Cam Smith surges to within one of PGA Championship lead
Darren Walton |
Cameron Smith remains firmly in the hunt for PGA Championship glory after surging to within one shot of the lead midway through his final round in Pennsylvania.
After starting the day four strokes behind American third-round leader Alex Smalley, Smith picked up three birdies on his front nine to climb to five under for the championship.
His charge could have been even better, with Australia’s resurgent former world No.2 lamenting a cruel lip-out on the fifth hole and then cursing himself for leaving an eagle attempt on the par-5 ninth short.
Still, Smith was right in the mix heading to the back nine after evoking memories of his unforgettable 2022 British Open comeback triumph at St Andrews in 2022.
At five under, Smith was level with two-time champion Justin Thomas, who captured the clubhouse lead with a sizzling final-round five-under 65 at Aronimink Golf Club, outside Philadelphia.
Thomas equalled the PGA Championship record to win from seven strokes back at Southern Hills in 2022 and found himself facing a similar deficit after taking bogey on the third hole on Sunday.
But the American former world No.1 peeled off six birdies in 12 holes before draining a lengthy par putt on the last to keep alive his hopes of etching his name on the Wanamaker Trophy for a third time.
The unfancied Smalley, winless in 140 PGA Tour starts, maintained his lead early with three pars to start his final round.
But the chase was on in earnest.
Like Smith, dual major winner Jon Rahm was just one shot behind with Masters champion Rory McIlroy lurking two strokes back.
American Kurt Kitayama earlier showed anything was possible by matching the lowest final round in major championship history with a seven-under 63.
Playing in the fourth group off in the morning, Kitayama became the ninth player with a 63 in the final round – and second ever at a PGA Championship.
The record for majors is 62, achieved five times, most recently by Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffele in the 2024 PGA Championship at Valhalla.
The 5-foot-7 Kitayama, an accomplished basketball player from California who led Chico High School to a pair of section titles and earned the nickname “Quadzilla” for his large legs, averaged 313 yards off the tee in the championship.
But it was his work on the greens that helped him challenge the major records.
The 33-year-old credited the “putter God” for his bogey-free round in which he used 28 swings with the flat stick to make more than 141 feet of putts.
“I felt like I was holding the world out there,” said Kitayama, whose two PGA Tour titles include the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “What my eye saw, that’s what the ball was doing — and that’s a good feeling.”
While Smith was hanging tough, fellow Australian Min Woo Lee’s challenge stalled with a one-over front nine.
Lee slipped back to one under for the championship to trail Smalley by five shots and needing a miraculous back nine to contend.
AAP