Koepka, despite shooting only a par 70 in the third round, has a seven-shot lead amid a dominant run that smacks of Tiger Woods in his prime.
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Brooks Koepka is playing at a level that evokes comparisons to a 20-something Tiger Woods. He will take a seven-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the P. G. A. Championship; with a victory he will become the first man to hold back-to-back titles in two majors simultaneously.
But after carding a par 70 for a 54-hole total of 12-under 198, Koepka insisted that he will be chasing neither history nor glory during the final round at Bethpage Black. He is content to write his own story, thank you very much.
“I’m just trying to do me,” Koepka said. He added: “Obviously to win would be great. But I mean, it is just another day of work for me.”
Koepka’s nearest challengers include Harold Varner III and the 23-year-old Jazz Janewattananond, who posted matching 67s on Saturday. They are at five under with Koepka’s best friend, Dustin Johnson, and Luke List, who each posted 69s.
“We’re all pretty much playing for second,” List said. “That hasn’t been said since Tiger in his heyday.”
Woods missed the cut by one stroke while playing the first two days with Koepka. On Saturday, Koepka, 29, was paired with Jordan Spieth, 25, his diametrical opposite in personality and playing style. Koepka is a basher of the ball who goes about his job with a ticket taker’s emotionless efficiency. Spieth is a tinkerer, technician and self-talker who wields his putter like a broom to keep his scorecard neat and tidy.
From 2015 to 2017, Spieth won three of the 12 majors contested and was celebrated as the game’s next superstar, a role Koepka since has usurped with victories in three of the last eight majors, including last year’s P. G. A. Championship.
Spieth has gone 42 starts since his last victory, at the 2017 British Open.
