Newtown Square (United States) (AFP) – Michael Kim birdied six of the first seven holes to charge into contention in Saturday’s third round of the PGA Championship as Rory McIlroy teed off at suddenly vulnerable Aronimink. Kim, who closed Friday with an eagle to jump inside the cut line, birdied the first three holes and followed a bogey with three more in a row to reach two-under for the tournament. Kim’s 30 on the front nine was followed by a double-bogey at the 10th hole, dropping him back to level par overall. The 32-year-old, Seoul-born standout won last year’s French Open on the DP World Tour and his only PGA Tour title at the 2018 John Deere Classic. Kim has made the cut in only five of 12 major starts, his best result sharing 17th as low amateur in his major debut at the 2013 US Open.
Fellow American Chris Kirk birdied five of the first seven holes to stand on one-under overall with a 31 on the front nine. England’s 45-year-old Justin Rose, the 2013 US Open winner at nearby Merion, birdied four of the first six holes to reach one-under. Rose birdied the third through seventh holes for the longest birdie streak of the week, matching his best run in any PGA Championship. After two days of wind and difficult pin placements had kept the leaders bunched, a breakout day appeared in the works over the sloped greens of the 7,934-yard layout.
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American co-leaders Maverick McNealy and Alex Smalley were set to start at 2:40 p.m (1840 GMT) on four-under par 136 as targets for a world-class field. A record prize purse of $20.5 million was announced Saturday by the PGA of America, $1.5 million more than last year. The winner will take home $3.69 million, $270,000 more than top-ranked defending champion Scottie Scheffler made last year, with $2.214 million to the runner-up.
World number two McIlroy, who captured his sixth major title at last month’s Masters, was five adrift alongside playing partner Brooks Koepka, a five-time major winner. Not since Jordan Spieth in 2015 has a player won the first two majors in a year. Not since Jack Nicklaus in 1975 has a player won the Masters and PGA Championship in the same year. Three-time major winner Spieth, who would complete a career Grand Slam with a victory and snap a nine-year major win drought, was also five off the lead along with fellow American Xander Schauffele, a two-time major winner.
Other major winners were closer to the lead, with Spain’s Jon Rahm and Australian Jason Day at one-under, Scheffler and fellow American Justin Thomas on two-under. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion, was at three-under in the penultimate group alongside American Chris Gotterup. Scheffler has been a runner-up in his past three starts, including last month’s Masters and Heritage events and this month at Doral.
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