KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The Latest on the PGA Championship (all times local):
4:45 p.m.
Phil Mickelson played another brilliant front nine on the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island to create some separation at the PGA Championship.
Mickelson shot a 4-under 32 on the first nine holes Saturday. A day earlier, he closed his round with a 5-under 31 after starting on the back nine.
He’s made nine birdies and no bogeys over that stretch to reach 9 under for the tournament and seize a four-shot lead.
The 50-year-old Mickelson is threatening to turn the year’s second major into a rout — much like Rory McIlroy did in 2012 at Kiawah Island, when he won by eight shots.
Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, Branden Grace and Louis Oosthuizen are tied for second at 5 under. Oosthuizen shared the lead with Mickelson through 36 holes.
Brooks Koepka, a four-time major champion, is another shot back at 4-under as he makes the turn.
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3:30 p.m.
Phil Mickelson opened up an early three-shot lead in the third round of the PGA Championship with some signature risky shots.
Mickelson hit a long iron over a tree that just cleared a waste bunker on the par-5 second hole and settled 17 feet away for a routine two-putt birdie.
On the par-4 third, he drove into a waste bunker and went directly at the pin from 99 yards, hitting it to 2 feet for another birdie to reach 7 under.
The 50-year-old Mickelson is seeking his second PGA and sixth major championship. He would also become the oldest to win a major.
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3:20 p.m.
Jordan Spieth moved his way from the back of the pack to a more respectable position at the PGA Championship with a 4-under 68 that he felt like should have been a few shots better.
Spieth says he’s trying to fix a flaw in his putting stroke and even though he knows what to do, he can’t trust it on the course. That’s led to some frustration on the greens.
But Saturday’s round at least got Spieth back to even par. He says he hates being over par in any tournament and will play aggressively on Sunday.
Though he’s probably too far back to threaten the lead, Spieth needs only the PGA to complete the career grand slam.
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2:50 p.m.
Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen have started their rounds at the PGA Championship.
The two are tied for the top at 5-under par entering Saturday at the Ocean Course. It’s likely they won’t face the milder breezes many of those who started earlier enjoyed. Players who finished say the winds have switched directions, too, making the round another puzzle to solve.
Mickelson and Oosthuizen were a shot in front of Brooks Koepka and two ahead of a group that includes Masters winner Hideki Matsuyama.
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2:15 p.m.
The PGA Championship is bracing for a switch in the wind for the third round.
The wind hasn’t been quite as strong as the first two days. Jordan Spieth and Billy Horschel have each posted a 68, the low score Saturday in the early going.
More telling is how the course was set up.
For two days, the wind was into the face of players on Nos. 1 through 4 and then 14 through 18, and at their backs from Nos. 5 through 13.
The fourth hole was 451 yards on Friday. It’s up to 485 yards on Saturday. It was playing as the hardest hole in the early going. The nine-hole stretch that had been playing mostly downwind the last two days is mostly playing shorter.
The closing hole is at 493 yards for Saturday. That’s nearly 20 yards longer than the first round.
Webb Simpson could sense the change, mainly because it was right-to-left on the 17th hole. That was a problem because it meant having to start the ball over the water on the right.
Either way, Simpson says he doesn’t expect the leaders to have a tough time without as much wind in whatever direction it blows.
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1 p.m.
Jordan Spieth is making a move early at the PGA Championship on Saturday.
The three-time major champion had four birdies through 12 holes, going from 4-over to even par. That’s still five shots in back of co-leaders Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen, who start their rounds later.
Spieth had nine bogeys over his first 36 holes and just squeezed in ahead of the cut line. He’s among several players taking advantage of the calmer, less windy conditions at the Ocean Course.
Joel Dahmen has moved from 3 over to 2 under after making six birdies on his front nine.
Webb Simpson is at 4 under for his third round after making the 5-over cut on the number. Ben Cook, one of two of the 20 club professionals competing to make the cut, is also 4 under for his round.
The winds off the Atlantic Ocean are expected to pick up as the day continues.
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10:15 a.m.
The start of the third round at the PGA Championship has brought a slight reprieve in the relentless wind at Kiawah Island. Billy Horschel is among those taking advantage.
Horschel started birdie-eagle on Saturday and was 4 under for his round through six holes. He made the cut on the number and still was only 1 over for the tournament. Even so, it was a sign that early starters might be able to make up ground.
Webb Simpson was 3 under through seven holes.
Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen, the co-leaders at 5-under 139, were still four hours from teeing off.
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