Koepka sneaks into lead at PGA C’ship

ROCHESTER, May 20

Brooks Koepka will take a one-shot lead into the final round of the PGA Championship with a chance to claim a third Wanamaker trophy and deliver LIV Golf the major validation it seeks.

Koepka, winner of back-to-back PGA Championships in 2018 and 2019, sparkled in tough, rainy conditions at Oak Hill on Saturday, mixing five birdies against a single bogey for a 4-under 66. That put the American at 6-under 204, one clear of Canada’s Corey Conners and Norway’s Viktor Hovland. A win “would mean a lot,” said Koepka, who has four Major wins on his resume already. “I was just told only Tiger (Woods) and Jack (Nicklaus) have won three, so that would be pretty special to be in a list or category with them.”

Conners, bidding to become the first Canadian man to win a Major since Mike Weir two decades ago at the Masters, had held steady atop the leaderboard for much of a turbulent day when a double-bogey at the 16th knocked him from his perch. Hovland was in position to join Koepka but a bogey at the last denied the world No. 11, who also signed for a 70. — Reuters