Big-hitters beat up on Bellerive at PGA Championships
Reuters
Published Aug 10, 2018 05:44PM ET
Big-hitters beat up on Bellerive at PGA Championships
By Steve Keating
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - Two of golf's big-hitters, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, pounded a defenseless Bellerive Country Club into submission while Charl Schwartzel took a more delicate approach to surge into PGA Championship contention on Friday.
Koepka and Johnson, two Americans who would not look out of place in a National Football League locker room, simply overpowered Bellerive but South African Schwartzel, not known for his work with the driver, showed there are other ways to tame the parkland layout.
While the rain softened course and humid conditions favored power hitters, a hot putter proved to be just as effective as Schwartzel and Koepka carded seven-under 63s to equal the record low round in the 100-year history of the PGA Championship.
"Records are meant to be broken, I guess," said Koepka, who needed to drain a 22-footer for birdie at his last hole to grab the record outright. "I didn't know. I just was trying to make the thing and I really thought I made it.
"My caddie said something walking off on 18. I didn't even think of it. I've been so in the zone you don't know where you are or where you're at."
With the afternoon wave just underway, Koepka's 63 left the twice defending U.S. Open champion alone in third at eight-under, just two back of second round clubhouse leader Gary Woodland.
Schwartzel's effort put him at seven-under alongside world number one Johnson, who collected five birdies over his last seven holes for a four-under 66.
The South African said he suspected there was a low round out there for the taking and minutes after Koepka notched his 63, Schwartzel became the 16th golfer to shoot the score at the season's fourth major.
"In the practice rounds, I thought you've got a good chance of shooting a low score," said Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion. "I was hitting a lot of drivers.
"If you're hitting it down in the fairway with the way the greens are designed, you can get the ball to about 15 feet on almost every hole.
"If you do that well... you just feel like you can have lots of chances around here."
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.