“So, Brooks. Is there any doubt whatsoever in your mind that you’re going to win tomorrow?” “No. I feel confident. I feel good. I feel excited.” Well that’s that, then.
Brooks Koepka has been playing a different sport to everyone else this week. A new sport: Big Golf. Huge accurate drives that enable him to attack from angles no other players can find, at distances few other players can reach. Laser-guided approach play. Chipping that’s either crisp and delicate from the short stuff, powerful yet perfectly weighted from the thicker grass. A flat stick that rarely lets him down. Scrambling skills par excellence. And the mental strength to keep it all on track during the rare pocket of turbulence. Irritatingly handsome too. Is it a Tiger? Is it a Golden Bear? No, it’s SuperBrooks!
SuperBrooks goes into the final day of the 101st PGA Championship almost certain to retain the Wanamaker Trophy. He’s got a seven-shot lead going into today’s fourth round. Big Golf is taking him to dizzy heights. It’ll be his third major in five attempts, his fourth in eight, the sort of run that’s only ever previously been achieved by Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. He’ll become the first player in history to hold back-to-back majors in two titles at the same time, having won the 2017 and 2018 US Opens. And he’ll become the world number one. “I’ll approach tomorrow like any other day on the golf course. Hit the ball on the fairway, hit it on the green, make the birdie putt.” No biggie.
The good news for those in the pack tied for second? Someone has won the PGA Championship from seven shots back in the past, John Mahaffey overhauling Tom Watson in 1978. But he came from the pack; Watson was only five in the lead at the 54-hole mark. The bad news is: no player has ever failed to win a major after holding such a margin as Koepka’s. So if at the end of the day we see Dustin Johnson, Jazz Janewattananond, Luke List or Harold Varner III lifting the huge pot, we’ll have witnessed an unprecedented collapse. One way or another, then, we’ll be witnessing a slice of history … though chances are, that’ll be the dawn of a new era, as SuperBrooks IV announces himself as the dominant figure of the Big Golf. It’s on!
We’ll get going at 4pm BST. Meanwhile here’s how the leaders stand at the 54-hole mark …
-12: Koepka
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[tumbleweed, accompanied by haunting slide guitar]
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-5: Varner III, Janewattananond, List, D Johnson
-4: Matsuyama, Wallace
-3: Schauffele, Cantlay, Scott, Spieth
-2: van Rooyen, Kang
-1: Fowler, Lee
E: Willett, Glover, Bjerregaard, Reavie, Fleetwood, Rose
… and here are the tee-times. All local, just add five hours for BST.
7.35am: David Lipsky, Rich Beem
7.45am: Max Homa, Joos Luiten
7.55am: Corey Conners, Marty Jertson
8.05am: Kevin Tway, Kurt Kitayama
8.15am: Ross Fisher, Andrew Putnam
8.25am: Rafa Cabrera Bello, Beau Hossler
8.35am: Pat Perez, Rob Labritz
8.45am: Charley Hoffman, Henrik Stenson
8.55am: Justin Harding, Cameron Smith
9.05am: Matt Fitzpatrick, Lucas Herbert
9.15am: Paul Casey, Phil Mickelson
9.25am: Cameron Champ, Alex Noren
9.35am: Graeme McDowell, Ryan Vermeer
9.45am: J.T. Poston, Thomas Pieters
9.55am: Kelly Kraft, Daniel Berger
10.05am: Brandt Snedeker, Mike Lorenzo-Vera
10.15am: Thorbjorn Olesen, Jason Kokrak
10.35am: Bronson Burgoon, J.J. Spaun
10.45am: Gary Woodland, Keegan Bradley
10.55am: Francesco Molinari, Zach Johnson
11.05am: Billy Horschel, Webb Simpson
11.15am: Emiliano Grillo, Joel Dahmen
11.25am: Matt Kuchar, Charles Howell III
11.35am: Aaron Wise, Tyrell Hatton
11.45am: Haotong Li, Adam Hadwin
11.55am: Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau
12.05pm: Abraham Ancer, Jason Day
12.15pm: Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Adam Long
12.25pm: Louis Oosthuizen, Shane Lowry
12.35pm: Jimmy Walker, Scott Piercy
12.45pm: Justin Rose, Sam Burns
12.55pm: Chez Reavie, Tommy Fleetwood
1.05pm: Lucas Glover, Lucas Bjerregaard
1.25pm: Danny Lee, Danny Willett
1.35pm: Sung Kang, Rickie Fowler
1.45pm: Jordan Spieth, Erik van Rooyen
1.55pm: Patrick Cantlay, Adam Scott
2.05pm: Matt Wallace, Xander Schauffele
2.15pm: Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama
2.25pm: Jazz Janewattananond, Luke List
2.35pm: Brooks Koepka, Harold Varner III
