SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 9: Dustin Johnson supplied the birdies, eight of them at the PGA Championship, the most he has ever made in his 157 rounds of major championship golf for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead. Brooks Koepka supplied the needle on Saturday.
Koepka recovered from three straight bogeys to salvage a 69 and stay within two shots of a leaderboard more crowded than any of San Francisco�s congested highways. At stake is a chance to become only the seventh player to win the same major three straight times. He surveyed the cast of contenders, and focused on the guy at the top.
�I like my chances,� Koepka said.
�When I�ve been in this position before, I�ve capitalised. He�s only won one. I�m playing good. I don�t know, we�ll see.�
As he stepped away from the microphone, Koepka smiled and said to Jason Day, �How about that shade?� They laughed.
Too bad this isn�t a two-man show.
The final round at Harding Park figures to be wide open, just like it was on a Saturday so wild that eight players had at least a share of the lead during the third round.
Johnson lost his yardage book and still found his way through an enormous crowd of contenders. He made a double bogey on the ninth hole and still bounced back with a 31 on the tough, windy back nine.
He needed all eight of those birdies on a day of low scores, long putts and endless possibilities.
One possibility is Koepka hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy for the third straight year, which hasn�t happened since Walter Hagen won four in a row in the 1920s when it was match play. The last player to win any major three straight times was Peter Thomson at the British Open in 1956.
Koepka was two shots behind on a board that features only two major champions among the top six.
Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour rookie from Texas, ran off three straight birdies only to miss a 6-foot par putt on the final hole. He still shot a 65 and was one shot behind, in the final group at his first PGA Championship. Cameron Champ, who has the most powerful swing on tour, shot 67 and joined Scheffler one shot behind. � AP