Shane Lowry 4 shots off lead, Cameron Young becomes 12th player in history to break 60
CAMERON YOUNG became the 12th player in US PGA Tour history to break 60 for a round, but his 11-under 59 still left him chasing Travelers Championship leader Tom Kim, with Ireland’s Shane Lowry four adrift after a third-round 65.
The Offaly native’s superb second-round 62 put him in contention, but he was not quite as impressive on Saturday.
The 37-year-old began with a bogey but improved after that, registering six birdies to leave him on 14 under overall.
Meanwhile, Seamus Power is tied for 34th after a third-round 67 saw improvement on Friday’s 70.
Young had walked off the course with a share of the lead early in the third round at 13-under 197 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut.
But South Korea’s Kim, who took a two-shot lead into the round, shook off a nearly three-hour rain delay to card a second straight 65, his 18-under total of 192 putting him one stroke in front of world number one Scottie Scheffler and Akshay Bhatia, who both carded 64s.
Kim overcame an early three-putt bogey, coming up with six birdies on the rain-softened course and salvaging par from a fairway bunker at 18 as darkness fell to keep his nose in front.
Scheffler, who won his second Masters title in April had two bogeys after the weather delay but closed with four straight birdies to put himself in the hunt.
“I was pretty frustrated after that bogey on 14,” Scheffler said. “Felt like I was putting myself out of the tournament.
“So it was nice to bounce back and finish it the way I did.”
Bhatia a two-time PGA tour winner, rolled in a 26-foot birdie putt at 18 for his share of second.
Xander Schauffele carded a 63 to share fourth on 194 with South Korean Im Sung-jae. Collin Morikawa was a further stroke back on 195 and another three players were tied on 196.
Kim said staying in front in what promises to be a Sunday shootout would be “all about just execution.
“I’m going to go out tomorrow with the same game plan and try to do the things that I’ve been doing and if it’s good enough, it’s great, but if someone’s better than that, I can’t do anything about it.”
– 59 ‘pretty cool’ –
Young, runner-up at the 2022 British Open, was five shots off the pace after seven birdies and two eagles.
“It’s certainly pretty cool,” Young said. “It’s fun to have your name on a list that short.”
But, he said, he’ll “pretty much try to forget it” on Sunday as he pursues a first US PGA Tour title.
Young’s round was the PGA Tour’s first 59 since Scheffler shot 59 at TPC Boston in the 2020 St. Jude Championship.
He got things going early with birdies at the first and second, then holed out from 142 yards in the fairway for an eagle at the par-four third.
He followed a 19-foot birdie at the fourth with birdies at the eighth and ninth, two-putted for birdie at the par-five 13th then eagled the par-four 15th, where his tee shot bounced short of the green and rolled up to leave him a four-foot putt.
He missed a birdie chance at 16 but drilled a five-footer at 17. He preserved his sub-60 round with a testing par putt from outside nine feet at the last.
Young said he knew by the time he made the turn his round was “just, like, really good.
“I didn’t think about it too much kind of the middle of that back nine … Then all of a sudden I had a putt for 59 on 18 which was a blast.”
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Elsewhere, there was frustration for Leona Maguire as a third-round 75 left her seven shots off leader Amy Yang after Saturday’s third round of the Women’s PGA Championship.
The Cavan native had been in a strong position going into day three after opening rounds of 70 and 71 put her firmly in contention.
However, three bogeys in her first nine holes on Saturday left Maguire with an uphill task.
Birdies on the 11th and 12th holes were undermined by a double bogey on the 17th — continuing a mixed round for the 29-year-old and leaving her tied for 14th.
Meanwhile, Stephanie Meadow missed the cut after finishing 11 over par on day two.
South Korea’s Yang, chasing her first major title, shot a one-under-par 71 to grab a two-stroke lead.
Yang, who has 21 career top-10 major finishes without a victory, stood on seven-under 209 after 54 holes at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Washington.
Asked about the most crucial parts of her round, Yang said, “Just how much patience I need out there and how disciplined I have to be with my decisions — I think I did really well.”
Yang, 34, answered both bogeys on Saturday with birdies on the next hole. The two-time US Open runner-up won her fifth and most recent LPGA title at the 2023 Tour Championship.
She goes for a life-changing victory on Sunday.
“All I can do is the best I can do for the day,” Yang said of the final-round pressure to finally win a major.
“It was tough out there but I did really well and I’m planning to do the same thing again tomorrow.”
Japan’s 22-year-old Miyu Yamashita, who 11 wins on the LPGA Japan Tour, fired a 70 to share second on 211 with Lauren Hartlage.
World number 272 Hartlage, a 26-year-old American who has never managed a top-five LPGA finish, shot a bogey-free 69.
“I’ve been hitting the ball pretty well and fairways are pretty tight so giving yourself good position on every hole is real important,” said Hartlage. “Made a couple good par putts, stayed patient all day.”
American Sarah Schmelzel, who shared the lead when the day began, was fourth on 212 despite a 74.
A fifth-place pack on 213 included Americans Caroline Inglis, Lexi Thompson and Lilia Vu plus South Korean Ko Jin-young and Japan’s Hinako Shibuno.
World number 25 Yang sank a birdie putt from just beyond eight feet at the ninth to take a one-stroke lead over Schmelzel at the turn.
Yang reached the green in two at the par-5 11th and made a birdie putt from just inside five feet to reach seven-under and when Schmelzel missed a nine-foot par putt at 12, Yang’s lead stretched to three shots.
Japan’s Miyu Yamashita sank a 19-foot birdie putt at the 14th and American Lauren Hartlage birdied 16 to each pull within two of the lead.
Yang found left rough off the 16th tee and was short of the green on her approach, then missed a downhill seven-foot par putt to see her lead trimmed to one stroke.
But Yang answered at the par-3 17th with a 37-foot birdie putt that restored her two-stroke edge and she parred the last, missing a birdie putt from just inside six feet.
– Ace for Pajaree –
Schmelzel and Yang shared the lead on six-under when the day began and both opened with four pars before Schmelzel’s three-putt bogey at the fifth briefly left Yang alone at the top.
Schmelzel, however, answered with a three-foot birdie putt at the par-5 sixth to regain a share of the lead.
Schmelzel took a three-putt bogey at seven and Yang made bogey at eight, ending her run of 30 consecutive bogey-less holes.
Thailand’s Pajaree Anannarukarn aced the 153-yard par-3 13th hole, the first hole-in-one in the event since 2018. It was her second career LPGA ace after one at another major, the 2020 Chevron Championship.
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