PGA Championship: Monday finish likely

• Thunderstorms blight third round at Baltusrol
• Monday finish looking like a real possibility
• Some say Tuesday finish is on cards for PGA Championship

The PGA Championship is facing up to the prospect of a Monday finish after the third round at Baltusrol was abandoned due to thunderstorms.

Players were forced off the course at 2.14pm local time (7.14pm UK) due to the threat of lightning in the area, with fourteen players – co-leaders Jimmy Walker and Robert Streb amongst them – still to get their rounds underway.

Read more -> Walker & Streb lead PGA Championship as Rory misses cut

Indeed, only 37 of the 86 players who made the cut were able to complete their rounds before play was called for the day. American Kevin Kisner, pictured below, posted a 65 to claim the clubhouse lead on five-under, four strokes adrift of Walker and Streb. Ireland’s Padraig Harrington, a winner of the championship in 2008, also posted a 65 to reach four-under, with Scotland’s Russell Knox sitting on three-under and in a tie for 18th after a three-under 67.

Play is expected to resume at 7am local time (noon UK) on Sunday, with PGA of America officials planning a two-tee start for the final round. However, with more bad weather forecast in the area for the remainder of the weekend, it is expected that this year’s PGA Championship will go into a Monday finish for the first time since 2005 – ironically, the same year that it was last contested at Baltusrol, when Phil Mickelson held off Thomas Bjorn and Steve Elkington to win his second major championship.

Read more -> Former champ Beem makes cut with old-school putter

Some sources on the ground have even speculated that a Tuesday finish may be on the cards, which would be a first for a major championship.

Mother Nature has wreaked havoc with this season’s PGA Tour schedule, with no fewer than 16 tournaments affected by inclement conditions and four requiring a fifth day’s play.

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Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor