East Course soaked but fairways, greens holding

Rochester’s always finicky weather figures to be a key storyline Saturday throughout the third round of the PGA Championship.

Rain is coming down and indications are that it will persist for much of the day at Oak Hill Country Club. But as long as it isn’t pouring, and there’s no thunder and lightning, play will go on.

There’s a three-way tie atop the leaderboard between Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland, but several players are within five strokes of the lead, setting up for a potentially volatile day.

To follow along with all the action from the East Course, come back here throughout the day for continuous updates.

PGA Championship at Oak Hill: Everything you need to know for Day 3

With East Course soaked, fairways and greens are holding

One byproduct of all this rain is that when the players hit their tee shots, they have a better chance of keeping the ball in the fairway because there’s not much roll. Yes, that costs them some distance, but if a shot is off the line just a bit, Thursday and Friday it was headed for the rough. Not so much Saturday.

Along those same lines, the greens are holding most every approach that is hit with a lofted club so that has allowed the players to take aim at some of the pins. By the afternoon, this could become a distinct advantage for the leaders because if the weather forecasters are correct, the rain could be subsiding by then. And those players will have a soft course that will be easier to score on.

It’s pouring at Oak Hill at the moment

Yes, the rain has arrived, and right now as I post at 10:40, it’s coming down relentlessly. There’s no thunder and lightning so play continues, but the worry is going to at what point with the PGA of America determine the course is too wet?

Oak Hill’s drainage is spectacular, and the mostly good weather we had in the two weeks leading up to the tournament has created a situation where the course can take some of this pounding. But it’s very possible that puddles could start to form on the greens and that would create a stoppage of play.

One player who seems unfazed by the rain is Thomas Pieters who has started his day with birdies on four of his first five holes to get to 1-over for the tournament.

Early groups are on the course

For now, there’s no rain at Oak Hill and the third round is underway and two of the world’s best players are on the course.

Jordan Spieth, who would complete a career grand slam if he could find a way to pull off a massive comeback this weekend and win the PGA, is in the third twosome, playing with Lee Hodges. Spieth had to get up and down to save par from a bunker at No. 18 Friday to just make it on the cut line of 5-over 145.

Justin Thomas is in the twosome behind Spieth and is playing with 2023 Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson. The defending PGA champion had just as dramatic a weekend qualification as his good friend, Spieth.

Thomas was 4-over at the 18th tee but drove into one of the deep bunkers on the right. His second shot slammed into the lip and fell back into the bunker. He eventually hit his fourth shot onto the green and needed to one-putt to save bogey and advance, and he did.

PGA Championship leaderboard entering Saturday

There are nine golfers under par and nine more at even par after two rounds:

T1. Scottie Scheffler -5
T1. Corey Conners -5
T1. Viktor Hovland -5
T4. Bryson DeChambeau -3
T4. Justin Suh -3
T6. Callum Tarren -2
T6. Brooks Koepka -2
T8. Justin Rose -1
T8. Taylor Pendrith -1

Round 3 tee times at the PGA Championship

8:10 am – Mark Hubbard, Rikuya Hoshino
8:20 am – Yannik Paul, Denny McCarthy
8:30am – Jordan Spieth, Lee Hodges
8:40 am – Zach Johnson, Justin Thomas
8:50 am – Patrick Rodgers, Kazuki Higa
9:00am – Alex Smalley, Thomas Detry
9:10 am – Tyrrell Hatton, Phil Mickelson
9:20 am – Tony Finau, Chris Kirk
9:30 am – Taylor Montgomery, Thomas Pieters
9:40 am – Adrian Meronk, Dean Burmester
10:00 am – Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm
10:10 am – Thriston Lawrence, Tom Hoge
10:20 am – Xander Schauffele, Ben Taylor
10:30 am – Chez Reavie, Lucas Herbert
10:40 am – Taylor Moore, Pablo Larrazabal
10.50am – Sam Stevens, Padraig Harrington
11:00 am – Joel Dahmen, Nicolai Højgaard
11:10am – Adam Hadwin, Matt Wallace
11:20 am – Hideki Matsuyama, Max Homa
11.30am – Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood
11:40 am – Hayden Buckley, Sihwan Kim
12:00 pm – Sahith Theegala, JT Poston
12:10 pm – Stephan Jaeger, Victor Perez
12:20 pm – Collin Morikawa, Adam Scott
12:30 pm – Beau Hossler, Kurt Kitayama
12:40 pm – Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Harold Varner III
12:50 pm – Eric Cole, Ryan Fox
1:00 pm – Patrick Cantlay, Mito Pereira
1:10 pm – Cameron Davis, Dustin Johnson
1:20 pm – Keegan Bradley, Matthew NeSmith
1:40 pm – Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry
1:50 pm – Min Woo Lee, Adam Svensson
2:00 pm – Sepp Straka, Keith Mitchell
2:10 pm – Justin Rose, Michael Block
2.20pm – Callum Tarren, Taylor Pendrith
2:30 pm – Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka
2:40 pm – Viktor Hovland, Justin Suh
2:50 pm – Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners

PGA Championship 2023 at Oak Hill: The guide for fans

Round 2 coverage

Round 2 recap: Leaders, top moments, notable cut survivors

Round 2 live updates: Conners, Scheffler, Hovland tied for lead entering Saturday

PGA Championship cut line: Here’s who made, missed the cut at Oak Hill

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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: PGA Championship 2023 from Oak Hill: Pouring rain soaking golfers