PGA Championship: Day 3 at Baltusrol
July 31, 2016 at 4:02AM
Keep that card
Padraig Harrington: The three-time major champion took advantage of his early tee time and dodged the thunderstorms — and bogeys as well. Paddy jumped up 51 spots on the leaderboard with a 5-under-par 65, matching Kevin Kisner for round of the day before Mother Nature took control. Harrington, 44, won the 2008 PGA Championship but has missed the cut the past three years. Saturday was redemption. "It's nice when you score better than you play," he said.
Toss that card
Cameron Tringale: Even par to start on a morning Phil Michelson said could yield a "61 or 62," Tringale instead failed to make a birdie en route to a 7-over 77 and slipped to last place. Hey — it could be worse: Two years ago Tringale called a penalty on himself after the PGA Championship concluded, and forfeited his $53,000 earnings.
PGA moment Rich Beem is assured a check after the final round for only the fourth time since he won the 2002 PGA Championship at Hazeltine. But that doesn't mean he's skipping out on his prior commitments. Beem finished his morning round Saturday 2 over par, then switched from his golf shirt to his work shirt and resumed as an analyst for Britain's Sky Sports. "It's nice to put the other shirts on for a little bit, and now I have to go put the other ones on and go out to work again," he said.
Chip shots
• Francesco Molinari finished his round with six consecutive birdies.
• PGA of America Chief Championships Officer Kerry Haigh said despite the forecast, the possibility of an early two-tee start in threesomes Saturday was "not significantly" discussed.
• Of the 37 players who finished Saturday, the average score was 70.0 — exactly even par at Baltusrol.
Key hole
Par-5, 554-yard No. 18: Thirteen of the first 22 players made birdie, another made eagle and there was only one bogey. From there, only one player of the next 18 made birdie before play was stopped.
Quote of the day
" I think the plus side was that I didn't actually have to go out. If you get off to a bad start, you're thinking about it. If you get off to a good start, you're thinking about it."
— Jason Day, on Saturday's lengthy delay
Tweet of the day
"Spieth enters the cauldron of noisy fans at the first tee. Enough of the undercard. Let's get this party started."
— Steve Elling, Bleacher Report golf writer, at 12:51 p.m. Play was stopped 23 minutes later. (@EllingYelling)
Day 4
Bad as Saturday was, Sunday looks to be worse. The forecast calls for showers and thunderstorms throughout the day. Players are scheduled to take the course at 6 a.m. Central, and TNT will come on air at 8 a.m. with Ch. 4 taking over at 1 p.m. — weather permitting.
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Frankie Capan III, who will be playing on the PGA Tour next year, finished at 13 under par at the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship.
