Dean Burmester continued his strong play at the PGA Championship with a three-under 68 in round three for ninth place at Valhalla Golf Club in Kentucky, USA, on Saturday.
Burmester’s 11-under total is four off the lead held by Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. Sahith Theegala is third on 14-under, while Shane Lowry, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland are all tied for fourth on 13-under.
A shot ahead of Burmester in seventh are Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre.
If Burmester pulls off something spectacular on Sunday, it will break the major drought for South African men’s players dating back to 2012, when Ernie Els won The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
The RISE to the 🔝#PGAChamp pic.twitter.com/TFv75wGXAa
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 18, 2024
Great finish
With play delayed on Friday, Burmester was left with two holes in his second round on Saturday. A par on 17 was the result when Burmester resumed, before a spectacular eagle three to close his round. There Burmester struck his 209-metre second shot to within a few feet of the hole, which he tapped in to sign for a six-under 65.
Starting out his third round, three pars were followed by birdies at the fourth and fifth holes. Staying bogey-free, the LIV Golf player Burmester made the turn in two-under.
A birdie at the par five 10th meant Burmester moved to three-under for his round, and though he would go on to drop two shots on the way in - he offset those drops with two more birdies.
Erik van Rooyen, the only other South African to make the cut, signed for a level par 71 in the third round for share of 60th. Van Rooyen had a bit of a rollercoaster round teeing off on the 10th, with double bogeys at 15 and 17. Though he threw in two birdies on his opening nine, Van Rooyen still went out in two-over.
Another drop followed at the par three third as Van Rooyen fell to three-over for his round. However, Van Rooyen steadied the ship with a birdie at five, and then two in a row to finish at the eighth and ninth to fight back and sign for a level par outing in round three.