PGA Championship 2023 LIVE: Leaderboard and latest updates as Rory McIlroy chases Brooks Koepka in final round
Brooks Koepka brings a one-shot lead into the final round as the LIV golfer targets a third US PGA Championship title at Oak Hill. The American was the star performer on Saturday with a four-under-par round of 66 to reach six-under for the tournament in wet conditions in Rochester, New York.
On a tough day to score Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners showed the type of consistency needed to win a major with both players recording even par round to keep them near the top of the leaderboard. Just one shot off the lead before the final round, they will lead the chasing pack which includes the USA’s Bryson DeChambeau (-3) and England’s Justin Rose (-2).
World number two Scottie Scheffler is also in the mix after an up-and-down day saw him drop back to two under but he’ll need to regain his form from the previous two rounds if he wants to challenge on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy remains in contention for a third US PGA but trails Koepka by five after a one-under-par 69 yesterday. The Northern Irishman will play alongside club pro Michael Block after the 46-year-old Californian fired his third successive round of 70 to remain at level par.
Follow the leaderboard and latest updates from Oak Hill below:
US PGA Championship Day Four updates
The 105th US PGA Championship continues at Oak Hill Country Club in New York
Brooks Koepka leads after three rounds thanks to a four-under-par 66 on Saturday
Hovland and Conners one back with DeChambeau, Rose and Scheffler also chasing
McIlroy five back after second round 69. Tees off alongside club pro Michael Block
Leaderboard: -6: Koepka; -5: Hovland Conners; -3: Dehambeau; -2: Rose, Scheffler; -1: McIlroy
Tee times: Koepka, Hovland (19:30); Conners, Dechambeau (19:20); Rose, Scheffler (19:10)
McIlroy and Block underway
19:03 , Ben Fleming
McIlroy (-1), Block (E)
It’s rare that someone gets more cheers than Rory McIlroy when their name is read out but club pro Michael Block might have just done it. His drive heads towards the left rough and bunker while McIlroy hits the middle of the fairway.
Fleetwood underway
18:57 , Ben Fleming
Fleetwood (+1), Suh (E)
Tommy played an impressive round of golf yesterday to leave him just over par for the tournament. He heads off the first with the young American Justin Suh. As they do, the noise builds around the first with McIlroy and Block teeing off shortly after them.
Straka up to even par
18:47 , Ben Fleming
Straka E (5)
Sepp Straka is one of those trying to make the necessary move up the leaderboard and he makes his third birdie of the day to get to even par. He’s in trouble in the rough after two on the next hole, though, and will need a good up and down to save par.
Bogey for Lowry at first
18:45 , Ben Fleming
Lowry +2 (1), Cole +1 (1)
Shane needs birdies...and plenty of them if he’s to set a score for the leaders. With that in mind, a lip-out bogey five on the first is not what he had in mind. He drops back to two over par.
Missed chance for Rahm
18:39 , Ben Fleming
Rahm +5 (13)
The Spaniard hits a sparkling iron into the fifth green but it’s a really poor putt from just under feet and the birdie opportunity passes by for the world number one.
Work to do for Matsuyama
18:36 , Ben Fleming
Matsuyama +6 (3)
The 2021 Masters Champion clearly didn’t get the memo about the good scoring so far today. He’s bogeyed the first three holes to drop back to six over par.
Birdies for Lee and Reed at the first
18:26 , Ben Fleming
Reed +1 (1), Lee E (1)
Plenty of birdies on the first and Reed and Min Woo Lee are the latest to follow that trend. Reed knocks in from 11 feet while the Aussie chips in from off the green. Good start for the pair.
Another one drops for Smith
18:23 , Ben Fleming
Smith E (6)
There is no stopping the Open Champion today and he adds his fourth birdie at the sixth to move up to even par.
If he can negotiate the tough end to the front nine, there are holes to be targeted on the back nine. Set a low score at three or four under and you never know...
Rahm drops one at 10
18:09 , Ben Fleming
Rahm +5 (11)
The world number one was enjoying a fruitful start to his round with birdies at 1 and 2 but there has been nothing forthcoming since and he’s now back to five over par after he misses an 8 feet putt for par.
Smith and Straka into the top ten
17:59 , Ben Fleming
Smith +1 (4), Straka +1 (2)
Those chasing down Koepka later on have surely got to like what they are seeing from this course so far. Smith pours another in for three birdie in a row. Straka also makes birdie and the pair now sit in a tie for tenth.
Plenty of early movement up the leaderboard.
History awaits Koepka
17:53 , Ben Fleming
Koepka (-6), Hovland (-5) - 7:30pm BST
The final group of today sees four-time major champion Brooks Koepka head out with Viktor Hovland. Koepka shot the round of the day on Saturday - a four under 66 - and takes a one-shot lead into today’s action. He lead the Masters just a month ago but wilted on that occasion. He now has the chance to redeem himself and secure his name in the record books.
Hovland was also in contention at the Masters but couldn’t get over the line on that occasion. The Norwegian has often been near the top of the board in recent majors and has demonstrated his typical ball-striking excellence to sit just one off the lead. Like Koepka, he’ll be hoping that recent experiences will aid his quest to capture his first major title.
Awesome stat from @JustinRayGolf: Only six golfers since 1950 have won five majors before turning 34.
Tiger
Jack
Seve
Watson
Player
Palmer
All-timers only, and Brooks joins them today if he wins.— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) May 21, 2023
Three in a row for Tarren
17:44 , Ben Fleming
Tarren +3 (15)
The Englishman endured a torrid day on the course yesterday as he shot a nine-over-par 79. He seems to have put that all behind him and is currently shooting the low round of the day after birdies at 13, 14 and 15.
Four under for the day and up to a tie for 23rd.
Back-to-back birdies for Smith
17:38 , Ben Fleming
Smith +2 (3)
Cam Smith makes his putt on the third looks easy and he’s now up into the top 20. Elsewhere, Reavie will have another look at birdie too after a good approach into the sixth while Rahm impressively saves par at the ninth after a glorious flop shot from the rough behind the green.
Conners and DeChambeau right in the mix
17:35 , Ben Fleming
Conners (-5), DeChambeau (-3) - 7:20pm BST
Conners was quietly going about building a really solid round of golf yesterday but one mistake from the 16th bunker and the resulting double bogey undid all the hard work for the Canadian. He still shot an even-par round but must now come from behind if he is to win his first major. He’s undoubtedly the least experienced player in contention but there’s no reason to think he can’t get it done based on how he’s navigated the course these past three days.
He’ll be playing alongside Bryson DeChambeau who contends for the first time since recovering from a set of serious wrist injuries. The big-hitting American already has a US Open to his name and is just three back from his fellow LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka.
Chez Reavie chips in
17:26 , Ben Fleming
Reavie +2 (5)
I can’t say I’ve seen much of the American so far this week but with the bunched nature of this course, plenty of players can shoot up the leaderboard in these calmer fourth-round conditions. With the birdie, he moves to +2 and is three under already for his rounds.
Back on the second, Cam Smith makes birdie after a fine iron into the green and he moves to three over par.
Rose and Scheffler still in with a shout
17:23 , Ben Fleming
Rose (-2), Scheffler (-2) - 7:10pm BST
Heading out after McIlroy and Block are Justin Rose and Scottie Scheffler, both poised and looking to upset the odds at two under par.
Rose has struggled to find the fairway with great consistency this week but an awesome performance with the putter yesterday saw him shoot a one-under-par 69. He’s as experienced as they come to major championship final rounds but will need another fine putting display to usurp those ahead of him.
One person who definitely could do with Rose’s putting expertise is Scheffler who has struggled to make anything of note over these last three days. He was three over par yesterday after starting the third round in a tie for the lead but without a marked improvement on the greens, it’s hard to see the world number two challenging the leader.
Plenty of early birdies
17:11 , Ben Fleming
Matt NeSmith and Keegan Bradley make birdies at the first to move into the top 20. That hole is proving fruitful early on - could be one to watch out for as the contenders look to make an early move on Koepka.
Can McIlroy upset the odds?
17:07 , Ben Fleming
McIlroy (-1), Block (E) - 7:00pm BST
Five shots back could be too much of an ask but you can be sure Rory McIlroy is going to give it everything he’s got to make a move up the leaderboard. It’s fair to say the Northern Irishman has not been at his best over the past three days but he’s battled himself into outside contention in less-than-ideal circumstances.
Last year’s winner Justin Thomas came from way back and Rory will be hoping to do the same today.
He’ll be teeing it up alongside club pro Michael Block who has become one of the stories of the week. The Californian, who teaches golf full-time, has carded three successive rounds of 70 to sit at even par. No club pro has finished in the top ten for 50 years but with another solid round Block could break that historic record.
Out on the course
16:54 , Ben Fleming
Before we start taking a look at the contenders coming out later in the afternoon, a quick look at what is going on out on the course from the early starters.
The first thing to note - it is dry. There’s some breeze and that could pick up during the day but it looks like a day for scoring.
World number one Jon Rahm is two under par so far today, as is Xander Schauffele and Jordan Spieth. Adam Scott is currently producing the round of the day so far, with the Aussie three under par after eight holes.
Brooks Koepka hopes to emulate Tiger Woods and win third PGA Championship title
16:40 , Ben Fleming
Brooks Koepka admits it would be “pretty special” to emulate Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus by claiming a third US PGA Championship title.
Koepka will take a one-shot lead over Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland into the final round at Oak Hill, six weeks after enjoying double that advantage following 54 holes of the Masters.
The four-time major winner carded a closing 75 at Augusta National to finish second to Jon Rahm, but looks primed to claim his first major since the 2019 US PGA at Bethpage.
Brooks Koepka hopes to emulate Tiger Woods and win third PGA Championship title
As things stand
16:31 , Ben Fleming
Here’s how things look ahead of today’s final round:
-6: Koepka
-5: Conners, Hovland
-3: DeChambeau
-2: Scheffler, Rose
-1: McIlroy
E: Block, Suh
+1: Lowry, Fleetwood, Jaeger, Perez, Cole, Lee
Welcome back
16:26 , Ben Fleming
Good afternoon and welcome back to The Independent’s coverage of the US PGA Championship.
Today’s final round is set up for an intriguing and hopefully exciting day of golfing action. LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka leads the way after a barnstorming round of 66 on a very wet Saturday outing. He’s in line to win a third PGA Championship but faces stiff competition from the chasing pack.
Viktor Hovland and Corey Conners are the main challenges with both at five-under though Bryson DeChambeau (-3), Justin Rose (-2) and Scottie Scheffler (-2) cannot be discounted.
Rory McIlroy has not looked his best this week but rounds of 71, 69 and 69 have placed the Northern Irishman at one under par and a low round at Oak Hill this afternoon would him the chance to claim another major title.
He’s partnered alongside club pro Michael Block this afternoon after the 46-year-old Californian fired his third successive round of 70 to remain at level par for the tournament.
Who will triumph at Oak Hill? Follow along for the latest updates from the final round of the 2023 US PGA Championship.