CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kevin Kisner is the leader going into the final round of the PGA Championship after a wild finish at Quail Hollow.
Kisner had a two-shot lead with three holes to play when he hit a shot into the water on the 16th hole and made double bogey. Then, he pulled his approach on the 18th and got the break of the tournament. The ball bounced off a concrete bridge into the rough, allowing him to escape with bogey.
He shot 1-over 72 and was at 7-under 206.
Chris Stroud three-putted for bogey on the last two holes and was one shot back. Hideki Matsuyama was another shot behind.
Jason Day might have thrown away his chances with one peculiar decision on the 18th. Stuck behind a tree, he tried to sling it around the trees. Instead, he went into the bushes, took a penalty drop, went into the rough and wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8. He was seven shots behind.
6:10 p.m.
Graham DeLaet isn't just "moving" on moving day at the PGA Championship, he's sprinting.
The Canadian is making an unexpected run up the leaderboard after playing the four-hole stretch from No 13 through 16 in a remarkable 6 under par, highlighted by back-to-back eagles on No. 14 and 15. He finished up the round with two pars for a 68.
The hot spell left DeLaet 2 under par for the tournament, still six shots back of the steady Kevin Kisner.
DeLaet, who has never won a professional tournament on American soil, nearly had a hole-in-one on the par-4 14th hole, driving the ball eight feet past the hole. On the par-5 15th hole, he put his approach shot to within 12 feet. He made both putts for eagle.
___
4:50 p.m.
Kevin Kisner holds a one-stroke lead halfway through the third round of the PGA Championship.
The final group of Kisner, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day made the turn with Kisner at 9 under for the tournament. Matsuyama and Chris Stroud were a stroke back.
Kisner had eight pars on the front nine Saturday to go with his birdie on the par-5 seventh hole .
He sent his second shot into the primary rough 75 feet from the flagstick on the right side of the green, but chipped to about 5 feet and sank that putt for the birdie.
Kisner and Matsuyama were the co-leaders at 8 under after two rounds. Matsuyama fell a stroke back with his bogey on the first hole, and matched Kisner's birdie on No. 7.
___
3:30 p.m.
Jordan Spieth is heating up at the PGA Championship.
Spieth's birdie on the par-4 16th hole was his third in a row Saturday, and his fifth in the nine-hole stretch that started with No. 8.
It moved him to 2 under for the day and 1 over for the tournament — still nine strokes behind leader Kevin Kisner.
The putter was finally starting to work for him: He sank a 25-foot putt on No. 16 and has putted just three times during that three-hole run.
Spieth needed a big round to get back into contention at Quail Hollow Club. He began the round 11 strokes off the lead, and was hoping to become the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam.
___
2:25 p.m.
Tony Finau almost had the second hole-in-one of the PGA Championship.
Finau took aim at the flagstick with his pitching wedge on the 167-yard, par-3 fourth hole during the third round Saturday.
His tee shot hit the green, bounced four times and stopped 4 inches from the pin. He then tapped in for birdie.
Joost Luiten aced the same hole during the first round.
___
2:10 p.m.
The co-leaders of the PGA Championship are on the course for the third round.
The final group of Kevin Kisner, Hideki Matsuyama and Jason Day went off at 2 p.m. Kisner and Matsuyama began the round sharing the lead at 8 under. Day was joined by Chris Stroud at two strokes back.
___
1:20 p.m.
It's hard enough to make an eagle at Quail Hollow.
It's even more difficult for two players in the same threesome to do it on back-to-back shots on the same hole.
Marc Leishman chipped in from 85 feet from the back of the green for an eagle on the par 5 10th hole on Saturday. Not to be outdone, Billy Horschel followed a few seconds later by making eagle on a chip from 29 feet from the front of the green.
The other player in the threesome Jason Dufner must have felt a little embarrassed — he only managed a par.
The only other eagle on the day belongs to Hideto Tanihara.
___
12:10 p.m.
Jordan Spieth's bid for a career Grand Slam is beginning to slip away.
Spieth entered the third round of the PGA Championship 11 shots back and needing a big round to get back into contention. Instead, he's heading in the opposite direction after making bogey on two of the first five holes. He's currently 5 over for the tournament and 13 shots back of the leaders.
Spieth was hoping to become the youngest player to win all four majors. But he followed a first-round 70 with a 75 on Friday to fall back in the pack.
___
8:30 a.m.
Instead of making up ground in the PGA Championship, Bernd Wiesberger missed the cut for the first time in a year.
Wiesberger was on the cut line of 5-over par when he returned to complete the rain-delayed second round at Quail Hollow. He had three holes to play, including the two easiest holes on the front nine. But he missed a 7-foot birdie on No. 7, failed to birdie No. 8 with a wedge in his hand and then fell out of the top 70 and ties by three-putting for bogey on the ninth hole. He shot 75 and finished at 6-over 148.
That ended his streak of 28 consecutive cuts made dating to last year's PGA Championship.
Adam Scott, meanwhile, was spared a missed cut. If Wiesberger had gone to 4 over, Scott not only would have missed the cut, his PGA Tour season would have been over. Scott is taking off the next three weeks to be with his expectant wife. At No. 61 in the FedEx Cup, he would have been eliminated from the playoffs by the time he returned.
Now he gets two more rounds at Quail Hollow.
___
7:45 a.m.
Chris Stroud is trying to catch up to co-leaders Hideki Matsuyama and Kevin Kisner at the PGA Championship.
Bernd Wiesberger could determine the size of the cut.
When the second round was halted by darkness Friday night, Wiesberger was among seven players tied for 70th at 5-over par. The top 70 and ties make the cut at Quail Hollow. The Austrian had two of the easier holes still to play, and if he went to 4 over, that would be the cut. And that would knock out the likes of Adam Scott and Charles Howell III.
Scott is taking the next three weeks off to be with his expectant wife and, if he doesn't play the weekend, his PGA Tour season is over.
Scott was safe so far. Wiesberger missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-5 seventh.
___
7:40 a.m.
Hideki Matsuyama and Kevin Kisner shared the 36-hole lead at the PGA Championship on a changing golf course at Quail Hollow.
The first question Saturday morning was whether Chris Stroud could join them.
Storms that softened the course and caused a nearly two-hour delay also kept the second round from finishing. Stroud was among 26 players who didn't finish, and the only one with a chance to catch the leaders.
Matsuyama and Kisner were at 8-under 134.
Stroud was at 5 under and just right of the green on the par-5 fifth hole. He still had two of the easier holes to play.
Bernd Wiesberger also had a hand in how the second round ended. He could affect the cut and knock out players such as Adam Scott.