Moving Day at the 2021 PGA Champs

Posted on May 23, 2021
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Moving Day at The PGA Champs The wind died down dramatically from the opening 2 days and left Kiawah Island at its most vulnerable. Although final scoring never showed it, there was a rise in the performance of the early field. Amongst the fans, it was great to see the atmosphere at fever pitch with a semblance of normal. The players were dragged forward by the crowd and you definitely knew who their favourite was. With all the support, overall, the day belonged again to Phil the Thrill who peaked at 10 under through 10 holes before coming back to the field with a 6 on the 13th. Phil will sit on the 54 hole lead - with the game’s biggest closer, BK, staring down at him - sore knee and all. Both BK and King Louis produced 2 of the worst putting rounds of the championship and still stayed within touching distance. If that factor can change, expect both of them to be in it down the stretch. BK was back to his imperious best - with long drives and power approaches all day, despite only carding a 71. King Louis ranked 78th in putting on Saturday out of 81 players! He should bounce back from that. He still produced some of the best ball striking all day and will still feel confident. Final Day Sunday should be as exciting as we have had in years. 3 decades coming together in the final round of a major, the fans back in their droves to watch history in the making - what more can you ask for. There are some brilliant potentials heading into the Final Day: The Thrill win: 6 majors, oldest major winner ever! BK win: 5 majors - only players younger to get to 5 being Jack and Tiger! This would be only his 9th PGA Tour win. King Louis win: 2 majors, first win on US soil and no standard PGA Tour wins. All great storylines. Some of the tee times will definitely allow these to go head to head - with some tasty pairings throughout. Round of the Day The morning field, field by the thrill of the chase, and the lack of wind delivered a stack of birdies and ultimately the round of the day as Major pressure enveloped the leaders late on. Horschel and Jordan were out early and produced 4 under 68s which gave both of them significant hope going into Sunday. They needed some more wind which never developed, but still will be thinking they have something to go on. Jordan missed out on a bogey free round and probably felt there was a 66 out there for him. Shot of the Day The course was definitely easier and the players revelled by throwing some darts at the pins. Woodland took dead aim at nearly everything - with a screamer into 17. However, he and playing partner Conners had danced around par 3 pins on 8 already. Phil the Thrill played some traditional screamers from unlikely situations - the shot on 3 again showing his artistry and pulling off the unlikely. Moving Day proved to be one of the exciting and unpredictable in recent years - Sunday should be even better! The Leaders Pressure wise, BK and The Thrill will be the ones to watch. Not only are they shoulders above the others in terms of pedigree, they are also in the famed final pairing. King Louis has a quieter pairing and Sunday ahead with Streelman who have never before posted a top 10 at a major. Streels sounds like the perfect Mr Nobody to once again rise up at the PGA Champs and walk off with the Wanamaker. Then we have the 2 Saffa’s at 3 under - who should feed off each other and definitely be able to post a number to lean on in their pursuit of a first major and first grab of the Wanamaker. The Chasers Picking a winner from further back than 6 shots seems difficult, but it's been done. It would need a herculean effort of 65 - when the low round is only 67. Add to this that the wind is expected to be up and blowing the other way - which makes for brilliant viewing, but not great scoring. The 1 unders have Conners who could go on another spree, Im is also in there and he loves hunting flags. Woodland at 2 under seems to be most consistent - and showed on Saturday that is able to take on some of these trickier pins and has major creds behind him at a similar course in Pebble. The wind is expected to pick up and blow the other way - getting to 20mph. This is similar to days 1 and 2 although it's completely flipped in direction! Reminder of the Stats: Bucket 1: Xander 21% GONE, Rors 20%, JT 17%GONE, Rahmbo 10% & DJ 7%GONE. (None under par) Bucket 2: Jordan 31%, Berger 12%, Cam 11%, Ancer 9% & Zala 4%. (none are under par) Bucket 3: Rosie 13%, Wallace 8%, Lowry 8%, Keegan 6% & Woodland 5%. (1 is under par) For a full view of the scores head to the PGA Champs Leaderboard and to the majorpunter leaderboard. majorpunter Leaderboard: