XANDER Schauffele and Collin Morikawa shared the PGA Championship lead after the third round on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) in Louisville, Kentucky while Shane Lowry made an epic charge up a jam-packed leaderboard and Scottie Scheffler lost ground.
Schauffele, who held the solo lead after the first two rounds, birdied the final two holes at Valhalla Golf Club en route to a three-under-par 68 that left him at 15 under on the week and level with twice major winner Morikawa (67).
“I need to really just stay in my lane and do a lot of what I’ve been doing and just worry about myself,” Olympic champion Schauffele, seeking his first major, said about his approach for Sunday’s (Monday in Manila) final round.
Seven players are within four strokes of the leaders, including Sahith Theegala (67), who made five back-nine birdies and sits alone in third place.
Former British Open winner Lowry, whose 62 matched the lowest score in major championship history, LIV Golf’s Bryson DeChambeau (67), who eagled the final hole, and Viktor Hovland (66) were two shots off the lead.
Schauffele was fresh off draining a 29-foot birdie putt at the 14th to open a two-shot cushion before encountering trouble at the par-four 15th where his second shot found the long rough, leading to a double-bogey.
Moments later, playing partner Morikawa’s birdie putt from five feet at the same hole circled around the cup then dropped in, giving him a one-shot lead.
“Felt like I made a couple putts, hit a couple good shots, got away with a few, still left a few out there,” said Morikawa. “A balance of everything.”
But Schauffele refused to back down and went on to tap in for birdie at the par-four 17th after his brilliant approach shot from 141 yards settled two feet from the cup. He and Morikawa both birdied the last.
Englishman Justin Rose, who has recorded five consecutive top-15 finishes at the PGA Championship, also moved into the mix with five front-nine birdies en route to a 64 that left him three shots back of the leaders and sharing seventh place with Robert MacIntyre (66).
Lowry, bolstered by a sublime putting display, became only the fifth player to card a 62 at a major and came just short of a record-setting day as his 11-foot birdie putt at the 18th rolled just left of the hole.
“Probably the most disappointed anyone can ever be shooting 62,” said Lowry. “I knew what was at stake. Just didn’t hit the ball hard enough. Had it on a good read and just broke away from the hole.”
