It was only a matter of time before Jon Rahm returned to the top of major championship golf, and now that time has come.
Rahm launched himself into title contention on Saturday at the PGA Championship, catching fire late in his third round and signing for a 4-under 67 to move to 6-under for the tournament.
Rahm sits two shots back of clubhouse leader Alex Noren, who fired a 66 out of nowhere to get in at 8-under.
After the round, the Spaniard credited some of the luck that he got during the round for his score
“Things are gonna go sideways, and you’re also gonna get good breaks,” Rahm said. “Which is what happened to me today. I got two incredible bounces on 9 and 11 off the tee, which should have been in the rough and ended up in the fairway…
“For somebody that likes to express his lack of fortune on the golf course, is more deflecting my blame, I think today is one of those days where I got a lot more lucky that unlucky and that’s hard to say in a major championship.”
While those fortunate bounces certainly helped Rahm post one of the most impressive rounds of the day, it was the end of his round that got him into contention.
The LIV Golf star made three consecutive birdies on holes 14, 15 and 16, including a stellar approach on the very difficult par-4 16th, to get into a tie for the lead.
A bogey on the par-3 17th took Rahm just out of the top spot, but he still put himself in prime position to make a run on Sunday.
The two-time major champion finished in the top 10 at The Open Championship last fall, but he has not found himself on the first page of the leaderboard at the PGA Championship since 2021.
If he can duplicate Saturday’s round again on Sunday at Quail Hollow, he has a chance to collect the third leg of the Grand Slam.
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