Category: PGA Championship

Once almost a half million in debt, Mike Lorenzo-Vera in contention at PGA Championship

If you have Mike Lorenzo-Vera in your PGA Championship office pool, congratulations.

If you have Mike Lorenzo-Vera in your PGA Championship office pool, congratulations.

Lorenzo-Vera shot a second-round 68 and finds himself in a six-way tie for second at 6 under at TPC Harding Park, two shots back of Haotong Li.

The little known Lorenzo-Vera is tied with some of the game’s heavyweights: Brooks Koepka, Jason Day, Justin Rose,Tommy Fleetwood and Daniel Berger.

But getting to this point, two shots back heading to the weekend at a major championship, wasn’t an easy path for Lorenzo-Vera.

He turned pro in 2005 but by 2013, he says he hit a low point in his professional career. He told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi after his second round that he finished “almost last in the Challenge Tour in 2013 so that was really, really far away to play correct golf.”

Lorenzo-Vera was also really, really far away from a correct bank account. Rinaldi asked Lorenzo-Vera about falling into significant debt.

“Too much,” Lorenzo-Vera said with a laugh. “Way too much considering the money there is on the Challenge Tour.

“It was somewhere like €400,000.” That equates to about $472,000.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

Later, in Q School, the Frenchman found some inspiration with his brother on the bag.

“He started speaking of the lasagna of my mom that we absolutely love and it took my out of the pressure. … he goes, ‘Remind me exactly of the recipe.'”

He says he went on to birdie 16, par 17 and “on the last, I had a really tricky putt, with a break and I don’t know why but I just wanted to chip that over the break. That means that my mind was really gone and he looked at me with the wedge and said ‘OK I’m going to break the wedge if you don’t take the putter.'”

Lorenzo-Vera went with the putter, and put it about “like that” to the hole, holding his hands up about 12 inches apart.

“He looked at me, like, really angry,” Lorenzo-Vera said. “But at least I had a job for the year after, so that was cool.”

Lorenzo-Vera knows how to play TPC Harding Park after two rounds.

“It’s very demanding in terms of strategy and stick to the plan, stick to where you want to put the ball, even if sometimes it’s a bit tempting to be very aggressive on the flag.”

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PGA Championship round 3 betting: Live odds, best bets

A look at the live betting odds and lines heading into Saturday’s Round 3 and get picks and best bets to win the PGA Championship.

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The 2020 PGA Championship is led by Haotong Li at 8-under par after 36 holes. Two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka sits two back as part of a six-way tie for second at minus-6. Tiger Woods shot a plus-2 72 in his second round but still made the cut at even par.

Below, we look at the live betting odds and lines heading into Saturday’s Round 3 and make our picks and best bets to win the PGA Championship.

Don’t forget, you can catch all of the PGA Championship action on ESPN+, sign up here.

2020 PGA Championship Round 3 betting picks: Favorite

Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 11:40 p.m. ET.

Brooks Koepka (+450)

Koepka, the back-to-back champ at this major, offers less than half the payout of any other competitor despite trailing by two shots heading into Saturday. Still, he has given every sign he can win this event for a third time by averaging 3.24 Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and 2.80 SG: Approach through 36 holes, according to Data Golf. He lost 0.84 strokes putting in Round 2 to keep him a little further down the leaderboard.

This is likely to be Koepka’s highest price point through the weekend. Get in now as a means to hedge against any lost bets this week.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

2020 PGA Championship Round 3 betting picks: Contender

Looking to place a bet on the 2020 PGA Championship? Get some action on it with legal sports betting in CO, IN, NJ and WV at BetMGM. Bet Now!

Rory McIlroy (+4500)

McIlroy shot a 69 Friday to enter the weekend at 1-under par. The four-time major champ and top-ranked player in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings is seven shots back of Li and has plenty of big names in the way.

Still, this is one of the best prices bettors will ever see for McIlroy with the tournament within reach. He’s averaging 2.33 SG: Tee-to-Green per round but losing 0.61 strokes putting.

McIlroy is still the betting favorite for both the US Open and Masters.

2020 PGA Championship Round 3 betting picks: Long shot

Matthew Wolff (+10000)

Wolff ranks 80th in the Golfweek rankings and heads into the weekend at 3-under par in his first major championship. He’s leading the field with 3.80 SG: Tee-to-Green and ranks third with 2.05 SG: Off-the-Tee through 36 holes.

The 2019 3M Open champ has been wildly inconsistent since the PGA Tour’s restart, but there’s no way he should be priced this high with his statistical performance thus far.

New to sports betting? A $10 bet on Koepka to win returns a profit of $45. The same bet on Wolff would return a profit of $1,000.

Get some action on the 2020 PGA Championship by signing up and betting at BetMGM in CO, IN, NJ and WV. If you’re looking for more sports betting picks and tips, access all of our content at SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.

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PGA Championship: Round 3 tee times, TV/streaming info

The PGA Championship heads to the weekend at TPC Harding Park.

The season’s first major is heading to the weekend.

The PGA Championship continues Saturday at TPC Harding Park, and with several intriguing storylines in place.

The field is chasing leader Haotong Li, who fired his second-round 65 early on Friday then camped out on the practice facilities for the rest of the day. At 8 under, Li has a two-shot cushion on six players tied for second – a group that includes two-time defending champion Brooks Koepka and Jason Day, the 2015 PGA champion.

Tiger Woods is still around, too, after firing a second-round 72 that got him to the weekend but only barely.

ESPN+ has the exclusive streaming, while ESPN and CBS will tag team the TV coverage starting at 1 p.m. ET. (Details below tee times)

Tee times

1st tee

Tee time Players
11:10 a.m. Mackenzie Hughes
11:20 a.m. Charl Schwartzel, Chez Reavie
11:30 a.m. Louis Oosthuizen, Luke List
11:40 a.m. Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas
11:50 a.m. Patrick Cantlay, Erik van Rooyen
12:00 p.m. Rory Sabbatini, Sung Kang
12:10 p.m. Sepp Straka, Adam Long
12:20 p.m. Matt Wallace, Mark Hubbard
12:30 p.m. Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter
12:40 p.m. J.T. Poston, Bubba Watson
12:50 p.m. Harris English, Byeong Hun An
1:00 p.m. Tiger Woods, Kieth Mitchell
1:10 p.m. Shane Lowry, Danny Lee
1:20 p.m. Ryan Palmer, Kevin Kisner
1:30 p.m. Tom Hoge, Russell Henley
1:40 p.m. Cameron Smith, Doc Redman
2:00 p.m. Robert MacIntyre, Billy Horschel
2:10 p.m. Jim Herman, Emiliano Grillo
2:20 p.m. Abraham Ancer, Kurt Kitayama
2:30 p.m. Rory McIlroy, Victor Perez
2:40 p.m. Nate Lashley, Gary Woodland
2:50 p.m. Webb Simpson, Brian Harman
3:00 p.m. Denny McCarthy, Jon Rahm
3:10 p.m. Kevin Streelman, Viktor Hovland
3:20 p.m. Joost Luiten, Adam Hadwin
3:30 p.m. Adam Scott, Collin Morikawa
3:40 p.m. Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau
3:50 p.m. Harold Varner III, Brandt Snedeker
4:00 p.m. Brendan Steele, Joel Dahmen
4:10 p.m. Tony Finau, Bud Cauley
4:20 p.m. Scottie Scheffler, Dylan Frittelli
4:30 p.m. Hideki Matsuyama, Si Woo Kim
4:50 p.m. Alex Noren, Matthew Wolff
5:00 p.m. Dustin Johnson, Bernd Wiesberger
5:10 p.m. Lanto Griffin, Xander Schauffele
5:20 p.m. Paul Casey, Brendon Todd
5:30 p.m. Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Cameron Champ
5:40 p.m. Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose
5:50 p.m. Jason Day, Daniel Berger
6:00 p.m. Haoton Li, Tommy Fleetwood

TV, streaming information

Saturday, Aug. 8

Third round coverage: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m., ESPN+.

Third round Featured Group 1 (one morning, one afternoon): 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., ESPN+.

Third round Featured Group 2 (one morning, one afternoon): 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., ESPN+.

Third round TV coverage: 1 – 4 p.m., ESPN.

CBS Sports special “We Need To Talk”, breaking down the PGA Championship. Panelists Tracy Wolfson, Swin Cash, Amanda Balionis and Dottie Pepper will be joined by Michelle Wie West and PGA of America President Suzy Whaley: 3 p.m., CBS.

Third round TV coverage: 4 – 10 p.m., CBS.

Third round Featured Hole (No. 18): 4 – 10 p.m., ESPN+.

Third round coverage: 4 – 10 p.m., SiriusXM (Channel 208 or 92).

PGA Championship Clubhouse Report: 10 p.m., CBS Sports Network

Sunday, Aug, 9

Final round coverage: 10 a.m. – Noon, ESPN+.

Final round Featured Group 1 (one morning, one afternoon): ESPN+.

Final round Featured Group 2 (one morning, one afternoon): ESPN+.

Final round TV coverage: Noon – 3 p.m., ESPN.

Final round TV coverage: 3 – 9 p.m., CBS.

Final round coverage: 3 – 10 p.m., SiriusXM (Channel 208 or 92).

Final round Featured Hole (No. 18): 3 p.m. – 9 p.m., ESPN+.

PGA Championship Clubhouse Report: 9 p.m., CBS Sports Network

We recommend interesting sports viewing and streaming opportunities. If you sign up to a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.

Brooks Koepka chasing historic three-peat while battling injury

Koepka shot 2-under 68 despite needing to have a physical therapist give him treatment during the round on three occasions.

As Brooks Koepka pursues a three-peat at the PGA Championship, he’s also making a case for the Ben Hogan Award.

That’s the award given by the Golf Writers Association of America to an individual who has remained active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness, and on Friday, Koepka needed his physical therapist, Marc Wahl, to stretch out his left hip and tensor fascia latae (TFL) muscle, which tightened on multiple occasions.

“It’s fine,” Koepka told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi. “It’s just tight.”

“It’s nothing to be worried about,” he said later during his post-round press conference after shooting 2-under 68.

It didn’t look that way as he lay on his back on three separate occasions for treatment, the last of which occurred after hitting his tee shot on the 12th hole.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

While Keopka’s travails pale in comparison to Hogan, who was hit by a bus and returned a year later to win the 1950 U.S. Open, Koepka required a stem-cell treatment on his left knee in September following the Tour Championship, and slipped and reinjured the knee at the CJ Cup in November.

Koepka missed the Presidents Cup in December and has struggled most of the season since his return, recording only two top-10 finishes. Last week in Memphis, Keopka conceded he might need another stem-cell treatment, but he said after the second round at TPC Harding Park that it wasn’t his knee that was the issue.

Koepka said his TFL bothered him when he woke up. He worked out and had it stretched prior to the round, but it tightened up during play.

“It’s usually tight but it’s never this tight,” he said. “It won’t be an issue. I’m not really worried about it.”

When ESPN showed a highlight of Koepka’s left leg being stretched, he downplayed the significance again as if this sort of thing happened all the time.

“It hurts me just looking at it,” ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi said.

But this was anything but an ordinary occurrence. When asked during his press conference to recall the last time he needed treatment from his physical therapist mid-round, Koepka said, “I can’t remember if it was 2014 or 2015 at Arnold Palmer (Invitational). Just a rib came out, and that was the last time. But it’s been a while.”

Tiger Woods won the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines on one good leg in what became known as The Battle at Wounded Knee. Could this be Koepka’s version of overcoming physical adversity while bidding to become the first player in nearly a century to win the PGA Championship in three consecutive years?

“He just keeps fighting and believes in what he’s doing,” ESPN’s David Duval said.

Koepka, who signed for 66 on Thursday, wedged from the first cut to 5 feet for a birdie at the first on Friday, and tacked on birdies at the two par 5s – Nos. 4 and 10. He surrendered strokes at Nos. 6 and 13, but capped off the round with birdie at the last after sticking his 166-yard approach to 7 feet, ball above his feet, edge of a fairway bunker.

“That was as good as I saw all day,” Duval said of a nifty mid-iron.

Koepka’s 68 lifted him to 6-under 134 through 36 holes in a six-way tied for second and trailing only China’s Haotong Li by two strokes.

Koepka notched his sixth straight round in the 60s and his 18th round in the 60s in the majors out of his last 22, re-discovering his ball-striking ability at an opportune time. He ranks second in Strokes Gained: approach-to-the-green and second in proximity to the hole this week. Hogan would be proud.

“It could’ve been better today,” Koepka said. “I probably could be 10 (under).”

He also could be on his way to a historic three-peat at the PGA and his fifth major championship, but it may all come down to how his hip and TFL muscle feel when he wakes up the next two days and whether his physical therapist can work his magic.

“We’ll loosen it up again and it will be a lot better,” Koepka said.

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PGA Championship: Notable names who missed the cut

Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth are among those who made the cut at the PGA Championship on the number but other notables are going home.

Phil Mickelson birdied his final hole of the day, the 515-yard par-4 ninth, to make the cut on the number. Playing in his 28th PGA Championship, Mickelson has only missed the cut in the event three times.

Justin Thomas, who won last week at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, survived a bogey on 12 and a double on 13 by making a birdie on 16 to also make the cut on the number.

Jordan Spieth, Ian Poulter, Bubba Watson and Patrick Cantlay also all made the cut on the number, which was +1.

Several big names, though, were slamming trunks on this Friday night in San Francisco after the second round of the first major of 2020.

The list of notables who missed the cut is headlined by Rickie Fowler, who will miss the weekend at a major for the first time since the 2016 U.S. Open.

Two other golfers who won last week – Jim Furyk on the PGA Tour Champions circuit and Richy Werenski at the PGA Tour’s opposite-field event near Tahoe, the Barracuda Championship – could not carry that momentum over to this week.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

Fowler and Furyk along with Marc Leishman all finished at 2 over, one off the cutline.

Werenski was joined at 3 over by Kevin Na and Matt Kuchar.

Sergio Garcia missed the cut, too, as he finished his PGA at 6 over.

Martin Kaymer had the wildest back-to-back days at Harding Park. He opened with a 66 on Thursday, but shot a 43 on the front with a triple bogey and a double bogey on Friday. He then had five more bogeys on the back and ended up shooting a second-round 12-over 82. He finished 8 over for the tournament.

Zach Johnson, who also shot a Thursday 66, followed that up with a 76 on Friday and he missed the cut by a shot.

Also, all 20 of the PGA pros in the field missed the cut.

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Tiger Woods struggles through Friday at PGA Championship, barely makes weekend

Tiger Woods struggled to get anything going on Friday at TPC Harding Park for the PGA Championship.

After a smooth and seemingly effortless opening round of 2-under 68, Tiger Woods couldn’t get anything to go his way Friday in his second trip around TPC Harding Park in San Francisco. After a late tee off alongside Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy, Woods seemed to struggle for every small victory on the course. He ended the day with a 2-over 72.

He didn’t make his first birdie until No. 10, also the first hole where he dropped a legitimate putt.

Truly, Woods didn’t hole a putt outside of 3 feet on his front nine. This, a day after birdie conversions from 8, 32, 4, 14 and 12 feet in the first round.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

Instead, Woods made two bogeys on the front nine. They came at the par-3 third, where he missed a 10-footer after blasting out of the sand, and No. 9, where he was in both a fairway bunker and a greenside bunker.

In fact, Woods found himself in an inordinate amount of bunkers on Friday, and with poor results. He was zero for seven when it came to getting up-and-down from the sand.

Birdies on Nos. 10 and 16 were the highlight of the back nine, but also very necessary. After Woods bogeyed Nos. 13 and 15 – the latter coming off an approach blown over the back of the green – he found himself sitting on the cutline of 1 over.

The birdie at No. 16 was crucial in getting to the weekend.

By the time Woods was trudging through the final holes, his body language suggested both disappointment and fatigue in his lackluster play. Still,  he’ll live to play two mores rounds.

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Rickie Fowler’s majors cuts made streak could be ending

Rickie Fowler last failed to play the weekend in a major at the 2016 U.S. Open.

Rickie Fowler’s streak of 14 consecutive cuts made in major championships is in jeopardy, and a sloppy one-handed putting attempt in the second round of the 102nd PGA Championship could be part of the reason.

On the par-4 sixth hole on TPC Harding Park on Friday, his 15th of the day, Fowler faced a six-inch bogey putt and swung his putter at the ball with one hand. The problem is that the putter struck the ground first and then barely touched the ball. He needed another putt to get it in the hole and had to take a double bogey.

He also bogeyed the eighth before posting a 69. But coupled with his first-round 73, Fowler is at 2 over. The projected cut on Friday afternoon was 1 over.

Fowler last failed to play the weekend in a major at the 2016 U.S. Open.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

Fowler has missed five cuts in 12 events this year and has just two top-10 finishes, both in January at the Sentry Tournament of Champions and the American Express.

He did post a T-15 at last week’s World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational.

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Cameron Tringale DQ’ed for rules violations at PGA Championship … again

Cameron Tringale was disqualified from the PGA Championship for the second time in the last seven years.

For Cameron Tringale, Friday at the PGA Championship was a case of deja vu all over again, as baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once memorably put it.

During the 2nd round of the 102nd PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park, Tringale signed for a score lower than he actually made on the par-3, No. 8. He signed for a 3 but made a 4.

After his scorecard was officially certified, he then left the scoring area, but later returned to notify the Scoring Referee of his mistake. He was subsequently disqualified for violating Rule 3.3b(3).

As rule 3.3 – Wrong Score for a Hole – states, if a player returns a scorecard with a wrong score for any hole:

  • Returned Score Higher Than Actual Score. The higher returned score for the hole stands.
  • Returned Score lower Than Actual Score or No Score Returned. The player is disqualified.

Tringale, 32, had signed for 2-under 68 and was going to be sweating out the cutline the rest of the day.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

But this isn’t the first time Tringale was disqualified from the PGA Championship for a scoring violation.

In 2014, a guilt-ridden Tringale called the Tour and disqualified himself after finishing T-36 and earning $53,000. He claimed to have missed a stroke when attempting to tap in on the 11th hole of the final round.

“Realizing that there could be the slightest doubt that the swing over the ball should have been recorded as a stroke, I spoke with the PGA of America and shared with them my conclusion that the stroke should have been recorded,” Tringale said in a statement after the 2014 PGA.

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Get to know PGA Championship leader Haotong Li

Haotong Li is looking to make history, as no player from China has ever held a lead or co-lead after a round at a major championship.

Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.

Those are usually the names that dominate the news during the week of one of golf’s majors but on Friday, Haotong Li is among those making the headlines.

On Friday, Li posted the lowest score in a major by anyone from China. He’s looking to make history, as no player from his home country has ever held a lead or co-lead after a round at a major championship.

Li’s 5-under-par 65 moved him to the top of the leaderboard in the 102nd edition of the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park.

Has he ever won anything?

Just 25, Li has yet to really hit it big but he’s shown flashes.

He does have three PGA Tour China Series wins as well as three international victories, most recently in the 2018 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

In 2017, he closed with four birdies to shoot 63 to finish third in the Open Championship.

First to breach new rule

Li’s name is already in the history books for other reasons.

Early in 2019, he became the first player penalized under the rule which prohibits caddies from standing on or close to an extension of the line of play.

This happened about four weeks after the new Rules of Golf were rolled out. Li was handed a two-shot penalty at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic when it was determined that caddie Mike Burrow breached rule 10.3b(3) while Li was putting on the 18th green. The penalty dropped Li from a tie for third to 12th and cost him close to $100,000 in prize money.

Four eagles in one round

Li shook off the penalty a week later by posting a 62 during the third round of the Saudi International, a round that included four eagles.

Remarkably, three of the four eagles came on par 4s.

Li’s eagle-fest didn’t get the attention it probably deserved because on that same day, Sergio Garcia was thrown out of the tournament for wilfully damaging putting greens.

International acclaim

Last December, Li became the first player to represent China in the Presidents Cup. He was also in the 2016 Summer Olympics. He turned pro in 2011 when he was 16.

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Tiger Tracker: Tiger Woods’ second round at the PGA Championship

Follow Tiger Woods’ second round at the PGA Championship with shot-by-shot updates from TPC Harding Park.

Tiger Woods at a major will always turn heads (even if there aren’t all that many heads on property this week at TPC Harding Park to turn). When Woods showed up at the PGA Championship on Thursday, he looked fit, fluid and sharp – and pain-free – from the get-go.

Woods opened the first round with a birdie, added another on the 13th and then offset his three bogeys with three more birdies. His opening 2-under 68 left him very much in the conversation.

Woods drew an afternoon tee time for Friday, and once again will play alongside Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas. We’re tracking his second round, shot for shot, so keep with us here.

Leaderboard | TV info | Tee times | Photos

Pre-round

We saw some shades of old Tiger on Thursday at TPC Harding Park, but if you’re interested in how his swing has evolved over the years, take a look at this montage and get fired up for his Friday round.

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