The final moments on Saturday at Oak Hill brought out more emotion as big putts kept falling in the PGA Championship, with one big difference.
These putts were for par. Jim Furyk, after striking a poor 3-wood off the 18th tee, curled a 15-foot putt from the fringe into the left corner of the cup to salvage a one-shot lead heading into the final round, emphatically shaking his fist. Adam Scott, whose sweet swing turned sour on the last few holes, knocked in a 15-foot putt for par on the 17th hole, bowed his head and pumped his fist.
And then there was Jason Dufner, whose disappointment turned to surprise on the 18th hole when he took a step toward the cup to tap in a missed putt and watched gravity pull it into the hole for a par that put him in the final group. Perhaps those scenes were a prelude for Sunday, the final round of the final major of the year. “It’s only going to get harder,” Furyk said.
Grinding to the end in swirling wind that cast doubt on so many shots, Furyk closed with two big putts - one for birdie to regain the lead, the other for par to keep it - that gave him a 2-under 68 and a one-shot lead over Jason Dufner going into the final round. There was nothing fancy about the way he worked his way to the top of the leaderboard at 9-under 201, but then, that’s rarely the case with Furyk. He made three birdies and two tough pars on the back nine, and the one bogey was a bunker shot that hit the pin and rolled 7 feet away. “There’s a crowded leaderboard at the top, and instead of really viewing it as who is leading and who is not, I’m really viewing it as I need to go out there tomorrow and put together a good, solid round of golf,” he said.