Tiger charges into PGA hunt as Koepka takes lead
ST LOUIS, United States (AFP) — Tiger Woods birdied five of the first eight holes and charged into contention for his first major title since 2008, in yesterday’s third round of the PGA Championship.
The 14-time major champion, in the eighth month of his comeback from spinal fusion surgery after years of back injuries, shared third on eight-under-par after seven holes at Bellerive Country Club.
That left Woods two strokes off the pace of US co-leaders Brooks Koepka- a two-time US Open champion, and Gary Woodland- who matched the low 36-hole major record at 10-under 130.
Joining Woods at eight-under were second-ranked defending champion Justin Thomas, fellow Americans Kevin Kisner and Rickie Fowler, and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters.
Former world number one Woods, who on Saturday morning finished off the last 11 holes of a storm-halted second-round 66, made a sizzling afternoon start, opening with back-to-back birdies and, after a bogey at five, adding two more at the par-3 sixth and par-4 seventh.
Woods, ranked 51st, won his most recent major title at the 2008 US Open and has not won any event since the 2013 WGC Bridgestone Invitational, but he showed solid form last month by leading Sunday on the back nine at the British Open.
Thousands of spectators watched Woods sink a 17-foot birdie putt on the first hole and drop his approach to four feet ,setting up a birdie at the second.
Woods answered his bogey with an 11-foot birdie putt at the par-3 sixth and a seven-footer for birdie at the seventh, the crowds and buzz around him growing with every hole.
A roar resounded across the 7,316-yard layout when Woods dropped a six-foot birdie putt at the par-5 eighth, to pull level with the chase pack behind Koepka and Woodland.
Koepka opened birdie-birdie to grab the lead after Woodland made bogey at the second, but Woodland birdied the third hole to pull level on 10-under.
Birdies were abundant early, a hint that scoring conditions might rival those of Friday which saw three players make a run at matching the all-time low major round of 62 by Branden Grace of South Africa from last year’s British Open.
