Dustin Johnson holds one-shot lead over Jordan Spieth at THE NORTHERN TRUST

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – News and notes from the third round of the PGA Championship at the Quail Hollow Club where Kevin Kisner leads by one stroke after a 72 on Saturday. For more coverage from Quail Hollow, click here for the Daily Wrap. KISNER KEEPS THE MOMENTUM The stoic Kisner promised to show some emotion on Sunday if he ends up winning the PGA Championship. “Don’t worry,â€� he said with a rare smile after the draining third round was finally over. But keeping his emotions in check has been the key to his play this week at Quail Hollow. The intensity in Kisner’s eyes reflects his focus, and even the worst of breaks – remember that approach that found the water on 16, for example – is met with an even keel. “I think I’ve been pretty good at that,â€� Kisner said. “This game will do it to you in my opinion. As soon as you think you’re on top of things, it finds a way to kick you right in the face. “So there’s no real reason for me getting mad or upset or showing y’all that I’m ticked off. I’m pretty good at keeping it all in, and the golf course here is so hard; if you get (ticked), you’re just going to throw away more shots. There’s no real reason to show that emotion.â€� Kisner, who has won twice on TOUR in less than a year, has never had a top-10 in a major championship. But he’s held at least a share of the lead since opening with a 67 at Quail Hollow, and while playing the Green Mile in 3 over has set up a dogfight, he’s eager for the challenge. “It’s a dream to win a major,â€� Kisner said. “That’s what I grew up practicing and playing, to play on the PGA TOUR and to have a chance in major championships. “The way my game’s progressed over my career, I like where I am, and I like having a chance tomorrow. It will be awesome to take home the Wanamaker Trophy and a lot of great names on that trophy.â€� JT MANAGES HIS GAME The way Justin Thomas saw it, he didn’t have his A game on Saturday. In fact, he probably didn’t have his B game, either. “I would definitely go C, more towards the C side than B side,â€� he said. Thomas still managed to shoot a 69 in the third round, though. As a result, he will start the final round of the PGA in a tie with Oosthuizen at 5 under just two strokes off the lead. The PGA is just Thomas’ 10th major championship. He got valuable experience at the U.S. Open earlier this year, though, when he shot 63, which tied what was then the major scoring record, in the third round to climb the leaderboard before falling to a tie for ninth with a closing 75. The key? Well, the 24-year-old Thomas, who has won three times already this year, feels like he’s learned to manage his game – even when he doesn’t have his best stuff.   “I think that’s why I feel like I’m ready to win a major championships now versus last year, I probably didn’t have that,â€� Thomas said. “Because you are going to have a day, usually at least a day in the tournament where you don’t have your best. You are not hitting it well. It’s what you can do with it. “That’s what Tiger did so well. He won tournaments by five or six with his B game or C game. It’s about managing it around here, trying to get it around. What I did today was definitely a confidence boost. It’s not the same as playing great. I’m definitely more tired than if I would have played great. I will definitely take it.â€� OOSTHUIZEN OVERCOMES RUSTY START Louis Oosthuizen had a bit of a scare early in his round when he hit the root of a tree as he attempted a dicey approach at the second hole. Oosthuizen reached the green with a brilliant shot but immediately started shaking his hand to try to loosen his right arm. His physical therapist slipped under the ropes and started working on the South African, stretching out his forearm as they walked down the fairway. Oosthuizen finished his round of even par with a strip of kinesio tape on his arm. He’ll start the final round trailing by two at 5 under and although it’s a little tight at the top, he expects no lingering effects. “It’s fine. You know, I wasn’t it wasn’t hurting at all,â€� Oosthuizen said. “I didn’t feel like it was painful or anything. It was just it got tight really quickly. “Sort of when you close your hand like that, I could feel it all over. I thought it would be good to get the physio and release it. He just did a proper release of it. There was no pain. I could hit my shots no worries.â€� And Oosthuizen’s 8-iron took the brunt of the blow anyway. He said he saw something – although he didn’t know it was a root – as he was pondering the shot. “It was very close to my ball,â€� Oosthuizen said. “I didn’t want to go and feel or do anything. The top, I was going pretty steep on it. Took a big chunk out of it. Bent my 8-iron properly.â€� The next time Oosthuizen needed the club was on the ninth hole. He saw that it was bent right at the hozzle and tried to straighten it out. “I tried to fix it, but obviously I’m not good at that,â€� he said with a smile. “I didn’t it a very good shot. … Ping is already building me a new one and getting it to me.â€� That’s a good thing, too. Oosthuizen had yardage for a full 8-iron at the 16th and 17th holes. But he had already given his club to a Ping rep and ended up dropping down to a 7-iron. While he did manage a birdie at No. 17, Oosthuizen said “those aren’t holes you want to go with different clubs.â€� PLAYERS BEAT THE HEAT At sundown on Friday, players were sprinting down fairways to finish as many holes as possible due to a lengthy weather delay. But on Saturday, the same players came in drained and dragging with rounds averaging in the five-and-a-half-hour range. Threesomes off one tee didn’t speed things along and Quail Hollow would have been challenging even on the best of days. But Saturday was marked by stifling humidity that nearly sent the “feels-likeâ€� temperature into triple digits. “I thought it was super hot,â€� Kisner said. “Standing around in 105 probably heat index is not a whole lot of fun. It’s difficult on your mental game, I think as much as anything, as the heat. “I’m pretty used to slow play; you watch us every week.â€� Rory McIlroy, who has won two PGAs and is a two-time champion at Quail Hollow, agreed. He shot 73 on Saturday but is well back at 4 over. “I think we’re used to slow rounds on the TOUR these days,â€� McIlroy said. “Hopefully we go to twos tomorrow if the weather is decent. That will get the guys around a little bit quicker. “Five hours 20 minutes out there in that heat was a little too long for my liking.â€� ODDS AND ENDS This has been a week of positives and negatives for Webb Simpson, who lives at Quail Hollow. He’s been grateful for the support of family, friends and fans but he hasn’t played as well as he’d like. Simpson will start the final round well off the pace at 5 over. He says he’s been surprised at how difficult the course has played – and it’s not just due to the changes made under Tom Fazio’s guidance. Simpson says the set-up has been “too toughâ€� for a PGA Championship. “I told the scorer in there I felt like really all week, but especially today with some of the pins and tees and length of the course, it feels like a U.S. Open,â€� Simpson said. “We are dealing with a long golf course, tons of rough, and crazy fast greens. “I don’t think that’s the stereotype of a PGA Championship. I feel like I’m out there trying to survive. Similar feelings to how when I play a U.S. Open. You shoot even par you have done really well.â€� Graham DeLaet had a three-hole stretch worth bragging about – a birdie at the par-3 13th, followed by back-to-back eagles at the par-4 14th and par-5 15th. That leaves the Canadian at 2 under and just five stroke off the pace. “That would be a cool run, you know, at any PGA TOUR event,â€� DeLaet said. “But to do that at the PGA Championship is pretty special. It’s something I’ll probably always remember, you know, when I look back at my career. And the nice thing about it was it put me in a position where something really special tomorrow can — you never know.â€� …   Of the top 15 players on the leaderboard, 14 of them have never won a major. The exception: Louis Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champ, who’s two shots back. His gameplan Sunday: “Just patience and play yourself in a position with four or five holes to go and take it from there.â€� SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Click here to read the full article…

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Brandt Snedeker has felt like he’s been playing well, but the results haven’t shown it. Now, finally, they are. Snedeker, the 2011 RBC Heritage champion, heated up with a second-round 64 at Harbour Town and is just two off the lead, his best showing through 36 holes since missing much of 2017 with a sternum injury. Bryson DeChambeau saved par on 18 to shoot 64 and leads alone at 10-under, while Si Woo Kim (65) and Ian Poulter (64) were tied for second just one shot back. “About as frustrating as it’s ever been in my career,â€� Snedeker said of his uncharacteristic play this season, which has seen him miss putts, miss cuts, and miss the Masters for the first time since 2010. He came into this week languishing at 131st in the FedExCup. “It’s been tough,â€� Snedeker added. “I feel like I’m working hard or harder than I ever have in my career. I feel like I’m doing all the stuff right.â€� In making eight birdies and one bogey, Snedeker, 37, looked less like the guy who has struggled this season and more like the eight-time PGA TOUR winner who lifted the TOUR Championship and FedExCup trophies in 2012. He’s the same guy, but with a whole new appreciation for the game that was off limits to him, and some changes to his team. After a 2017 season marred by a sternum injury that sidelined him for five months, Snedeker parted with his caddie of 12 years, Scott Vail, and hired Matt Hauser, who’d been with Johnson Wagner. Healthy again, Snedeker vowed to make the most of the new partnership and his new start. “You don’t realize how much you love the game until you don’t play it for a while,â€� he said from the unofficial QBE Shootout last December, when he and Bubba Watson finished seventh of 12 teams. “I had 14 weeks pretty much away from the game of golf, eight weeks not even swinging a golf club.â€� Now Snedeker is not only swinging a club, but he’s knocking the last bit of rust off at a course he loves. “It’s fun to be where you feel like you belong,â€� he said. OBSERVATIONS DECHAMBEAU HEATS UP WITH PUTTER Bryson DeChambeau once felt so frustrated with his putting that he tried going side-saddle. Not anymore. He took just 23 putts, including a par save of just under 13 feet on the 18th hole, for a career-low 64. “My putting has progressed over time,â€� said DeChambeau, who was fourth in the field in strokes gained: putting (+3.399) on Friday. “It’s taken time to understand a lot of these variables that were unknown to me in college, unknown to me in junior and amateur golf.â€� Although he speaks of having to be patient, it’s worth remembering that DeChambeau, who picked up his first TOUR win at the John Deere Classic last summer, is still only 24. “It just takes time, being comfortable out here,â€� he said. “It just does. And it has taken a little bit longer than I expected, but I’m comparing myself to Jordan Spieth.â€�     POULTER PLAYS THROUGH FATIGUE Ian Poulter doesn’t often play six weeks in a row. It’s just worked out that way. So far, so good, though, as Poulter shot a bogey-free 64 Friday to go into the weekend just one back. His secret so far: going to bed “exceptionally earlyâ€� and staying there. “Six weeks in a row is unusual,â€� said Poulter, who won the recent Houston Open to play his way into the Masters, where he finished T44. “That’s more golf than I’m used to playing. I’m looking forward to having a glass of champagne next week, relax for a few days, and then back on the horse.â€� After taking next week off, Poulter will play in the two-man team event, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, with Graeme McDowell.  KIM SHOOTS 65 WITH A TRIPLE Si Woo Kim, who will defend his title at THE PLAYERS Championship next month, is one off the lead after one of the more unusual rounds of his young career. He could not remember posting such a low score with a triple-bogey, and especially not a triple with two penalty shots. He hit his tee shot into a greenside bunker at the 192-yard, par-3 14th hole, splashed out, and found himself on the fringe and with a skiff of sand between his ball and the hole. He wiped away the sand with his hands, which PGA TOUR rules official Mark Dusbabek informed him on the 15th tee would draw a two-stroke penalty. “I honestly didn’t know,â€� Kim said through a translator. He birdied seven of his next nine holes, finishing with his ninth birdie at the short, par-4 ninth. “This might be the first time that I’ve played so well with a triple-bogey,â€� he said. “But I’m having great feel around the greens and I feel really confident around the greens. I’m looking forward to the weekend.â€� Kim is third in the field in strokes gained: putting.       KRAFT GETS FREAKISH BAD BREAK Kelly Kraft teed off at the par-3 14th only to watch his ball hit a “giant, black birdâ€� and plop into the water hazard. The bird flew away, but Kraft’s score was grievously injured as he took a double-bogey and wound up missing the cut by a shot. “There was a helping wind, and I hit a 7-iron, caught it perfect,â€� Kraft said. “It was probably 30 yards off the tee box and this giant, black bird swooped in front of it and hit it and the ball fell 20 yards short in the water.â€� Kraft was told that while the so-called cancel-and-replay rule is invoked if a ball hits a permanent, elevated power line, the same doesn’t hold true for a bird strike. “The big difference is a bird is a God-made object,â€� said Dillard Pruitt, a PGA TOUR rules official on site. “Whereas a telephone wire is man-made.â€� For more on Kraft’s unlucky shot, click here. MAGGERT ENJOYS RARE TOUR START Jeff Maggert, 54, was the oldest player in the field despite the presence of fellow PGA TOUR Champions-eligible players Glen Day, 52, and Davis Love III, who turned 54 on Friday. But Maggert (76-72), making his first PGA TOUR start in almost two years, still knows how to play and might have made the cut were it not for a triple-bogey in the first round and a double in the second. “They had an extra sponsor’s invitation,â€� he said. “And I wanted to give my son Jake a chance to caddie in a TOUR event. He did good. He’s a good caddie.â€� A father of five, Maggert has a home in Sea Pines and brings his family here from Houston in the summers. Although Harbour Town is an easy walk, he also gave Jake, 13, a break in using only a lightweight carry bag, not a staff bag. “This is my style of course,â€� said Maggert, the consummate control player who won three times on the PGA TOUR. “If they played courses like this every week, I might come out here and give it a go again.â€� Next week he will return to the PGA TOUR Champions and the Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge, where his partner, for the first time, will be Jesper Parnevik. “This was fun, but it’s hard to come out for one week,â€� Maggert said. “I had two crappy holes. Other than that, I felt like I could have made a run and finished under par.â€� NOTABLES DUSTIN JOHNSON – Making his first start here since 2009, the World No. 1 and South Carolina native shot his second straight 69 and was at 4-under for the tournament. WESLEY BRYAN – Defending champ and Palmetto State favorite missed a two-and-a-half-foot par putt at the 17th hole, but birdied the tough finishing hole for a 71 to remain 2-under. DAVIS LOVE III – Five-time winner celebrated his 54th birthday with a 5-under 66, but was still 1-over and outside the cut line after an opening-round 77. LUKE DONALD – Five-time runner-up here bounced back with a 67, but missed a birdie putt of just inside five feet at the ninth hole, his last of the day, to finish 1-over, a shot outside the cut. JIM FURYK – The two-time RBC champion (2010, 2015) shot his second 70 to make the cut. QUOTABLES “Sit. Sit. Sit. Go.â€�“This has got to be more unusual than a hole-in-one.â€�“I was kicked in the teeth.â€�”Everything.” SUPERLATIVES Low round: 8-under 63 by Satoshi Kodaira of Japan, who made 124 feet, 4 inches worth of putts and was first in shots gained: putting (+5.207). He shot an opening-round 73 and is T13, four back. Longest drive: 347 yds (Bryson DeChambeau/No. 9) Longest putt: 46’ 11â€� (Austin Cook/No. 12) Toughest hole: The par-3 4th (3.298)

Click here to read the full article…

Click here to read the full article…