European Ryder Cup stalwarts Shane Lowry and Justin Rose were grouped together Saturday during the third round of the PGA Championship at Valhalla. They combined to make 17 birdies.
SEVENTEEN.
Eleven of those came on the front nine.
Oddly, they both birdied Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7. Lowry birdied the ninth hole to turn in 29, but Rose made bogey on the hole to shoot 31.
“I said that to him on the – I think it was walking off the fifth green,” Lowry said. “I'm like, ‘What am I going to have to do to get the honor off you today.’
“Yeah, it was pretty cool out there, the two of us. He obviously had a great round, as well, and he's put himself in there tomorrow, and we both played great. It was nice to kind of bounce off each other and feed off each other the whole day.”
Shane Lowry just matched the Men’s Major Championship scoring record with a 62. 🔥#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/edloJzyssv
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2024
Lowry, who started the day eight off the lead, shot a PGA Championship record-tying 62 to move up 25 positions on the leaderboard. He’s only two behind Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. Rose shot 64 to improve 16 positions and is three off the lead.
Rose, however, did have one thing that Lowry would’ve loved – he made a birdie on the 18th hole. Lowry missed his birdie attempt from 12 feet that would’ve given him a major championship record 61.
“Pretty average compared to Shane, my playing partner,” Rose said. “No, today was a lot of fun.”
Here are other big movers from Saturday’s third round:
After shooting 70-69 the first two days Russell Henley shot 66 to move up 22 positions and into a tie for 19th place at 8 under par. In 10 previous PGA Championship performances, Henley only has one top-15 finish.
Ryo Hisatsune, a 21-year-old playing in his first PGA, shot 31 over the last nine holes to record a 67 and move 17 spots up the leaderboard and into a tie for 24th place.
Ben Kohles is also playing in his first PGA Championship. He opened with 67, shot 73 on Friday and rebounded with another 67 during Round 3. He improved his position 23 spots and is in a tie for 29th place at 6-under-par total.
Canada’s Corey Conners made the cut on the number at 1 under par and birdied the last hole Saturday to shoot 67, a score that moved him up 30 spots and into a tie for 38th place. Conners tied for 12th place last year at the PGA Championship at Oak Hill.
More: 5 Interesting Stats From The Third Round Of The 2024 PGA Championship
Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard also made the cut on the number when it was made Saturday morning. A third-round 68 moved him up 21 spots on the leaderboard and into a tied for 47th place.
Corebridge Financial Team member Braden Shattuck is in the same position as Hojgaard. He opened with 71-70 to make the cut on the number, one of only two PGA of America Professionals to advance to the last two rounds. He birdied the last two holes of his third round to move up 21 positions and into a tie for 47th place.
Check out the leaderboard from the 106th PGA Championship here
