany Koepka on the Sunday march, but all four of the minus-fives will play either for 2nd spot, or the coveted “If Koepka should falter” trophy.
This gets Luke List to solo second.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/qxTVVhy7uQ
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2019
4. How do you come from THAT far behind?
Simply put, you need to make six birdies at least, get to 9 or 10 under par, and pray for rain. Koepka’s swing looks like it’s here to stay. He doesn’t get tired physically, and he isn’t under the weather. Yesterday, I predicted that Matt Wallace would hit more shots like this one. I stand by that prediction, and expect Wallace (at -4) to be the only one of the chasers to give Koepka a run. Wallace is playing for the same sort of legitimacy as the leader. Koepka wants to be a part of the conversation for best golfer in the world; Wallace wants to be much more than an afterthought when Ryder Cup 2021 comes around. Sunday will put the Englishman in another class.
Quality stuff, and maybe the shot of the day, for Matt Wallace.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/RsIPhk4Jo1
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2019
3. Spieth and Scott went quietly away
No one likes to foretell doom and gloom, unless they go by the name of Bran Stark. It is someone’s job to predict such things in golf, and the team of S and S shared the cloak of most likely to play above par on Saturday. The Jordan Spieth who gutted out the 2015 US Open at Chambers Bay was not present today. The Adam Scott who played through the rain to defeat Angel Cabrera in the 2013 Masters playoff was also unavailable. Bethpage is a big, brawny golf course. With the exception of Lucas Glover in 2009, it rewards big, brawny golfers.
Caption This. pic.twitter.com/hrlkLB2RtL
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2019
2. Is Bethpage a boring place to play a major championship?
I don’t think so, but I’m not convinced that this was the best set-up for it. If the PGA likes birdies, tell me how they went from 10 billion birdies in the event’s first half, to quite a few less on day three? Something changed, or perhaps the course caught up with the conditions. There is a lot of thick rough out there…why? Increase fairway width by 10%, so that balls that barely miss, have a chance at redemption. Move the tee markers up on number six and make it a drivable par four for at least one round. Do the same on number eighteen, just for one day on the weekend. If Koepka is on his game for day four, anticipate a nice time for a long nap.
Now that is what you call rough!
At Bethpage Black
Credit:MattFitz Twitter pic.twitter.com/EVfibD99kR— DruidsGolf (@DRUIDSGOLF) May 15, 2019
1. Will Brooks Koepka seal the deal on Sunday?
All signs point to Yes, and major championship number four, and possibly the blessing of Pope Brandel of Chamblee. However, we did see a few flinches on Saturday, and we would like to mention them here. To begin, his putting distance control was erratic. Did you see that first putt on 17, from 20 feet? The one that went 75% of the way to the hole? Brooks made his share of 5-feet putts today, but if the distance control gets weird tomorrow, and the short putts start spinning out, well then… Another area of concern was driving. He can’t be perfect, but with the big stick in his hands at all times, the big miss might be coming. If BK goes wide right or left and makes a big number, the confidence might be shaken.
All right, I’m searching for a needle in a haystack of straws at which I’m grasping. Got that? It’s a double metaphor, because a double metaphor is what is needed to keep Koepka from holding PGA and US Open trophies for the 2nd consecutive cycle.
Brooks Koepka is playing darts while everyone else is playing golf.#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/wX4TY9XCt2
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2019
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Ronald Montesano
May 19, 2019 at 1:29 pm
SeniorHacker, I feel your pain.
Prime21, excellent analysis. over and out.
ffs
May 19, 2019 at 10:26 am
If you’re going to write about Jazz JANEWATTANANOND, at least have some respect and spell his name correctly. I mean all you had to do was copy and paste from the web ffs
Ronald Montesano
May 19, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Absolutely correct. Unforgivable. In the process of correcting it. Thanks for the assistance.
T
May 19, 2019 at 2:05 am
If you watched the closing coverage on the Golf Channel every night, the greenskeepers are out there pouring water all over the golf course, which, I think, is totally unnecessary and too much, and it clearly showed on Saturday. They should just leave the moisture to nature alone once the tournament starts, except on the greens. Why are they spraying water all over the rough? Just to keep them juicy. A tad over the top, I reckon
Ronald Montesano
May 19, 2019 at 1:28 pm
I concur. I suspect the rough has plenty of water beneath the surface.
SeniorHacker
May 18, 2019 at 11:25 pm
I learned that I won’t watch on sunday. No Tiger, boring leaderboard, Koepka in front by a mile. Just for me :((
Prime21
May 18, 2019 at 11:01 pm
Like any Major Championship course you have to take what the course gives you and if they want to, they can set it up so it yields no birdies. The course dried out a bit, the wind blew and the pins were tucked. There was no 64 out there today, period. The Black is more US Open than PGA, so unless they play it at 7,000 yards, birdies will be hard to come by. There are holes to attack, but 4-5 max, and that is only if the pins are generous. The rough is too lush and wet to take down to a manageable level this time of year, so you better hit the fairway, just like an Open venue. In the end, like with any golf tournament, the best player will win, though like most PGA’s it won’t be a birdie fest like in years past. Brooks made his move when the course was soft and now he simply needs to ride the Par train home, while dropping a couple birdies simply because he is great. You can wait for him to fall apart, but it ain’t gonna happen. I say he wins by 9 shots, cause everyone else is going to have to take chances that will simply amount to more bogies than birdies.