Brown: PGA Championship final round, possible finale at Valhalla, should be memorable one
If this truly is it, the last hurrah for the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club, then at least Sunday is shaping up to potentially be a monumental finish in line with the event’s history in Louisville.
Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele are tied for the lead at 15 under. They’re followed by 13 players who finished Round 3 on Saturday within five strokes of the lead including Shane Lowry, who shot up 25 spots on the leaderboard thanks in part to posting a 29 on the front nine, which was the first sub-30 score in course history.
Justin Rose leapfrogged 16 spots after shooting a 7-under 64. St. Xavier graduate Justin Thomas also lurks within striking distance just five strokes back at 10 under after his second straight day with a 67.
“Obviously, the course was playing pretty low (Saturday); a lot of guys took it low to climb their way up,” Morikawa said. “I assume (Sunday) is going to be the same.”
Thomas is one of those guys looking to climb.
He felt the full force of his hometown backing when he birdied Hole 14 with a chip shot from a shade under 90 feet. The chills from the roar of the crowd, he said, gave him goosebumps all the way to Hole 15. More importantly, his overall play kept him within striking distance. When he won the 2022 PGA Championship, he rallied from seven strokes down.
“I'm going to need a really good front nine tomorrow to work my way in the mix,” Thomas said. “But I feel like I'm fully capable of that how I'm playing.”
Schauffele set the tone for the tournament with his 62 in Round 1 on Thursday. Lowry matched that with a 9-under 62 of his own Saturday. And with a forecast lending to more sunny skies Sunday, the scores could continue to plummet.
“I said it (Friday), it's funny, so there's blood in the water, everyone kind of laughed and then Shane Lowry almost shot 61 (Saturday),” Schauffele said. “I imagine someone in that threshold now that it's been done twice is going to shoot something low and post a number early. I imagine that's going to happen.”
I imagine so, too, because that’s what always seems to happen at Valhalla.
Two of the PGA Championship’s previous three stops here, it was decided by a playoff. The tournament’s debut at Valhalla in 1996 was decided when Mark Brooks birdied the first hole and defeated Kentucky native Kenny Perry in a sudden-death format.
Tiger Woods needed seven birdies on the final 12 holes just to face Bob May in a three-hole aggregate playoff in 2000. Woods emerged with a one-shot win.
Even when it was decided in 72 holes, there was Sunday drama in the 2014 installment. Rory McIlroy needed an eagle on the 10th hole to help stave off Phil Mickelson as he won by one stroke.
There’s been much consternation whether the PGA Championship will return to Louisville after this year. The future sites are scheduled through 2031, but that’s not the only indication on why it’s not coming back.
The PGA of America no longer owns the Jack Nicklaus-designed course that was built to host major events. It sold Valhalla in 2022 to a local ownership group composed of Jimmy Kirchdorfer, Junior Bridgeman, Ches Musselman and David Novak. The logistics involving parking and herding crowds through the course do not work in Valhalla’s favor.
Friday’s arrest of Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, in the entrance of the golf club probably didn’t help matters, either.
Let’s put aside what may go wrong in the future and just enjoy the possibilities of the present. If this is the last time Valhalla will host, at least the PGA Championship will make it memorable.
Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: PGA Championship 2024 poised for historic finish at Valhalla Golf Club
