A star-studded Moving Day at the 2020 PGA Championship saw nearly a handful of players tied for the lead at one point. At the end of the day, there were 11 three-shot golfers from the lead heading into Sunday’s final round at TPC Harding Park.
The first major championship of 2020 has almost guaranteed an unmissable finish with Dustin Johnson holding the lead of 54 holes 9 under while Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau are among those still at close range. Of course, the established names aren’t the only ones in the mix as Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Champ and Collin Morikawa are among those who would like to kick off their budding careers with a major win on Sunday afternoon in San Francisco.
Saturday’s round was a tribute to the challenge offered by TPC Harding Park. DJ, Scheffler, and Morikawa climbed to the top of the chart by posting 65, but the late afternoon groups were left grinding through foggy and windy conditions that made scoring difficult. Of the last four matches on the pitch, only two players, Champ and Koepka, scored below par on Saturday.
Read on for a breakdown of the top of the chart with the top names to watch towards Sunday.
1. Dustin Johnson (-9): A scoring machine this week, DJ has 17 birdies in three rounds. While his 65-year-old Saturday was tied for round of the day – and his eight birdies were the best in any major round of his career – he might have been even better had it not been for a bogey at number 6 and a double. bogeyman at number 9. Although the putter disappointed him on that double, otherwise he was no lights on the greens and now has a chance to take another run at his first PGA championship after a second place a year ago at Bethpage Black.
T2. Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Champ (-8): The rookie (Scheffler) and rising star (Champ) represent the closest thing to a dark horse in this heavyweight battle, as Morikawa also became an established name with his victory after his firing and the narrative of his series of cuts made. Champ has PGA Tour success to his name that could put him a cycle ahead in the maturation process, but Scheffler hasn’t let his inexperience as a pro affect his comfort at TPC Harding Park. The rookie says the course suits his style, and after rolling a 66 on Thursday and a 65 on Saturday, he must be seen as a threat to break the party on Sunday.
T4. Brooks Koepka, Collin Morikawa, Paul Casey (-7): There is nothing more tempting than seeing Koepka bounce off three straight back bogeys nine to birdie two of his last three holes and then say his game was better than what the score reflects. Confidence is not lacking for the two-time defending champion as he goes for a hat-trick on Sunday, although it will take a little better play on approach shots to avoid the kind of setbacks that make him go back two shots. Morikawa defied expectations for his game with a hot putter in his rise in the rankings, while Casey will look to change the narrative around his game as a solid player who ends up a shot or two away from lifting the trophies to the end of the championship.
T7. Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Justin Rose, Jason Day, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood (-6): Just an absolute cleat group here three shots ahead with two big winners and two of the winning players from the restart included in the group. DeChambeau was excellent on Saturday with seven birdies, the last of which was a 95 footer to close his round of 66. Day and Fleetwood faced some of the toughest conditions on the course while some of the later players saw ups and downs in the their equal run. There was no absence of spark that could indicate a fade from contention, although the pace will require a score of three or four more hits (as a minimum) to chase the leader.
T13. Haotong Li, Xander Schauffele, Matthew Wolff, Si Woo Kim, Joel Dahmen (-5): Li didn’t lose his chance to win the PGA championship on Saturday, but the setbacks and lack of nine bogeys made the proposition much more difficult after the 54-hole leader shot a 73 on Saturday. A 67 or 68 is not out of the realm of possibility, but it will need the leaders to retreat for a chance to win. Of this group the player most likely to field a 65 and the challenge for the title is probably Schauffele, thought what would have marked a significant improvement after pulling even on Friday and only one under on Saturday.
CBS Sports has been with you the whole time updating this story with the latest results, updates and highlights from Round 3. Check out the detailed leaderboard at the beginning of the story and come back on Sunday to watch Round 4 of the PGA Championship 3-3 9 p.m. ET.
